#mips

Helmet technology company Quin has successfully secured $9 million in Series A funding, with significant contributions from individual investors and helmet safety pioneer Mips AB (publ) (“Mips”). Mips has committed $7.3 million to acquire a 25% stake in Quin, a sensor-based technology firm specializing in event detection and data-driven emergency response protocols.

Mips, a world leader in helmet-based safety, is proud to announce its newest member to Team Mips: Aleix Espargaró, factory rider for Aprilia Racing in MotoGP™, the premier class of motorcycle racing in the world. 

Little yellow dots emblazoned on the back of helmets have become more and more prevalent in the past few years. That dot, of course, means the helmet is equipped with a slip layer known as the Multi-directional Impact Protection System, or MIPS, as the brand is known. MIPS has more than doubled the number of brands it worked with just three years earlier, now partnering with 143 brands that span industries from motorsports and cycling, to snow sports and even construction. In motorsports, MIPS works with the following brands:

Congratulations. You’ve made the decision to go to a trackday (or even a race). We think that’s one of the best decisions you can make with your motorcycle. Not only is track riding fun and addictive, but it’s also a great environment to improve your skills. But there’s a lot to do to get ready, like getting all your gear in order. Most important, of course, is your helmet.

Stop and think about helmets for a minute. Undoubtedly the most important piece of safety equipment motorcyclists wear, have you thought about what goes into testing a helmet? Basically, a helmet is dropped straight down onto a surface and the results of the impact are measured. That’s all well and good, but there’s more to a crash than the impact itself. And besides, how many accidents involve the rider falling straight down, as if dropped from a building?

Since receiving the KLIM F5 Koroyd, I’ve put a lot of miles into this lid. Long freeway miles and multiple days back-to-back in the dirt, in both hot and cold climates. The F5 Koroyd has performed very well, thanks in part to the technology and development that has gone into this helmet. As KLIM has done with many other products throughout its lineup, the F5 Koroyd is a collaboration between KLIM and other leading companies in an attempt to truly make the best helmet possible.

6D, the helmet manufacturer who made a name for itself by re-writing the rules when it comes to helmet design and rider safety, has introduced arguably the most advanced youth helmet on the market today – the ATR-2Y.

Privateer Superbike/Superstock 1000 racer Hayden Gillim suffered a horrifying crash last August at MotoAmerica’s race event at the new Pittsburgh International Race Complex, culminating in Gillim ragdoll-tumbling into a tire barrier at high speed while his GSX-R1000 cartwheeled and bounced all the way over the fence. The race was immediately red-flagged, as Gillim surely would be requiring prompt medical attention.

The new Star MIPS is Bell’s latest attempt to improve protection for our brains, introducing the Swedish-engineered Multi-directional Impact Protection System to its popular street helmet.

Innovation, whether it be the motorcycle I’m riding or the gear I’m wearing, always piques my interest. I remember the introduction of 6D’s Omni-Directional Suspension (ODS) technology in MX helmets at the now defunct Dealer Expo show in 2013, and to now see it realized in a street-legal helmet a few years later satisfies my progressive inclinations.  

If the technologies driving motorcycle components progressed at the same rate as motorcycle helmet technology we’d still be riding around on drum brakes. Where’s the motorcycle helmet equivalent of cutting-edge technologies such TC, C-ABS or semi-active suspension? The general construction of motorcycle helmets hasn’t changed much since leather lids became passé: a hard outer shell, impact-absorbing EPS (expanded polystyrene) liner, comfort padding. Helmets are certainly lighter, quieter, more comfortable and safer than their bygone counterparts, but I would have argued 20 years ago that the features touted by failed helmet company start-up, Skully, would have been commonplace by now.