MIPS vs ERT: What’s the Difference-and Why We Chose ERT

Snowboarder wearing a helmet performing a stunt

Helmet tech has come a long way. These days, most riders know that protecting your head isn’t just about a brain bucket. It’s about finding a helmet that can handle the forces your brain would actually experiences in a crash.

Two names you’ll hear a lot are MIPS and ERT. Both are designed to reduce brain injury, but they work in very different ways. So why does Mad Hatter use ERT instead of MIPS?

Let’s break it down.

First, a quick look at MIPS

MIPS (Multi-Directional Impact Protection System) is the most well-known helmet safety add-on out there — and for good reason.

If you clip an edge, slide out, or catch a rut, and your head hits the ground at an angle. That creates rotational forces, which are especially hard on the brain at higher speeds. MIPS addresses this by adding a low-friction layer inside the helmet that allows it to rotate slightly around your head during an angled impact.

That small movement can help reduce the rotational energy transferred to your brain, which is a big improvement over traditional helmets.

MIPS works, and it’s absolutely better than nothing.

So what is ERT?

ERT™ (Energy Reduction Technology) takes a different approach.

Instead of relying on movement between layers, ERT uses soft, engineered polymer pads built directly into the helmet. When an impact happens- whether it’s straight or angled, those pads compress and deform, absorbing and dispersing energy before it reaches your head.

What makes this important is when ERT works.

Most helmet safety standards test impacts at very high forces, around 300 Gs. As a reference a 165lb (75 kg) would need to fall at around 38 mph on hard pack surfcaes to generate 300Gs. But most head injuries and concussions happen at much lower forces, often closer to 100 Gs. ERT is specifically designed to activate at these lower, more common impact levels. The kinds of falls riders actually experience day to day.

In other words, ERT isn’t just there for catastrophic crashes. It works in the smaller, more frequent hits too.

MIPS vs ERT — what’s the real difference?

Here’s the simplest way to think about it:

• MIPS reduces rotational forces by allowing the helmet to move slightly around your head (no linear/straight down) force protection.

• ERT reduces both rotational and linear forces by absorbing energy directly.

MIPS relies on controlled motion.ERT relies on controlled energy absorption.

Why we chose ERT at Mad Hatter

When we were designing our helmets, the question wasn’t “what’s the most popular tech?” It was:

“What protects riders best in real-world crashes?”

Here’s why ERT made the most sense for us.

1. Protection at the impact levels that matter most

Big crashes get attention, but many head injuries happen in falls that don’t look dramatic at all. ERT is designed to respond at lower impact energies - not just at the extreme end of the spectrum.

2. One system, multiple forces

Crashes are messy. They’re rarely perfectly straight or perfectly angled. ERT helps manage both linear and rotational forces at the same time, instead of focusing on just one type of motion.

3. Independent testing backed it up

Third-party lab testing showed ERT performing extremely well in reducing both rotational and linear impact forces, which gave us confidence that this wasn’t just theory, but measurable performance.

4. Comfort still matters

Safety tech doesn’t help if the helmet isn’t comfortable enough to wear all day. ERT’s soft polymer pads integrate cleanly into the helmet, without pressure points or awkward fit issues.

The bottom line

MIPS is a solid technology and a big step forward from traditional helmet designs. But for us, ERT offered broader protection across more realistic crash scenarios, especially the lower-energy impacts that are most often linked to concussions.

That’s why every Mad Hatter helmet is built around ERT.

At the end of the day, the best helmet is the one you actually wear — and we believe it should protect you not just in worst-case crashes, but in the everyday falls that come with riding.

If you want to dive deeper into the science behind ERT, you can check it out here:👉 https://www.madhatterware.com/ert