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EPIC™ Performance

Helmet liner systems are tested per military specifications by impacting the helmet at 10 feet/second. This process occurs for helmets and liners conditioned at ambient temperature (70°F), hot temperature (130°F) and cold temperature (14°F).

The following chart shows impact performance for various helmet liner systems, including the standard issue Team Wendy ZAP^® System, the new Team Wendy EPIC™ System, the Oregon Aero pad set and the Skydex pad set. With the exception of the EPIC™ System data, the data used to make the charts was derived from the United States Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory (USAARL) report (referenced below). It should be noted that testing at 10 feet/second is the minimum requirement for a ground combat helmet liner system to be considered adequate for military use.

Figure 1: The data for Team Wendy ZAP®, Oregon Aero and Skydex was derived from the following report, except for the Team Wendy EPIC™ System, which was tested in Team Wendy's in-house laboratory. "U.S. Combat Helmet Suspension System Comparison Summary and Findings - December 2006". Testing was completed by USAARL as requested by the House Armed Services Committee.

It is clear from the test data that both the Team Wendy ZAP^®and EPIC™ systems outperform the competition.

Team Wendy is continuously striving to increase head protection for our troops and does so by extending performance beyond the requirement (10 feet/second).

The chart below shows impact performance for the same set of helmet liner systems at 14 feet/second. At 14 feet/second, the impact energy is nearly double that of 10 feet/second. Once again, it is clear that the Team Wendy systems outperform the competition, and that the EPIC™ System is the best. Although ZAP^® still performs very well with respect to the competition, ZAP^® was designed for lower speed (10 feet/second) impacts. The EPIC™ System offers improvement at higher speeds without sacrificing the low speed impact performance.

Figure 2: The data for Team Wendy ZAP®, Oregon Aero and Skydex was derived from the following report, except for the Team Wendy EPIC™ System, which was tested in Team Wendy's in-house laboratory. "U.S. Combat Helmet Suspension System Comparison Summary and Findings - December 2006". Testing was completed by USAARL as requested by the House Armed Services Committee.

Team Wendy's performance at 14 feet/second is revolutionary, but not good enough for Team Wendy.

Below is a chart showing impact performance for the standard issue Team Wendy ZAP^® System and the new Team Wendy EPIC™ System at 17 feet/second. At 17 feet/second, the impact energy is nearly triple that of 10 feet/second. The USAARL report did not include testing at 17 feet/second, so the data in Figure 3 was generated in house by Team Wendy.

Based on the poor performance of competitors such as Oregon Aero and Skydex at 14 feet/second, we found it unnecessary to test their products at 17 feet/second.

Figure 3: The data for this chart was generated from testing conducted in Team Wendy's in-house laboratory.

The Team Wendy EPIC™ System outperforms currently available helmet liner systems at 17 feet/second. In some instances, EPIC™ provides more than 40% improvement in performance; impacts to the side, impacts to the nape, impacts in cold condition etc., etc. There were even scenarios (second impact in cold condition) where EPIC™ provided more than 50% improvement in performance.

At Team Wendy, we are continuously striving to give the highest level of protection to our troops, so stay tuned to our Web site often to see what new improvements we've made in head protection.