Media & Reviews of KAli Naza Full Face Motorcycle Helmets

Herald-Sun 

March 8 2013 [email protected]

"An Australian physicist is overseeing a huge shift in helmet design. The KAli Naza helmet looks like a conventional lid with a carbon-fibre, Kevlar or fibreglass outer - but it is whats inside that inventor Don Morgan believes will save lives.

The expanded polystyrene foam inner is made of conical shapes of varying density that disperse energy on impact. No one wants to put their head to the ultimate test but Morgan says simulations and lab tests show his design reduces energy transfer to the riders head - the cause of brain damage or fatal injuries. "Even the best current helmet design transfers forces ( in a linerar fashion) in a crash," Morgan says.

In other words, the force of the impact goes directly onto the riders skull.

"With the cones, that impact force dissipitates much faster and is spread over a greater area."

Morgan's design has earned him a string of awards including the ABC's The New Inventors Title 2007, but it's been a long road to get the helmet in production.

Motorbike versions, for road and off-road use, are now being sold under the Kali brand. A trial of the Kali Naza shows it is one of the lightest lids on the market, making it ideal for extended use. It comes with varying shaped cheek pads to ensure a snug fit and the aero profile means it doesn't catch the wind at any angle. Nothing's perfect though and the minor chink in Kali's armour is wind noise at higher-than-legal speeds. It's far from the noisiest helmet on the market and can be eliminated by wearing ear buds - but I don't, at least not on the road whn hearing approaching cars can be as potentially lifesaving as the helmet itself. It's a minor trade off for its protective value and modest price.

Meanwhile, it's a lid I'm happy to wear....."

Revzilla USA

 Dragbike.com

Monday, May 14, 2012 by Darren Burnett

My search for a lighter helmet led me to KALI Protectives where I met Brad Waldron, an aerospace/composites engineer from California and one of the founders of KALI Protectives. After introductions and me telling Brad what I was looking for, he started explaining in detail the safety aspects of this new technology KALI has developed. I was immediately interested and we worked out an agreement for me to try one out !!

 I received the new KALI NAZA carbon just in time for a two day event/test at Bristol Dragway. Included in my package were a clear, a dark smoke, and an iridium anti-fog, anti-scratch shield, an ultra soft helmet cover, and a very nice storage/travel bag!! I selected the “Darkness” edition with a high gloss black over carbon fiber finish and subtle graphics.

 I wear a medium (57-58 cm 22 3/8 to 22 ¾ in 7 1/8 to 7 ¼ hat size) and this one fit very well. The first and most noticeable thing about this new NAZA is the weight….drastically lighter than my other helmets. The shell design offers a great benefit for motorcycle drag racers…the upward contour in the rear allows for a really great tuck position. There is no interference between helmet and leathers at all and the front of the chin area is actually dropped down a bit to offer better aero dynamics. I noticed after the first couple of passes how much of an improvement this shape was over previous helmets and again, the lighter weight was fantastic!

 Qualifying runs were in mid day with bright sunny conditions. I decided to try the iridium shield. It is very effective in reducing glare while maintaining superb visibility. Eliminations were held after dark so I switched from the iridium to the clear shield. On my second run I tested out the anti-fog claim by closing my shield completely before the burnout and left it closed until after the run. Even during the intense moment between staging and the tree activating, I did not experience any sign of fogging!

 Day two of testing saw three back to back runs in the upper 190’s with the NAZA helmet performing flawlessly. Fit, feel and finish were all very nice and the added comfort of the shell design when in race position as well as the light weight really impressed me! Anyone in the market for a new helmet, either for street riding or track days should take a moment and look into the KALI Protectives line. Light weight, innovative design and cutting edge technology in safety all combine to make them well worth checking out !!

