The Virginia Tech University Helmet Lab released its 2018 Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings for football helmets, awarding Vicis’ 2018 ZERO1 the highest available “5 STAR” rating.
The Vicis Zero1 earned a score of 1.92; followed by the Schutt F7 VTD, 2.54; Xenith X2E+, 2.92; Riddell Precision-FIT, 3.23 and Xenith EPIC+, 3.79 in the top five. Rounding out the top ten were the Riddell SpeedFlex, 4.49; SG DBS.001, 5.39; Schutt Vengeance Z10. 6.28; Schutt Vengeance Pro, 6.44 and Schutt F7, 6.50.
A total of 17 helmets were tested using Virginia Tech’s STAR methodology, which rates helmets based on the impact frequency and severity observed in high school and collegiate play. The full list is here.
“Virginia Tech provides objective, scientifically rigorous ratings that help parents, coaches, schools and players select the best-performing football helmets for high school and collegiate athletes,” said Dave Marver, CEO and co-founder of Vicis. “We are proud our ZERO1 helmet is now top ranked in both Virginia Tech Helmet Lab and NFL/NFLPA testing.”
Last year, more than 75 NFL players wore the ZERO1 during the course of its inaugural season. Originally introduced only to NFL and NCAA teams, the ZERO1 is now available to players at the high school level. At the completion of last season, Vicis took advantage of lower production costs to reduce the price of the ZERO1, making it more accessible to high school programs. As a result, in the first quarter of 2018 alone, players on more than 400 high school teams and 110 professional and college teams have committed to wearing the ZERO1, including several high school and collegiate programs which have purchased the helmet for their entire roster.
Photo courtesy Vicis
