MIPS has announced a new type of Brain Protection System (BPS) that is claimed to be the lightest and best performing of its kind.
MIPS has been around for a while now and has been used extensively by motorcycle helmet companies like Bell to try and improve rider safety.
For 2021 MIPS has brought out its most advanced BPS yet, here’s how it works.
A traditional motorcycle helmet is made up of three basic layers: The strong outer shell, an EPS liner, a soft and padded internal lining.
A MIPS helmet has all three of these layers, plus one more. Between the EPS and the soft inner liner, a MIPS helmet has a kind of moveable membrane that is anchored to the soft lining material but able to move slightly in all directions.
It’s anchored to the EPS in this latest helmet by way of small rubber mounting points. These ensure the BPS liner returns back to the starting point after it has moved.
How does a MIPS motorcycle helmet work?
The idea is fairly simple and takes the Arai glancing off theory and runs with it. If a helmet has a head-on impact with an object, the EPS is designed to absorb as much of this shock as it possibly can. The thing is, this type of impact on a helmet is quite rare.
Most impacts involve the lid hitting the ground or another object at an oblique angle. In these impacts, the EPS liner is less effective and can in some cases transfer a kind of twisting and turning motion into the rider’s head. It’s this action that some doctors believe can cause serious brain injury in riders. That’s what the MIPS system looks to prevent. Think of it as a shock absorber for your brain, allowing the head to move inside the helmet just a fraction more than if no BPS was being used.
You won’t be able to buy a MIPS lid directly off the company, instead, they will be supplying motorcycle helmet manufacturers who will use the tech in their own designs. Check out some of the Bell Helmets range for some MIPS equipped kit.