Q. Where can I try on Kali motorbike helmets?

A. At our factory showroom at 4/11 Urban St Braeside VIC. Open 9am to 4 pm Mon-Fri..

Composite Fusion PLUS Technology in Kali Motorcycle Helmets

The purpose of a helmet is to absorb the energy of an impact to minimize or prevent a head injury. A helmet does this by transferring the energy to the foam, which crushes as it absorbs the impact. However, the way in which a helmet is constructed plays an important role in how the helmet absorbs the energy.

There are basically two ways that most companies construct a helmet. The traditional construction of full-face and skate-style helmets features impact foam glued to a hard outer shell. The other common way, which is typically used in cross-country-style helmets, has the foam molded directly to the hard exterior shell and is commonly referred to as in-molding.

Using an advanced form of in-molding, Kali has developed two designs that effectively disperse impact energy better than a traditional full-face helmet, which allows them to offer the same or better protection as other helmets in a lighter package. The secret is in their patented manufacturing technique and tooling; Kali is the first company to figure out how to produce the full outside shell of a full-face and then to have the EPS injected inside that formed shell. Here’s a quick overview of a traditional full-face helmet construction compared to Kali’s COMPOSITE FUSION™ and COMPOSITE FUSION™ Plus technology. 

In the above picture, a traditional full-face helmet design features foam glued to the inside of the outer shell. While this helmet construction can provide adequate protection, it is not ideal because the design can leave gaps in between the foam and the shell. When a helmet sustains an impact, the force must first break through the hard shell before it gets to the part of the helmet that dissipates the energy. Besides offering a more durable helmet covering, the main role of a hard exterior is to help spread out the impact energy across more of the foam inside the helmet to absorb the shock. In addition, many helmet manufacturers use dual density foam to help absorb the impact energy more efficiently.

Kali’s Composite Fusion™ design provides a super tight (almost molecular) bond between the helmet shell and the energy absorbing material inside. This tight connection between these two materials prevents gaps, which transfers shock more efficiently through to the softer EPS foam materials. It also allows Kali to use a thinner shell that breaks down faster and allows the energy to be absorbed more efficiently. Kali also uses dual density foam, with the softer material near the head, to dissipate the energy sustained from an impact.

Taking the COMPOSITE FUSION™ technology a step further, Kali’s COMPOSITE FUSION ™ Plus has the same super tight connection but also incorporates a special impact foam design. Using geometric shapes of different densities inside the foam, the Composite Fusion™ Plus technology further helps dissipate the shock forces as they travel through the foam. In this image, the different colors of the dual density foam highlight the pyramid shape of the Composite Fusion™ Plus design, with the softer material near the head. Interestingly enough the Plus design is based on an Australian Invention, CONEHEAD TECHNOLOGY, which won World Inventor Of the Year in 2012 for its creator Don Morgan of Queensland!

G-Force Scale

Based on thousands of actual test results, this G-Force Scale demonstrates how impact force is registered and dissipated as the helmet takes impact. As you can see by the illustration, different types of helmet construction and materials absorb and dissipate impact energy differently.

Traditional As a traditional helmet absorbs the force of an impact, the transition from the hard shell to the foam is highlighted by a dip in the impact energy being absorbed (as the shell breaks down). This is not only inefficient, but can allow the energy to slightly magnify rather than continue dissipating.

COMPOSITE FUSION™ The way in which a COMPOSITE FUSION™ helmet absorbs the energy of an impact is much more fluid and effective than a traditional helmet. The smooth curve provides constant impact dissipation through the super tight shell/foam connection, reducing energy spikes.

COMPOSITE FUSION™ PLUS Compared to a COMPOSITE FUSION™ helmet, a COMPOSITE FUSION™ Plus helmet is even more efficient at absorbing impact energy, thanks to it additionally channeling impact energy laterally through its geometric shapes of dual-density foams. This promotes constant energy dissipation until the impact is relieved.

