Born from brain research
Mips wasn't created by a helmet company. It started in 1996, when Swedish neurosurgeon Hans von Holst of the Karolinska Institute teamed up with Peter Halldin, a researcher at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, to study how helmets could better protect the brain in angled impacts.
Their work became the Multi-directional Impact Protection System (Mips®), and in 2007 the first helmet equipped with it. Today Mips is used in helmets for cycling, snow sports, construction and motorsport, and Mips has tested more than 100,000 helmets at its laboratory north of Stockholm, Sweden.
Kabuto took that research to the top of motorcycle racing: the F-17 was the first MotoGP™ helmet equipped with the Mips® safety system.
Most crashes don't hit the helmet square-on. They strike at an angle, which can set the head rotating.
Inside a Mips-equipped helmet, a low-friction layer sits between the comfort padding and the impact-absorbing EPS liner. In an angled impact it allows 10–15 mm of movement in all directions, designed to help redirect rotational motion away from the head.
1996
Research begins
Brain-injury research at the Karolinska Institute and KTH in Stockholm
10–15 mm
Movement in all directions
Allowed by the low-friction layer in an angled impact
100,000+
Helmets tested
At the Mips test lab north of Stockholm, Sweden
Figures from Mips (mipsprotection.com).
From track days to adventure touring, falls rarely happen square-on. Here's what Mips adds to a Kabuto helmet.
Real-world crashes usually strike at an angle, which can make the head rotate. That's the motion Mips is designed to help manage.
A thin layer between the padding and the EPS liner lets the helmet move slightly relative to the head during an impact.
The Kabuto F-17 was the first MotoGP™ helmet equipped with the Mips® safety system.
Mips publishes the science, test methods and third-party studies behind its system.
All models include Mips® Safety System
Questions about Mips in Kabuto helmets? Email support@kabutoamericas.com.
Mips (Multi-directional Impact Protection System) is a safety system built into the helmet. It's designed to help reduce rotational motion transferred to the head in angled impacts.
A low-friction layer between the comfort padding and the EPS liner allows 10–15 mm of movement in all directions during an angled impact. That movement is designed to help redirect rotational motion away from the head.
When a helmet hits a surface at an angle, the head can be set rotating. Brain tissue is sensitive to rotational motion, which is why Mips focuses on angled impacts.
It's built into the inside of the helmet, between the comfort padding and the EPS liner. There's nothing to adjust or maintain.
The F-17 GP Mips, GEOSYS GT Mips and Aeroblade-F Mips. Look for the Mips badge on each product page.
No. It grew out of brain-injury research that began in 1996 at the Karolinska Institute and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.
