What is Mips, and what is it designed to do?

The name is short for Multi-directional Impact Protection System. Mips is a Swedish company that licenses the system to helmet brands. Its own FAQ says it is used by more than 150 brands, and that on a helmet, the layer sits inside, generally between the padding and the foam protective layer.

Mips says the layer is designed to move slightly inside the helmet in a crash, by 10 to 15 millimeters in certain angled impacts, and that the system adds about 25 to 45 grams. Those are the maker's figures, and we are passing them along as the maker's.

Where did it come from? Horse & Hound reported in 2019 that development began in 1995, when a Swedish neurosurgeon, Hans von Holst, wondered why patients who had been wearing helmets still arrived with serious brain injuries. The magazine also reported that the technology has been used in riding helmets since about 2008 or 2009, though cycling and skiing were bigger markets at the time.

On a riding helmet, "Mips" in the model's name means that model carries the licensed system. You can see the riding helmets we carry with it on our Mips helmets page.

Mips's FAQ compares it to a tennis ball hitting the ground after a racket stroke: you land at an angle, and that exposes the head to rotational motion. Mips says studies have shown rotational motion can be more dangerous than straight-line impacts, and calls it a common cause of concussions and more severe brain injury in angled hits. That is the maker's account of why it built the system.

How does that compare with the certification tests? Practical Horseman, reporting on the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab in 2022, described the ASTM/SEI tests as dropping helmeted headforms in fixed positions onto a flat anvil and a sharp-edged one, set up to measure a helmet's response to linear acceleration. It said the lab's approach adds a measurement of rotational acceleration on top of that. If you want the plain-English version of the standards, our bike helmet page walks through what ASTM F1163 tests and why it differs from the bicycle standard.

Horse & Hound's 2019 article added that a committee member for the European riding helmet standard said work was underway on a test head that recreates the spinning effect of an angled fall. That was seven years ago. Standards change, so if you need the current text of a certification, check the standards body or your event's rule book rather than relying on an article.

The Mips FAQ says to look for a yellow dot on the back of the helmet. On many helmets you can see an extra layer inside. On others the layer is built into the comfort padding and may not be as visible, so the dot and the packaging are the better clues. Our Mips page lists the same three cues: the dot, a thin slick liner inside, and Mips in the product name or description.

Can you add it later? According to Mips, no. It says the system is built into the helmet during manufacturing, and that if your helmet does not already have it, you cannot add it yourself. Some makers sell refit liners to change a helmet's size, but those do not add Mips to a helmet that was built without it.

• The yellow dot, usually on the back of the shell (Mips FAQ).
• A thin, slick layer inside, under or built into the padding.
• "Mips" in the model name or the description.
• Ask the maker if you are still unsure, especially with a used helmet.

Mips's own home page tells riders to always use a helmet that is intended for their activity. Its riding-helmet page lists the type of riding, comfort and fit among the things to weigh, alongside the system itself. And Back on Track, which makes helmets with the system, told the Chronicle of the Horse in 2022 that proper size and fit, including head shape, are most important.

Mips also says plainly that it cannot guarantee how any specific helmet will perform in a given accident, because every crash is different. That is worth keeping in mind next to any marketing line you read, from any brand.

Certification is the starting line. Every helmet in the Virginia Tech ratings, the lab says, has already passed an American or European certification standard. If you are sorting out the tag words, our barn words glossary explains ASTM, SEI and Mips together, and our helmet ratings page covers which certifications US Equestrian, US Pony Clubs and the FEI accept.

Fit comes before features. If you have not measured yet, start with how to measure your head, and if shape is the problem, round or oval head covers it.

The Virginia Tech Helmet Lab, a university lab, publishes the equestrian ratings explained on our helmet ratings page. Its method, as it describes it: 16 laboratory impacts on each helmet using two devices, a pendulum impactor for falls when the horse is slow or stationary and an oblique drop tower for falls at speed. For every impact it measures both linear and rotational head acceleration, then combines them into a STAR score, where a lower score means a better result.

Here is what the sources we read say, kept to what each one actually said:

It is one of the questions we see most, in several wordings: is Mips worth it, is it better to have it or not, is it necessary. The honest answer is that it depends on which claim you weigh most. Here is what each side has said.

Mips says its system is designed to help reduce rotational motion in certain impacts and is intended to help reduce the risk of brain injury, and that it has run more than 50,000 tests of its own in Stockholm. It also says it has reviewed independent labs and that there are doctoral theses on the system. Those are claims from the company that makes it.

The independent ratings take a different route. They do not give credit for a feature by name. They measure how each helmet model performs in their own tests, and the Chronicle's report of the first release shows Mips models at the top and near the bottom of that list. A star rating tells you how one model did in one lab's protocol. It cannot tell you how a particular fall will go.

Practical differences are smaller. Mips puts the added weight at 25 to 45 grams. It is not on every helmet, so choosing it narrows your options on style, brand and fit. If two certified helmets fit your head and the barn is fine with either, it is reasonable to look up each one's rating and compare features, and to let fit and comfort break the tie, since a helmet you will actually wear every ride is the point.

The Virginia Tech lab also notes that any rider in any sport can sustain a head injury even with the best head protection, and that its ratings are based on trends and probabilities, so a specific person's risk may vary.

That order follows what the sources above say: certification is the baseline Virginia Tech assumes, fit is what the makers themselves stress, the ratings compare certified models, and Mips is one extra among others such as venting, weight and a visor.

Not sure which event rules apply to you? Ask your barn or show organizer, because rules differ by organization and change over time. Already own a helmet? Our page on when to replace a helmet covers dates and falls, and it applies whether or not the helmet has Mips.

• Certification tag from a standard your barn or show accepts (ASTM F1163 with SEI, PAS 015, VG1 and others).
• Fit: measured, level on the head and snug, and right for your head shape.
• Ratings: if two certified helmets fit, compare their Virginia Tech results.
• Features: Mips, ventilation, weight, visor, replaceable liner, in the order that matters to you.