The safest helmet in football is set to make its NFL debut next season

[CGI_Ram]

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/t...all-is-set-to-make-its-nfl-debut-next-season/

The safest helmet in football is set to make its NFL debut next season

Player safety is one of the biggest issues facing football at all levels right now.

The NFL obviously has the most high-profile bout with figuring out a way to make the game safer for players, and the league may be on the verge of making a drastic shift thanks to new helmets. According to Inc.com, 25 NFL teams purchased the new ZERO1 helmet from the Seattle-based startup company Vicis and will distribute them in practices this spring.

The ZERO1 "features a pliable outer layer and an impact-absorbing core layer that cushions the wearer's head against violent collisions -- all, for the most part, while maintaining the look and shape of a classic helmet."

Here's a more detailed description from the company's website (which also features testimonials from several people that have used the helmet):

The ZERO1's multiple layers work together to slow impact forces. The helmet features a soft outer shell and an underlying layer of columns designed to mitigate collisions from multiple directions.

The ZERO1 delivers breakthroughs in safety based on current, state of the art testing protocols. It also elevates performance, featuring the industry's widest field of peripheral view and low aerodynamic drag. Our tagline is Protect the Athlete/Elevate the Game™ – and that's what we've done with the ZERO1.

And here's a video explaining how this works:



In testing against 33 other helmets to measure which best reduces the severity of impact to the head, the Vicis ZERO1 finished first. Included in the study were helmets from Schutt and Riddell, which currently account for approximately 90 percent of helmet sales.

Vicis was founded by neurosurgeon Sam Browd and Dave Marver, former CEO of the Cardiac Science Corporation, with the goal of reducing the high rate of concussions in football. While it would take years of play and further studies to conclusively prove that they've been successful, the studies show that they're on their way to making an impact.

And as it turns out, we may see the ZERO1 on the field pretty soon. "I'm quite confident you'll see this on several NFL players this season," Marver told Inc.com, though he refused to say which players might do so."It's up to them to reveal that."

It's worth noting that several current and former NFL players are part of Vicis' "coalition." Richard Sherman, Doug Baldwin, Bobby Wagner, Alex Smith, Jerry Rice, Tony Dorsett, Roger Staubach, and more are members of the advisory team.

 

[DaveFan'51]

Real images of the New Helmets the Rams will use .....

O-Lineman will wear this^^

D-Lineman will wear this^^^^

And Running Back/ WR's will wear this!!

 

[bnw]

No such thing as a safe helmet in full contact. It's physics and its effect on the brain within the skull. No helmet is "safe".

 

[g041579]

I agree, the brain is like a yolk in a egg, but the helmet will lessen the injuries to other body parts.

It's basically like the collapsible bumper on a car. It doesn't have that hard shell which is a big improvement

in the design.

 

[Ram65]

In testing against 33 other helmets to measure which best reduces the severity of impact to the head, the Vicis ZERO1 finished first. Included in the study were helmets from Schutt and Riddell, which currently account for approximately 90 percent of helmet sales.

Vicis was founded by neurosurgeon Sam Browd and Dave Marver, former CEO of the Cardiac Science Corporation, with the goal of reducing the high rate of concussions in football.

It's great that there is this level of competition to find the best helmet to help protect football players. Looks like lots of science from a neurosurgeon and his team went into the new helmet. Hope it is a big step to keeping players better protected.

 

[Loyal]

So...that means guys hit with even less inhibition? That is the history of protective gear, because guy's get a sense of invulnerability. I am only half joking, but if we went back to leather helmets, there might be less head injuries because guys would be afraid to hit like they do now.

 

[UtahRam]

Do you think they'll thicken the horns on the new helmet?

 

[Riverumbbq]

OK, you've seen the 2018 helmet, lets now introduce the 2019 uniform :

 

[MadGoat]

"while maintaining the look and shape of a classic helmet."

This is one of the reasons I question NFL players commitment to their own safety. We've had a much safer helmet available to all levels of football for over 10 years. It's design was lightweight and added additional external padding. It was derided as the "Great Gazoo" helmet and dismissed. Just to restate... a safer helmet was dismissed because it LOOKED FUNNY. Concussions... style... concussions... style... tough choice, eh?

