Tag: Schutt

Virginia Tech Releases 2012 Football Helmet Ratings

Last year Virginia Tech – Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences began testing adult football helmets. The school just released its 2012 ratings, and added two helmets with five-out-of-five stars, joining last year’s pick.

Testing the helmets is a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded project. The test uses the STAR Evaluation System, which is an acronym for the Summation of Tests for the Analysis of Risk. It involves performing 120 impacts on each helmet model at multiple locations and impact energies to evaluate the degree of head protection.

The Riddell Revolution Speed earned five stars last year. This year the Rawlings Quantum Plus and Riddell 360 also earned five stars. The Rawlings implus and Rawlings Quantum each earned four stars, which still falls in the recommended category for Virginia Tech. Continue reading Virginia Tech Releases 2012 Football Helmet Ratings

Are Football Helmets and Other Protective Gear Still Short of Goal Line?

Football season – including Professional, College and High School – is well underway, and beyond upsets and surprising victories, much of the talk this year continues to be about the helmets. NBC Sports noted last week that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick was looking to have his helmet re-fitted by Riddell, shifting from a Schutt helmet, possibly the version he wore when he suffered a concussion against the Atlanta Falcons.

Vick reported looked to have his helmet re-fitted by Unequal Technology, which would use Kevlar to “disburse the effects of a blow to the helmet.” It was also reported that while this technology is new to the gridiron it has been used in hockey helmet and of course in the military.

This reporter, who has experience as the author of books and articles on actual military helmets, can attest that there is a difference in what Kevlar is designed to do. Kevlar is typically used in ballistic helmets, namely those meant to stop a bullet on a battlefield to save a wearer’s life (where a concussion would be preferable to death), and not for the brunt force trauma that one might experience on the playing field. Continue reading Are Football Helmets and Other Protective Gear Still Short of Goal Line?