Inspired by head-banging woodpeckers, Vancouver-based Pikio Labs has discovered a new approach to skull protection.

Courtesy of Pikio Labs

[...] Multidirectional Impact Protection System, or MIPS, hit the market in 2007 and is now a common feature on premium helmets. At the same time, Virginia Tech turned helmet safety into something of a competition for manufacturers. In 2018, it launched helmet STAR ratings (Summation of Tests for the Analysis of Risk), testing beyond the legal minimum and measuring both linear and rotational impacts.

Only four of the first 30 helmets earned five stars, but by 2025, 167 of 272 achieved five stars, and Virginia Tech had to tighten its grading. That only drove competition and improved helmet technology. Suddenly, hitting the number one spot was good for business and brains.

Sitting comfortably ahead of the competition, with a 4.61 score (10.1 or lower earns a five-star rating; lower is better), is the Pikio Si Oblik road cycling helmet, featuring a new safety system called Oblik. Inspired by the headbanging, concussion-proof woodpecker, this new design has wiped the floor with the competition. For context, Pikio's 4.61 score is 2.21 points lower than the previous best Canyon Deflectr’s 6.82. That’s about 32 percent lower, a massive shift when many of the highest-rated helmets score only between 7 and 10 points