 

[den-the-coach]

as the "Great Gazoo" helmet and dismissed. Just to restate... a safer helmet was dismissed because it LOOKED FUNNY. Concussions... style... concussions... style... tough choice, eh?

 

[thomonkey]

No such thing as a safe helmet in full contact. It's physics and its effect on the brain within the skull. No helmet is "safe".

The helmets slow down the deceleration which reduces concussions. Obviously no contact whatsoever is ideal but this will significantly reduce the force of head contact.

 

[Leuzer]

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/t...all-is-set-to-make-its-nfl-debut-next-season/

The safest helmet in football is set to make its NFL debut next season

Player safety is one of the biggest issues facing football at all levels right now.

The NFL obviously has the most high-profile bout with figuring out a way to make the game safer for players, and the league may be on the verge of making a drastic shift thanks to new helmets. According to Inc.com, 25 NFL teams purchased the new ZERO1 helmet from the Seattle-based startup company Vicis and will distribute them in practices this spring.

The ZERO1 "features a pliable outer layer and an impact-absorbing core layer that cushions the wearer's head against violent collisions -- all, for the most part, while maintaining the look and shape of a classic helmet."

Here's a more detailed description from the company's website (which also features testimonials from several people that have used the helmet):

The ZERO1's multiple layers work together to slow impact forces. The helmet features a soft outer shell and an underlying layer of columns designed to mitigate collisions from multiple directions.

The ZERO1 delivers breakthroughs in safety based on current, state of the art testing protocols. It also elevates performance, featuring the industry's widest field of peripheral view and low aerodynamic drag. Our tagline is Protect the Athlete/Elevate the Game™ – and that's what we've done with the ZERO1.

And here's a video explaining how this works:



In testing against 33 other helmets to measure which best reduces the severity of impact to the head, the Vicis ZERO1 finished first. Included in the study were helmets from Schutt and Riddell, which currently account for approximately 90 percent of helmet sales.

Vicis was founded by neurosurgeon Sam Browd and Dave Marver, former CEO of the Cardiac Science Corporation, with the goal of reducing the high rate of concussions in football. While it would take years of play and further studies to conclusively prove that they've been successful, the studies show that they're on their way to making an impact.

And as it turns out, we may see the ZERO1 on the field pretty soon. "I'm quite confident you'll see this on several NFL players this season," Marver told Inc.com, though he refused to say which players might do so."It's up to them to reveal that."

It's worth noting that several current and former NFL players are part of Vicis' "coalition." Richard Sherman, Doug Baldwin, Bobby Wagner, Alex Smith, Jerry Rice, Tony Dorsett, Roger Staubach, and more are members of the advisory team.

It's be nice if this helmet actually does drastically reduce the amount of head injuries to NFL players. If so, I would hope Roger would consider eliminating the one helmet rule so other teams can incorporate their throwback uniforms again.

http://www.uni-watch.com/an-faq-for-the-nfls-helmet-rule/

 

[Mackeyser]

No such thing as a safe helmet in full contact. It's physics and its effect on the brain within the skull. No helmet is "safe".

I respectfully disagree.

What this helmet does that no other helmet does is allow the helmet to absorb significantly more force and along all three axes, including torsional and multiple vector impacts.

With the helmet being able to deform in the specific manner needed, the actual force being applied to the skull and the amount the skull decelerates is significantly reduced (which is what a concussion is, the brain decelerating rapidly within the skull, causing injury to the brain).

As for concerns about guys playing with even more abandon, I seriously doubt it. Guys are already playing as fast as they can and many teams are teaching SOME form of the Seattle tackling technique if for no other reason than guys with concussion can't play (the gamer quote is "dead toons do no dps"). As well, the league will continue to go hard on leading with the head even if this helmet outperforms and is seen as an innovation in preventing concussions.

Why? Well, the league has to stop the bleeding at the youth and high school level. College and the NFL make bank...now, but fewer and fewer kids are signing up for youth football.

Not that this helmet changes that, but what it can potentially do is reduce concussions enough that especially moms will let their child play...presuming they have this helmet.

