Xenith’s R&D team developed a new outer polymer shell for the Shadow. (Courtesy of Xenith)
Xenith has made inroads into the football helmet marketplace with innovations such as its matrix of shock absorbers and its internal suspension system that aims to prevent impact forces on the outer shell of a helmet being transmitted to a player’s head. The company’s latest advance, manifested in the newly released Xenith Shadow, is a new polymer that works to disperse more of the force of a collision.
“It is something that our team developed through material science,” Xenith CEO Ryan Sullivan said. “It’s a more energy absorbent and a much more durable material than what’s currently available on the market.”
The Shadow’s new shell works in concert with the shock absorbers, suspension system, and fit system, which includes a chin strap that threads around the helmet perimeter. Each component has been “updated, evolved and optimized,” Sullivan said. All four Xenith helmets currently on the market—the Epic+, X2E+, Epic, and X2E—rank in the top performing group of the NFL/NFLPA collaborative helmet rankings. Each of those four helmets has also received a maximum five stars in Virginia Tech’s testing.
Xenith Shadow. (Courtesy of Xenith)
“Really, our approach to athlete head health protection and helmet design is a systematic approach,” Sullivan said.
When considering the individual factors that go into the overall composite helmet scores, Xenith particularly stands out at mitigating rotational forces. The helmet is designed to allow the outer shell to twist independently of a player’s head. Sullivan called that aspect one of the “hallmarks” of Xenith. Some preliminary research conducted at Stanford and published in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering has indicated that rotational accelerations pose a greater risk than translational forces of causing injuries such as concussions.
The Shadow is designated a varsity product, meaning it is intended for high school, college, and pro athletes. Making sure the cost was not too onerous to be accessible to consumers, especially amateurs, was an important goal. (The new helmet is priced at $479, with bulk discounts available.)
“Price was a very intentional consideration throughout the design process,” Sullivan said.
Last week, Xenith also announced that it would be the title sponsor for the Pro Football Hall of Fame World Bowl, the first international high school all-star game. That contest will be played on Dec. 22 in Mexico City (though not airing on CBS Sports Network until Dec. 27). Roughly half of the 70 players for that event will be wearing the Xenith Shadow in its on-field debut. Sullivan said he hopes colleges might have access to the new helmet in time for spring practices and conversations with the NFL are ongoing.
“We put the athlete at the center of all that we do,” he said, “and that permeates through all of our efforts.”
