The background to the development Backhero
Posture Corrector Review of D3O and its introduction as an impact-absorbing material was that Richard Palmer, its inventor and a keen sports fan, realised that it could be used in ski suits for the American and Canadian ski teams in the Turin Winter Olympics in 2006. A particular problem exists for the Giant Slalom and Super G racers who try to go as close to the control gates as possible so as to shave tenths of a second from their time.
Although the gates are spring loaded, hitting them at 60-70 mph creates severe bruising on the arms and legs, but since the amount of wind resistance is also crucial, thick padding is out of the question. D3O, with its special properties of absorbing impact whilst being quite thin proved to be ideal and the so-called Spider suits of the North American teams incorporate D3O. Perhaps not entirely coincidentally those teams have also been highly successful, particularly at the last Winter Olympics in 2010 in Vancouver.
Many other winter sports applications followed, including hip protectors for snowboarders and even figure skaters, before the product was launched into the motorcycle apparel market with hip, shoulder, knee and elbow protectors incorporated into the specialised motorcycle suits. It became obvious that D3O would be a suitable partner as they had succeeded with products that protected similar body parts, i.e. hips, in extreme conditions. Their move into supplying the military and police in several countries meant that they were able to work with organisations with demanding standards and long lead times. It was therefore a natural decision to use D3O in a parallel market - medical devices - that took advantage of the material's special properties to absorb impact in life-and-death applications.
Although the gates are spring loaded, hitting them at 60-70 mph creates severe bruising on the arms and legs, but since the amount of wind resistance is also crucial, thick padding is out of the question. D3O, with its special properties of absorbing impact whilst being quite thin proved to be ideal and the so-called Spider suits of the North American teams incorporate D3O. Perhaps not entirely coincidentally those teams have also been highly successful, particularly at the last Winter Olympics in 2010 in Vancouver.
Many other winter sports applications followed, including hip protectors for snowboarders and even figure skaters, before the product was launched into the motorcycle apparel market with hip, shoulder, knee and elbow protectors incorporated into the specialised motorcycle suits. It became obvious that D3O would be a suitable partner as they had succeeded with products that protected similar body parts, i.e. hips, in extreme conditions. Their move into supplying the military and police in several countries meant that they were able to work with organisations with demanding standards and long lead times. It was therefore a natural decision to use D3O in a parallel market - medical devices - that took advantage of the material's special properties to absorb impact in life-and-death applications.
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