Now, if you mean no helmet can be absolutely safe, I would agree with you, but this helmet is even safer than motorcycle helmets in that so much of those impacts may save the brain only to break the neck due to various forces at high speed (and they are generally pretty heavy and neck muscles aren't the strongest muscle even on strong guys).

Tl;dr When I look at the physics of this helmet, I'm genuinely impressed. On an engineering level, this helmet really is as big a difference from the Riddells of the world as hard shell helmets were to leather helmets. If they had this helmet when my son wanted to play football, (he and I have something in common in that we both have brain lesions, me from a seizure, him from a massive car accident when he was a baby) I would have let him play.

 

[Debacled]

Football will never be brain safe until it doesn't include a brain.

You can't subject the organ to the forces you see in collisions without some sort of side effects. I mean if you had them running around with beach ball sized helmets maybe, but that isn't going to happen.

Because the brain is free standing from the skull its pretty much impossible to eliminate damage from sudden stops.

 

[BeefJurky]

No such thing as a safe helmet in full contact. It's physics and its effect on the brain within the skull. No helmet is "safe".

Completely ignorant if you think there's no way to make it safer

 

[shaunpinney]

A fantastic new helmet that ability to absorb the impact will greatly reduce knocking 5 bells out of a player's brain. But however, as @LoyalRam mentioned, are players going to think the opposite and think they're invincible to hits? I've seen this in kids rugby when they wear under armour under their kit - they think they are Iron Man.

What if the massive pads and helmets were totally removed and players had to hit each other body on body - similar to rugby - I wonder if the way they tackled / hit each other would drastically change. I'd put money on there being less injuries in the game.

 

[Ramhusker]

What took so long? This is the same concept as safer barriers instituted in Nascar several years ago. This helmet will drastically reduce head injuries. Why isn't it in use THIS season? Money?

 

[bnw]

Completely ignorant if you think there's no way to make it safer

Better read what I wrote again. Better read up on what causes concussions then get back to us on how they have done an end around on the laws of physics and the human anatomy.

 

[bnw]

I respectfully disagree.

What this helmet does that no other helmet does is allow the helmet to absorb significantly more force and along all three axes, including torsional and multiple vector impacts.

With the helmet being able to deform in the specific manner needed, the actual force being applied to the skull and the amount the skull decelerates is significantly reduced (which is what a concussion is, the brain decelerating rapidly within the skull, causing injury to the brain).

As for concerns about guys playing with even more abandon, I seriously doubt it. Guys are already playing as fast as they can and many teams are teaching SOME form of the Seattle tackling technique if for no other reason than guys with concussion can't play (the gamer quote is "dead toons do no dps"). As well, the league will continue to go hard on leading with the head even if this helmet outperforms and is seen as an innovation in preventing concussions.

Why? Well, the league has to stop the bleeding at the youth and high school level. College and the NFL make bank...now, but fewer and fewer kids are signing up for youth football.

Not that this helmet changes that, but what it can potentially do is reduce concussions enough that especially moms will let their child play...presuming they have this helmet.

Now, if you mean no helmet can be absolutely safe, I would agree with you, but this helmet is even safer than motorcycle helmets in that so much of those impacts may save the brain only to break the neck due to various forces at high speed (and they are generally pretty heavy and neck muscles aren't the strongest muscle even on strong guys).

Tl;dr When I look at the physics of this helmet, I'm genuinely impressed. On an engineering level, this helmet really is as big a difference from the Riddells of the world as hard shell helmets were to leather helmets. If they had this helmet when my son wanted to play football, (he and I have something in common in that we both have brain lesions, me from a seizure, him from a massive car accident when he was a baby) I would have let him play.

We do disagree. Players are bigger and faster at all positions. No two people are the same regarding their ability to become concussed nor the cumulative effects over time. Aging is not taken into consideration which is a ridiculous oversight.....or is it?

 

[bnw]

The helmets slow down the deceleration which reduces concussions. Obviously no contact whatsoever is ideal but this will significantly reduce the force of head contact.

Safer perhaps, but not safe.