Player Protection: Riddell and Carbon Team Up to Produce the Latest Helmet Innovation

By Peter Schwartz | Posted 2/20/2019

The biggest concern for youth football parents is always the safety of their child, and a major component of player safety is properly fitting helmet. From the ‘been there and done that’ department, it’s not uncommon for a child to try on anywhere from five to ten helmets until they find a good fit. 

Parents should really consider purchasing a helmet for their young athlete because it’s important to have one that fits well, is comfortable and is quality made. Not to mention, some football programs don’t distribute helmets that have the latest safety technology or are designed to fit their child correctly.

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Riddell, the official protective equipment partner of USA Football, has partnered with Carbon to bring customized, digital design innovation to head protection through the new Diamond helmet platform.

“We’re super excited to bring this technology to market,” said Thad Ide, Riddell’s Senior Vice-President of Research and Product Development. The new technology is available in the Riddell SpeedFlex Precision Diamond helmet model, which features the Precision-Fit head scanning and helmet fitting process.

Carbon uses custom technology to create an impact absorbing helmet liner that is designed to bring head protection to the next level. The liner will allow for custom and individualized fits for athletes. This past season select players on NFL teams used Riddell’s new helmets and the feedback was positive across the board.

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“A number of players wore the helmet right to the end of the season,” said Ide. “A couple of them were even in the playoffs. I would expect demand to be pretty significant next season.”

These helmets will be commercially available on a limited basis at the elite level this year and the plan is for this technology to eventually be available at all levels in the not too distant future.  

I’ve always maintained that while most programs provide children with just about everything that is needed to play, parents should really think long and hard about upgrading when it comes to helmets. 

Everyone has a different budget, but this new technology from Riddell is going to make things a lot of easier for parents in terms of buying a helmet because it offers a long-lasting, quality helmet with a safe and comfortable fit.

For more information on the Riddell Diamond Technology, you can visit www.riddell.com/diamond and www.carbon3d.com/ProtectItAll.

Peter is a sports anchor for the CBS Sports Radio Network, FOX News Headlines 24/7 and WCBS 880 Radio in New York.  His son Bradley is playing middle school football and flag football on Long Island while his younger son Jared plays flag football. Peter, his wife Sheryl and the boys are busy cheering on the New York Jets when they’re not at a youth football field. 

Credit to Riddell for Hero image. 

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