Helmet Safety: POC Receptor Backcountry MIPS Helmet

There are many ways to keep yourself safe while skiing or riding, I would have to say a helmet is the first and most important piece to procure.  I don’t have to tell you that your brain is the most important part of your body to protect, no matter what you are doing.  I may aggravate a few people by saying this, but I am astonished that there are still people who do not wear a helmet on the ski slopes.  You could be the best skier on the planet, but that won’t stop some yahoo in blue jeans who doesn’t have a clue, from clocking your blindside at 4o MPH.  Any helmet is better than no helmet but today we are here to talk about the creme of the crop in safety; the POC Receptor Backcountry MIPS helmet.

I (thankfully) was forced into buying this helmet in January of last year.  I was wearing a helmet that was probably 5 years old and had some dings and dents in it when I rammed into a tree going pretty fast, I was quite concussed to say the least.  It is not important the brand of helmet I was wearing for the crash, because I should have replaced it sooner anyway.  Just another reason helmets need to be replaced every 4-5 years even if there are no major dents.  As you can see, I spend most of my time in the trees, where a MIPS helmet is absolutely crucial.

An important thing to understand is that for decades helmets have been mostly designed to protect against skull fractures, not necessarily concussions.  POC was the first company to introduce MIPS , a technology that will actually reduce impact and dissipate force.  The simple way to explain MIPS technology is 2 separate shells that rotate independantly from one another.  The idea is that you take the impact on the outer shell and the inner shell, that is snug to your head, continues to rotate so that you do not take all of the force in one spot.

While POC was the first helmet company to utilize MIPS technology, starting in 2016 you will start to see more and more brands, like Smith, using MIPS technology.  If you like what you are hearing and would like to research MIPS further, you should check out the MIPS technology website, here!

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