“Much like how airbags became a safety standard in cars, we see MIPS as an equally important safety component in helmets,” says MIPS CEO Johan Thiel. “For 2015, we are pleased to add several new brand partners and to expand the product offering with some of our long-standing customers.”

The MIPS brain protection system reduces rotational forces on the brain caused by angled impacts to the head. In a MIPS helmet, the shell and liner are separated by a low friction layer that lets the helmet slide relative to the head during impact. The MIPS design was inspired by the cerebral spinal fluid surrounding the human brain, which allows it to slide inside the head on impact. MIPS mimics this protective mechanism by giving the helmet its own low-friction layer which also slides to absorb much of the energy created by an angled blow to the head.