In 2010 we noticed some vert skaters, downhill skaters, BMX riders and Roller Derby players were getting knocked out and in some instances getting traumatic brain injuries while wearing traditional soft foam skate helmets. We decided to take the soft foam helmets into the testing lab and learned that the impact energy goes directly through the soft foam helmets and rattles the brain. So we set out to make a better and safer helmet. We came up with the S1 Lifer Helmet. The S1 Lifer Helmet is constructed with EPS Fusion Foam and is 5x more protective than soft foam skate helmets. The S1 Lifer Helmet passes the ASTM multiple impact test and the CPSC high impact test (soft foam helmets fail both of these certification tests).
We have taken steps to educate the public about the S1 Lifer Helmet through videos and printed media. Most skaters and parents did not know that traditional soft foam skate helmets did not pass any helmet safety standards. They usually only learned the difference after a head injury and that is too late. A Mom who watched her 15 year old son get knocked out for 5 long minutes in the bottom of a pool while wearing a soft foam helmet later said to me, ‘I didn’t know there was a difference between the S1 Lifer Helmet and soft foam skate helmets. We bought the soft foam helmet at a skate shop and just figured it was a good helmet. I really wish I knew before’.
We made a helmet that we would want to wear and that we could 100% recommend to family, friends and team riders. When you are wearing an S1 Lifer Helmet you know that you are wearing the best and if you own a retail shop you know that you are offering the best helmet to your customers.
“ Dan McCashin Co Founder / S1 Helmets
Impact Testing Videos: