Impact Reduction Apparel has a kickstarter campaign for their product which is essentially a soft insert for a baseball cap made out of a substance that hardens on impact, much like we profiled back in 2007. Quicksilver had originally licensed the technology for snowboarding beanies, but then not much was heard about it. It remains unclear if this is the same technology or not, but it appears to do the same thing. It’s soft and pliable until microseconds after impact, after which the outside momentarily hardens into a shell. The idea being, maybe you secretly want to wear a helmet but are embarrassed. Or maybe you just want a little bit of protection. It’s a good idea if it works, although the short nature of the back of the ball cap might make it ineffective in real world situations. Does it cover enough skull to help if you wilson? I don’t want to find out. It looks like they did some not too scientific tests with fruit and vegetables before taking a more credible approach. The product has not been certified as a helmet yet, which is part of what they want your money for. They’re going to have to rethink the “IRA” name if they want to sell this in the UK…
7 comments
mb
Nice idea. I guess they’re not going for the Irish market with those initials though
Chris Eggers
No, this is stupid. This thing will fall off before the dome hits ground. No chin strap.
swelbow
what’s everybody got against real helmets?!?!? Devo wears a helmet, Evel Knieval wears a helmet, army men wear helmets. Therefore helmets are cool.
NWForty
Yeah, what you said.
ESPN
Does LeBron wear a helmet? Does Tebow wear a helmet? Yes. But can the hat Tebow? No. Therefore, helmets suck. -ESPN
Jessica
Interested in this product want to know how much it cost and want to buy one for two of my boys
Jim
Is there any way to purchase adult IRA?
thanks