HIDRA is a modular full face downhill skateboarding helmet designed to address a gap in existing certified helmets: none are built or validated for multi impact use. It combines a composite outer shell with a personalized lattice liner, developed through additive manufacturing to improve fit, comfort and repairability.

1. Research
Market analysis of established downhill skateboarding helmets, including Predator, TSG and New Olders, showed that none are designed or tested for repeated impacts, despite riders regularly falling during training and competition. User journey mapping across competition day and skate day profiles confirmed this as the core insight behind the project.

2. Ideation
The shell form takes reference from the 1981 Speed Skiing Helmet by Kevan Laycraft and Alan Randall Best, part of MoMA’s collection. The color palette draws from asphalt, mountain landscapes and downhill racing wheels. The concept pairs a rigid outer shell with a single piece lattice liner, held in place through a press fit connection rather than adhesives or snap fits.

3. Development and prototyping
The liner is a TPU 90A lattice manufactured through Multi Jet Fusion, personalized from a 3D scan of the user’s head. The outer shell is designed to be produced as a composite layup over an FDM mold, using a fiberglass, carbon fiber and Kevlar tricomposite, though the current prototype was not manufactured in these final materials. FEA simulations evaluated the liner across three impact zones (crown, lateral, posterior) and compared the shell’s structural performance against a market reference under an EN 1078 derived load.

4. Final concept and proto
A modular full face helmet built for multi impact protection, personalized fit and repairability through additive manufacturing. Further experimental testing would be needed to validate multi impact performance, since EN 1078 alone does not certify it.