New Products
New Helmet Technology From SharkWe can't count the number of times a helmet manufacturer has shown up with a bunch of helmet bags in tow bragging about their "new helmet technology," which means they've found a new way to apply graphics, they've introduced graphics on their liner or they're introducing a new material for the chin strap. Honestly, it is hard to get excited about 20-year-old technology with a new paintjob. And while the manufacturing processes have made getting a carbon-fiber or carbon-Kevlar shell more affordable, it is technology that was available in 1985 and was being used in NHRA and F1 racing, so there hasn't really been anything new from a helmet manufacturer in a long time.
Well, until now! The engineers from Shark Helmets changed everything when they introduced something from the automobile industry into each and every one of their helmets-crumple zones. That's right, they have figured out that by removing some of the foam material from inside the helmet, they could actually create a crumple zone and help to absorb some of the energy better than a traditional helmet and reduce the number of brain injuries resulting from motorcycle accidents.
What they've done is taken the hard foam that is the traditional first barrier of protection between the hard outer shell of the helmet and your head and softened it up by removing some of it. Shark's engineers figured out they could reduce the shock between the point of impact on the outside of the helmet and the amount of the impact felt by the person wearing it by making that hard foam give. And that means it has to have somewhere to go inside the helmet. Well, with a traditional helmet, that hard foam doesn't have anywhere to go, so there isn't much reduction in the force between the impact to the exterior of the helmet and the head inside. But with the new Shark helmet, the hard foam has air pockets cast into it, and these veins of air actually give the hard foam someplace to go during an impact, acting as a crumple zone inside the helmet and helping to actually soften the blow felt by the person wearing it.
Now before you try taking a melon baller to your favorite helmet to create your own crumple zone, let us explain why theirs works and yours won't. The folks from Shark reworked the foam density in the crown area of the helmet to make up for the missing material as well as engineered the width of the "ribs" that run from front to back to offer maximum protection while still allowing them to collapse under impact. All of their helmets passed the DOT, Snell and ECE 22-05 (the World Superbike standard) testing with flying colors. In fact, a Shark is one of the few helmets you can buy off the shelf in America that comes standard with the ECE 22-05 certification.
So what does all of this new technology cost? Well, it is available in every level helmet that Shark builds, ranging in price from $199.95 all the way up to $629.95. And there is even a convertible version that switches from a full-face into an open-face with the push of a button going through testing right now which should be available by the end of the year.
For more information, visit www.shark-helmets.com, or contact Tucker Rocky at www.powersportrider.com.