New Helmet Hopes To Reduce Concussion Related Injuries!
The Cascade M11 helmet has been a project spearheaded by Mark Messier to tackle the problem of high impacts to the head of players. It’s hoped through new technology the risk of concussion related injuries will be reduced.
Let’s take a look at the style, comfort, protection and price of the Cascade M11 Helmet.
Style: When Cascade introduced the CHX helmet a couple of years ago,
they simply 
tried to offer the best protection available. There was just one problem: the helmet was hideous. Bulging panels and huge bucket-head shapes made the player look more like the Great Gazoo form the old Flintstones cartoon. So what if you were protected, your head was still the biggest target on the ice.
With the new M11, Mark Messier made sure that it looked like a hockey helmet that players would actually wear. The new design is clean, aerodynamically shaped, and has no unnecessary panels that look strange. The new helmet contains sleek vents in the front and the side of the helmet which can be custom colored apart from the main helmet color. It’s like taking the best design elements of Bauer and RBK and mashing them together.
Comfort: What good is a decent looking helmet without a good fit? The M11 introduces a fitting process that is new to hockey helmets. Utilizing a sliding clamp, the M11 adjusts to the player’s head by squeezing the bottom occipital portion of the helmet to the back of the head. The top of the helmet has no sliding pieces that move into each other as with most other hockey helmets. Once properly positioned on the head, simply ratcheting the clamp into itself will lock the helmet onto the head, creating no pressure zones on the top of the head. For those of us with narrower skulls, there have always been gaps in certain sections of the helmet, not so with the M11. The medium helmet easily snuggled up to every curve of my head. 
Protection: This is the biggest selling feature for the helmet. Cascade has introduced a new protective system called SEVEN Technology. Impacts are absorbed via a link of seven cylinders arranged in a cluster. The impact energy is first dispersed across the outer shell (as with all current helmets) then absorbed into the interconnected cylinders. Where high density foam is usually used in every other helmet manufacturer for this critical moment in impact management, the SEVEN cylinders are beyond 25% better at absorbing the first hit compared to typical foam, then multiply better as more impacts are taken. Standard EPP foam takes up to 30 seconds to rebound to full shape after an impact. This is a problem when dealing with secondary impacts – a normal occurrence in the fast paced sport of hockey. The cascade Seven clusters completely outperform any helmet using EPP foams when it comes to secondary impact. 
Weight: 646 grams doesn’t make it the lightest helmet on the market but is quite comparable when you figure on the protection benefits. The M11 is marketed as a top line helmet, designed to compete with the Bauer 9500, the Reebok 8K, and the Easton S17helmet. While not a tank of a helmet, the M11 does necessarily have some added weight due to the SEVEN technology and ratcheting system. Compared with its counterparts, theM11 outweighs each. By no stretch is the M11 a heavy helmet. It simply is not the lightest of the top level helmets.
Price – Exceptional pricing for a high end helmet. $139.99
Final Score: The Cascade M11 offers all you could want in a top level hockey helmet. It looks normal, it fits comfortably, it certainly protects, it is lightweight, and is tremendously priced.
