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WHY GUARDIAN CAPS?
The Guardian Cap is the leading soft shell helmet cover engineered for impact reduction. It brings a padded, soft-shell layer to the outside of the decades old hard-shell hockey helmet and reduces impact up to 33%.
The Guardian Cap was created in 2010 to address the clear need to advance the standard helmet, which has changed little since the 1960’s. Erin and Lee Hanson, owners of The Hanson Group LLC, utilized their 20+ years in the material science business to engineer, patent, and manufacture the Guardian Cap.
They began the process consulting with another company on a fully encompassed soft-shelled helmet. They presented the helmet to sport executives but did not get the buy in. Erin and Lee realized that changing the look and sound of the game was a big “no” for a lot of players, fans, and coaches. They decided to take to market the affordable Guardian Cap that could be easily attached to the helmet during practices and taken off during games. Reducing impact in practice was more than nothing.
Guardian continues to push the importance reducing impacts in youth – pro practices.
After seeing the benefits of Guardian Caps for football, we retrofitted our leading soft-shelled helmet, for hockey!
Physics say that an outer “soft” material of the proper density, stiffness and energy absorbing properties reduces the initial severity of the impact. The hard shell then has lower forces transmitted to it, and in turn conveys lower forces to the interior soft helmet padding and then lower forces to the head. Very similar to a NASCAR driver and the soft wall technology that tracks have adopted or even automobiles and the soft bumpers and airbags that are now required. The Guardian serves the same purpose for an athlete’s head—a soft shell barrier between it and impact.
The Guardian Cap brings a padded, soft-shell layer worn on the outside of the decades old hard-shell hockey helmet and:
- Reduces impact severity of hits
- Pads blows to the head, boards and other players
- Protects helmet/decal wear and tear
- Regulates temperature
- Independent movement
In 2017, Guardian won the NFL HeadHealthTECH Challenge. In 2020, the Guardian Cap was seen on multiple NFL teams for practices and after a year of data collection and lab testing that showed a “statistically significant” improvement over bare helmets alone, the NFL permitted Guardian Caps in the 2021 season. In early 2022, the NFL owners announced that the League would be mandating the use of Guardian Caps during the early part of 2022 training camp for all OL, DL, TEs, and LBs. In 2023, The NFL expanded the mandate of Guardian Caps with expanded use that includes all practices preseason, regular season, and post season that include contact. They have also added Running Backs and Fullbacks to the list of positions mandated to wear Caps which now include: OL, DL, LB, TE, RB, FB.
GUARDIAN CAP BENEFITS
“In women’s hockey, we don’t full on hit but we go into the boards a lot and there are really tough battles. I feel like having the extra layer will be extremely beneficial.”
“When I am wearing this [Guardian Cap] on my head there is just a little less stress out there on the ice worrying about a hit coming or just absorbing a hit.”
“Hockey is a very physical sport. I am constantly getting hit in the head whether it is by a shoulder, a stick or getting crushed against the glass”
“When I was growing up, we didn’t have Guardian Caps like this to protect us. We were constantly worrying about injuries. Having something like the Guardian Cap to help us not worry as much about getting injured has been huge.”