Explained: Leatt 360 Turbine Technology takes a wider view of impact protection

Among the many brands now offering protection against rotational impacts, Leatt stands out. Their design is quite different than most others out there, for one. It was also developed and tested in-house in the brand’s South Africa lab, in contrast to many brands that use a system developed by a third party.

We had the opportunity to talk to Dr. Chris Leatt, founder of the South African protection brand, about why 360 Turbine is different, what’s next in concussion protection and why Leatt includes the system in every helmet, even including its most affordable full-face and trail models.

As you might expect from someone who quit the medical profession to start a protective gear brand, Dr. Leatt is quite passionate about the topic, so this is a really interesting discussion.

What is 360 Turbine?

The system Leatt has come up with is the 360 Turbine technology. The Turbine is the name for Leatt’s small, disc-shaped devices energy absorbing devices that are placed around the inside of the helmet shell. The shape of the 360 Turbines and the energy-absorbing non-Newtonian polymer construction work in tandem to protect against several distinct types of impact.

The Turbines don’t just protect against rotational impact. They also provide repeated protection against smaller impacts (“low-velocity linear acceleration”). This adds a third layer of protection on top of the traditional layers of EPS foam and the newer rotational impact prevention.

If you're ever in this position relative to the ground, you really want that helmet to work. Photo: Leatt

360 Turbine Technology is a small solution to a serious problem. Photo: Leatt

While this may sound complicated, it is quite simple in practice. As we find out more about how the brain works, we’re realizing just how important this multi-layered protection is. Since Leatt did all the research to prove 360 Turbine works, they’ve shared a white paper with extensive details on the system so you can dig into the details, and evidence for the system.

Interview: Leatt founder Dr. Chris Leatt

To explain how Leatt’s system is different, why 360 Turbine is priced so anyone can take advantage of it, and why all of this is still really important, we talked to the man who led its development. That is Dr. Chris Leatt himself.

If you know anything about the Leatt brand, you know it started for very personal reasons. That makes the brand’s commitment to safety a core principle, as it should be. It also makes this conversation more interesting than your average product chat.