CHINSTRAP BENEFITS
WHY GUARDIAN CHINSTRAP?
The Guardian chinstrap maintains or exceeds the comfort, fit, and aesthetics of other chinstraps, and is the first chinstrap sold with improved safety & performance.
The Guardian Chinstrap is the first and only safety-focused chinstrap developed by Guardian Sports and SoftShox. Designed to enhance player protection, this innovative chinstrap incorporates advanced impact-absorbing technology, setting a new standard in helmet safety. As the creators of the widely adopted Guardian Cap, Guardian Sports continues to push the boundaries of sports safety, now touching on all impacts. Approximately 50% of impacts occur to the facemask, where today’s helmets underperform. This chinstrap delivers a superior combination of comfort, fit, and impact reduction, giving athletes an extra layer of defense where it matters most.
Guardian Caps have already helped protect players from top-of-head impacts—now, we’re tackling facemask-to-facemask collisions with cutting-edge SoftShox technology. The mission of SoftShox is to make products safer and give their users peace of mind. Their vision is to safeguard humans so they might live healthy, active, social lives. The “Soft” -ness of a waterbed combined with the energy-absorbing superpower of a Hydraulic “Shox” are two ideas combined into one to create a new standard in Human Safety.
It is the first and only safety-focused chinstrap designed to address a critical gap in helmet protection. Research shows that approximately 50% of impacts occur to the facemask1, an area where traditional helmets underperform in reducing force transmission.
Engineered for superior impact absorption, the Guardian Chinstrap is the safest option available.
1 Arbogast et al, “Kinematics of Facemask Impacts in Professional American Football.” International Research Council on Biomechanics of Injury. September 2024. Stockholm, Sweden.
In laboratory tests at 7.4 m/s impact speeds, the Guardian Chinstrap achieved the lowest mean HARM (Head Acceleration Response Metric), reinforcing its ability to mitigate dangerous forces more effectively than standard chinstraps. HARM is a formula developed to assess the severity of head impacts in football.
By integrating advanced shock-absorbing technology, the Guardian Chinstrap is redefining chinstrap protection, providing athletes with a game-changing level of safety where they need it most.
Results:
- Study on the need for position-specific helmets and where impacts occur HERE
- Why SoftShox was developed HERE
“Approximately 50% of impacts in football are to a player’s facemask, where helmet innovation has lacked for decades.”
We’re excited to introduce our newest piece of safety equipment for athletes. The Guardian Cap helps address impact reduction on head-to-head, or head-to-ground blows, and now the Guardian Chinstrap is the first to improve an area where approximately half of all impacts occur. The Guardian Chinstrap addresses a critical gap in football safety. We’re happy to offer a product that is not only safer, but also uncompromising on comfort and performance.
Athletes, coaches, moms and dads shouldn’t have to sacrifice performance for better safety. Our partnership of two safety-minded companies is bringing the best of science to the field so people now have a choice for safer sports without compromise. Football needs its seatbelt and I’m happy to say it has arrived.
The hydraulic impact reduction technology was first invented and tested in my laboratory at Stanford University, supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health. After many years of research and millions of dollars of investment, I am excited to bring this technology to the field to enhance athlete protection.
As a neurosurgeon who treats athletes following a concussion, it is so exciting to see the impact of this innovative liquid shock technology on the athlete to make the sport safer.
Our goal is to reduce concussion risk and the effects of repeated head impacts in as many individuals as possible. The Guardian Chinstrap powered by SoftShox was made with this goal in mind, and is the first of many SoftShox products that will come to market under our rigorous, science-backed product development process.
