When you think about how a helmet works to protect the head inside, If you think of absorption of the impact, you are partly correct.
That is, there is a limit to the amount of energy any helmet can manage to absorb. In this regard, it may be worth noting that the impact test speed for “Absorption” by most standards is less than 28 km/h.
As the kinetic energy goes up in proportion to the square of speed, the amount of energy involved in a real crash can be far bigger than the level any make of helmet can manage to absorb.
However,
The basic function of a helmet protecting the head from a severe blow of an impact is not only “Absorption”.
As many riding impacts are off center, or come at an angle, the intrusion of energy might be diminished as the helmet may skip or slide over obstacles avoiding some of the energy.
This enhances the chance arises that the energy getting into the helmet stays within the level “Absorption” could handle. We refer to this as “Glancing off”.
Did you know Arai is one of very few in the world aware of the importance of “Glancing off”?
Witnessing such scenes repeatedly, Arai has come to believe that “Glancing off” of the impact energy is a key to the enhanced head protection by helmets and Arai has been working to elevate its level ever since.
Although there has been no literature or article referring to “Glancing off”, we have studied the principles and functions of it through our own experiences and have been working to enhance its effectiveness independently.
The basis of “Glancing off” is undoubtedly a “Rounder, Smoother and Stronger Shell”, but when it comes to designing the structure of it on that basis, there has been no simple solution or magic wand. The real crashes are too unpredictable.
Did you know what Arai has actually done to raise the performance level of “Glancing off”?
We at Arai are proud to work for the protection of fellow riders, and feel it has become an important part in the meaning of our existence, but the unpredictable nature of some crash impacts can overwhelm even our helmets.
To live with such a fact, we have been struggling to enhance every aspect of a helmet’s ability to protect, no matter how small, and believe there is always some room left for improvement hidden within the many details of Glancing off, even though we did not know how much each improvement would add.
This accumulating, building and evolving numerous improvements, for the enhancement of Glancing off, has been the foundation of the difference of Arai through our long history.
Today, many in the world say that the protection performances shown by Arai are different from others.
There is an old saying; “The whole can be far greater than the sum of its parts”. If you consider some extreme performances shown by Arai, you might find some truth in that old saying.
Even though most of those parts may not be readily visible or likely to serve as a sales feature, they contribute to the cost of seeking to improve performance. But we have come to be convinced that this is the way to the enhancement of head protection against severe and unpredictable crash impacts.
Knowing that no one and nothing is perfect, we believe these extra efforts are worth the additional costs, especially considering that what we are seeking to protect is priceless.
30 июн 2024