The Verdict

The G-Force Scale sidebar is a good way to compare the different ways that a Traditional, COMPOSITE FUSION™ and COMPOSITE FUSION™ Plus helmet design deals with energy absorption. You can see that Kali’s helmet designs disperse impact energy much more effectively and efficiently than a traditional full-face helmet. This not only makes their helmets safer but also allows them to be lighter. 

Brad Waldron, Head Engineer and Founder of Kali briefly explains the use of Australian Conehead Technology in their motorcycle helmets. 

You can read more about the Australian Inventor of this technolgy below.

Don E. Morgan is a physicist, educator and motivational speaker.
He is a member of the Australian Institute of Physics and has investigated serious motorcycle and bicycle accidents, as a crash investigator, for the Queensland Police.

Don’s Journey - From Idea to Conehead motorbike helmets being sold worldwide!

1980s

Don was a research scientist in a team that comprehensively investigated the effectiveness of bicycle and motorcycle helmets. The project was funded by the Australian Federal Office of Road Safety and was conducted at the now Queensland University of Technology. During the four year-long project, the research team conducted tests on bike helmets to the Australian standards for both bike and motorcycle helmets. The research team was the first in Australia to carry out crash simulations of motorcycle accidents. The project also tested the strengths of bones from different age groups of people. In the later stages of the project tests were carried out on a cadaver wearing helmets of different masses.

Don attended fatal motorcycle and bicycle accidents throughout the Brisbane area with the police Traffic Accident Investigation Squad. He gained a better understanding of the accident and retrieved the helmet from the accident for later examination.

One of the more important crash features that clearly stood out with the helmets from accidents was that the foam liner showed little or no evidence of damage or crushing and yet the injury report or post mortem stated the motorcyclists or cyclists had sustained intracranial injuries. It was mainly from this information that Don and his fellow researchers concluded that the liners in cycling helmets were too hard and stiff and the liners did not effectively absorb an impact force. In other words, on impact the forces were readily translated through the thickness of the hard foam liner to the skull. One of the recommendations made in the final report on the effectiveness of helmets was that the liner should be softened and made of low density foam.

1990s

While Don was working on another research project, his eldest daughter was learning to ride a bicycle. When Don examined her helmet and pressed his thumb against the foam liner he was shocked to find that it was hard as a brick and he couldn’t leave an impression in the liner. The fact that the liner was so hard and was unable to be compressed contradicted the recommendations of the research that he had completed, which was to make helmet foam liners softer.

In addition, foam liners in helmets did not differentiate between a child’s skull and an adult’s skull. A child’s skull is more deformable than an adult’s skull and therefore is less protective of the brain. Also, the foam liners in helmets did not accommodate the variation in the different strengths and thicknesses of different sections of the human skull.

The thought of embedding low density foam cones within the thickness of the high density foam came to Don in 1993. When a force is applied to cones they will initially compress or crush and, as the force continues to be applied, they become harder to compress or crush. Cones are great shock absorbers and when crushed the energy will be spread sideways.

2000s

Don received a research grant from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. He manufactured and performed comparative tests between flat foam samples of the new Conehead liner and single-density foam typically found in current helmets. The independent comparative test results clearly showed the new foam liner with cones performed better in absorbing an impact force than the single-density hard foam.

2004

The Hong Kong based Strategic Sports Limited, one of the largest manufacturers of helmets in the World, responded to Don’s email outlining his idea and that was the start of Conhead becoming a reality thanks to the innovative attitude of Doctor Philip Cheng and his son Norman who head Strategic Sports Limited.

2010

Don signed a license agreement with Strategic Sports giving them exclusive rights to the development and manufacturing of Conehead helmets.

The first Kali helmet, incorporating the Conhead liner, for dirt bike riders, went on sale in the United States of America 

2012

Today there are helmets with the Conehead liner selling world-wide. These include motorcycle, dirt bike, bicycle, skiing, mountain and horse riding helmet.

Kali Helmets is a proud supporter of Conehead Technology and uses it extensivley in its dirt, motorcycle, road bicycle and downhill helmets.