What’s the safest helmet?

The science is clear: helmets save lives and reduce the risk of traumatic brain injuries. But picking the best helmet for a specific sport can get tricky, with so many different designs and materials to choose from. Take the game of cricket, for example. Its rules may be complex, but the risks are straightforward. A team’s bowler hurls a leather covered, hard cork ball towards the opposing batter at speeds averaging 80 mph, while successful hits send the projectile towards a field of 10 other players.

While not particularly popular in most of the United States yet, it remains one of the world’s most watched competitive sports. The most recent Cricket World Cup held in 2023 set multiple broadcasting records, with an estimated 518 million people in India alone watching on TV. Factor in all the people playing on amateur, school, and minor league teams, and that adds up to plenty of chances for disastrous head injuries without the proper protection. So what helmet works best, and why? According to a research team at China’s Chongqing Jiaotong University, the answer is clear after enlisting the help of computational simulations–but it still likely depends on your skill level. Their findings were published on July 15 in the journal AIP Advances.

Researchers focused on helmets constructed with three types of materials—a strong plastic called Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), aluminum composites, and fiberglass alloys. While pricier helmets are often constructed from aluminum composites and fiberglass alloys, those made from strong plastics like Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) and other polymers tend to be more popular.

“These materials are not only light, but also have high energy absorption characteristics,” study co-author Tao Wang explained in a statement.

That doesn’t mean they are necessarily the best choice, however. To determine their performance comparisons, Wang and colleagues designed a virtual testing program based on precisely measured models of not just each helmet’s geometry, but the cranial structure they are designed to protect. They then ran multiple simulations to monitor how a cricket ball’s impact against each helmet variant distributed stress and strain across and into cerebral tissue.

After analyzing the data, Wang’s team determined that a player’s best selection frequently depends on their level of play. When it comes to training or recreational sports, ABS helmets are often sufficient protection. However, that changes for more experienced players and professional athletes. Once reaching that elite status, the safer options are fiberglass or aluminum. While the latter is more brittle, it’s better at evenly distributing stress across the head’s surface, lowering the risk of traumatic injury.

Wang cautioned that these model-driven rules don’t necessarily translate across every sport beyond cricket. It’s vital that coaches, players, and helmet designers factor in their specific game’s various possibilities, such as a ball’s interaction with gravity, rebound potential, angle, and more.

“Each sport should be checked individually, because loading conditions are different in different sports,” Wang said.

Despite this, the study reinforces the importance of continued research into helmet improvements and sports-related injuries. Meanwhile, when it comes to selecting protection before heading out onto a field, one rule remains constant: almost any helmet is better than nothing.