Interesting new helmet technology.






Have you heard the expression "break neck speeds?" This often overused tag has become the go-to hook line in many motorcycle crash stories on your local evening news. A new design concept called Super Skin from Industrial Design Consultancy, or IDC, looks to address the core issue.

Eighty percent of current motorcycle related deaths are a result of head trauma, and experts agree that rotational forces are the obvious culprit in most of these cases. Taking a cue from how noggins normally protect themselves, IDC claims their "Skull and Skin" design reduces the force that Yoda wouldn't want to be with you by up to 50 percent, which reduces the possibility of permanent brain injury by 67 percent. We think we can all agree that those numbers are 100 percent positive! Simply put, the Super Skin is a flexible membrane wrapped over a gel barrier that allows it to stretch up to eight times its normal length. Take the whole recipe through a vacuum casting process, and it then becomes durable and retains the look and feel of a "normal" helmet.

Before we can get our heads clad in Super Skin, we'll be holding our breath until the summer season. Check with your local Lazer Helmet dealer for access to this creepy cool concept. Oh yes, there will be a price tag put on your head. The Super Skin line is rumored to start at $235 (based on the current exchange rate) and will be available in the open-face Rider or full-face Solano designs. suspensionbrakesbmwwheels

 

cool and you can stick in the freezer over night on hot days for a cool ride?
maybe keep one in the cooler to keep the beer cold

 

I can't see where it offers any advantage. Conventional shells will spin happily. The pitch for this seems to be that the 'skin' allows the helmet to spin inside the skin and not transfer the rapid cessation of rotational forces the the brain, but the conventional shell seems to me to do this anyway. That apart, the pitch conveniently forgets that most trauma is through direct impact, that many impacts are sliding and glancing, and that many deaths due to head injuries wouldn't be affected at all by this technology.

The technology is cool, but whether it actually does anything useful in terms of protection s questionable. Lets see how it scores on some of the standardised tests. ThHe numbers quoted are unsupported. Be very sceptical- especially given the price.

Rob