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Xenith Aware-Flow Shock Absorbers: Can Your Helmet Do This?
March 11th, 2024
Keenan Crow
Xenith was founded on the idea of creating cutting-edge solutions to build better football helmets. The two main differences between Xenith helmets and traditional helmets is the Adaptive Fit attachment system and the protective system.
In most traditional helmets available today, the protective system is made up of a series of pads attached directly to the helmet shell to help mitigate linear forces. However, anytime the helmet shell moves, the head is also going to move with it. Xenith helmets are different because the protective system is primarily made up of our integrated shock liner and intelligent Aware-Flow™ shock absorbers, which are only loosely coupled (attached) to the helmet shell and allow them to move independently upon impact.
This pneumatic ram impact testing video highlights how the integrated shock liner and shock absorbers move independently of the helmet shell upon impact to separate the head from the hit, and reduce rotational impact energy.
Aware-Flow Shock Absorbers
Xenith’s Single-Stage and Multi-Stage Aware-Flow™ shock absorbers are uniquely designed to adapt to varying levels of impacts/hits and dissipate the energy by collapsing to vent air for a more complete and gradual compression, compared to a foam material that only partially compresses before packing into a dense solid - creating a more sudden change in velocity than the Aware-Flow™ technology.
Single-Stage Shock Absorbers
Xenith’s foundational technology; Single-Stage shocks - utilized in our X2E+ helmet - are tuned for optimal response to all football impacts through carefully engineered stiffness parameters and controlled air flow.
These intelligent Aware-Flow™ shock absorbers were designed to respond and adapt to the level of force applied, controlling energy more efficiently and providing optimal protection from a wide range of impacts.
Multi-Stage Shock Absorbers
As an extension of the Single-Stage shock technology, Multi-Stage shocks - utilized in our Shadow helmet - feature an interior and exterior layer that work together to compress and flex in response to linear or rotational forces.
Multi-Stage shocks add a stair-stepped redundancy, which improves their responsiveness to elevated impact energy and allows for an even more dynamic response to rotational forces.
Xenith Helmets
Can Your Helmet Do This?
A common misconception is that hard, fast collisions are the leading cause to head injuries for football players. However, a study led by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Rochester Medical Center indicates how low-to-medium subconcussive impacts are just as important as the high level impacts.
By utilizing these intelligent Aware-Flow™ shock absorbers, Xenith helmets are the only helmets that can adapt to guard against both high and low level impacts experienced on the football field.
"Public perception is that the big hits are the only ones that matter. It's what people talk about and what we often see being replayed on TV," said senior study author Brad Mahon, an associate professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon and scientific director of the Program for Translational Brain Mapping at the University of Rochester. "The big hits are definitely bad, but with the focus on the big hits, the public is missing what's likely causing the long-term damage in players' brains. It's not just the concussions. It's everyday hits, too."
Check out the video below for more information about Xenith's revolutionary helmet technology: