ZERO 1 YOUTH HELMET

The Zero1 Youth - designed for kids and the game they play. We started with a blank sheet of paper and asked the question, “How do we create the ultimate in head protection for youth players?” Where our competitors had simply scaled down adult helmet designs, VICIS would not resort to cutting corners. Of course, we leveraged what we had learned from developing the Zero1, but this is truly a purpose-built helmet, with every feature and function designed around the youth player. Achieving the best-ever performance score on Virginia Tech’s youth helmet ratings by a healthy margin at the initial launch, the Zero1 Youth re-set the new standard.

Time Magazine's Invention of The Year
In addition to impact performance, our R&D team paid particular attention to helmet fit and stability. We updated our liner system to accommodate more head shapes and sizes, all while improving ease of use and reducing cost by moving to the universal interface. Lastly, we focused on weight reduction, not to over-stress the developing neck musculature of younger players. With a new design came new test and prototyping challenges. We evolved our thinking and expanded our tool set to give us the maximum opportunity to optimize the design without compromising the schedule. Developing unique youth-specific test methods and leveraging cutting edge 3DP technologies and materials were key to this successful launch.