Helmet Development
Our founder, Steve Copeland, has designed a wide variety of products during his career but probably has designed more head protection than anyone. Below are some of the accomplishments Steve and his teams, including Humanscope, have achieved.
Cooper XL7 Hockey Helmet
Steve’s career began at Cooper Canada, from 1980 to 1985. As Design Supervisor, he led a team of designers to create award-winning products for hockey, baseball, football, golf, lacrosse and other sports. During this time he developed the Cooper XL7. Introduced in 1984, the XL7 was the lightest helmet produced at the time. This was the first hockey helmet to be adjustable to fit many head sizes without using screws or any tools.
ITECH Techlite Helmet
As President of Paradox Design, Steve worked with Itech Sport Products to develop the Concept II face shield in 1986, the Junior shield in 1987, Itech’s first hockey helmet, the I90 and the first hockey helmet designed specifically for children, the Techlite. Under the Bauer name the Techlite continued to be the bestselling children’s hockey and skate helmet on the market for over 20 twenty years.
Itech I90 Hockey Helmet
The Itech I90 developed by Steve in 1993, was the first hockey helmet to use expanded polypropylene as an impact absorbing liner. The I90 offered far greater protection than any previous hockey helmet and featured the Dial-A-Fit system, a unique sizing system using interior belts to create a perfect fit. The Dial-A-fit system was later used in bicycle helmets which Paradox developed for Bell Sports.
ITECH Concept II Hockey face shield
Working with Itech Sport Products in 1986 Steve helped introduce innovations in sports that changed the market. The Itech Concept II face shield and Junior shield were iconic firsts in the protective equipment industry.
The Concept III continues to be sold under the Bauer name.
Canadian Infantry Helmet
This Canadian Infantry helmet developed with Barrday Inc. in the early 90’s introduced SPECTRA, a unique bullet resistant light weight fibre developed by Honeywell.
North Safety Hardhat/ Helmet
The North Safety hardhat was one of the first of several hardhats Steve designed that used expanded polystyrene foam to add impact absorption for a side impact liner to meet the new 1994 CSA lateral impact standards for industrial head protection..
Cascade Kayak Helmet
Originally designed as a white water kayaking helmet for Sport Helmets Inc., the CASCADE multi-sport helmet was the forerunner of the revolutionary Cascade Lacrosse helmet brought to market in 1993.
Cascade Lacrosse Helmet
Quickly embraced by every major team the Cascade continues to dominate both amateur and NCAA college leagues. With its massive ventilation, lightweight design and superior protection Cascade is the helmet of choice in lacrosse and has redefined the standards by which all lacrosse helmets are evaluated.
Fisher Price Bicycle Helmet
By the mid 90’s the Child helmet designed for Fisher Price in cooperation with Denrich Sporting goods and Bell sports, was introduced. At a time when most cyclists did not use helmets the Lil-Bell was the first bicycle helmet designed specifically for children and continued to be one of the bestselling children’s bicycle helmets for over 15 years.
The integral Fisher-Price Fit System resisted roll off and provided advanced comfort and fit along with increased helmet stability.
Youth Bicycle Helmet
Copeland partnered again with Denrich Sporting Goods to design the Youth Helmet for cycling and in-line skating. This helmet featured a unique top and bottom hard shell surface for greater durability and easy cleaning, while the rear reflector offered added visibility.
Copperfield Falcon Hardhat
In the late 90’s recognizing the need for increased protection in industrial headgear, the Copperfield Falcon hardhat was designed and introduced a new concept in energy absorption first proposed by Jim Newman of Biokinetics and Associates. Copeland worked with the Construction Safety Association of Ontario and Copperfield Industries to develop the Falcon hardhat with exterior fins and an injection molded liner that absorbs impacts.
Troxel Equestrian Helmet
Copeland went on to include equestrian design in his product development portfolio creating the Troxel EQ. The design maintained the traditional look of equestrian riding but added a whole new level of protection, comfort, and style so that the rider is not tempted to leave it behind due to discomfort and vanity. It is the original lightweight, ventilated equestrian safety helmet that redefined comfort and head protection. This was the first helmet to pass the new ASTM equestrian standard in 1991 and shifted Troxel from a bicycle helmet company to the largest equestrian helmet manufacturer in the world.
RED Skycap Snow Board Helmet
Roger Ball, Steve’s partner in Paradox Design at the time, saw a need for snowboard helmets when the careers of young snowboarders were ending due to head injuries. Steve and Roger convinced Burton to start the R.E.D brand of helmets and developed the RED Skycap. In 1998, it was not cool for snowboarders to wear a helmet. The Skycap snowboarder’s helmet was the first helmet designed exclusively for the unique snowboarding culture. The Skycap made head protection cool for snowboarders, establishing the trend for more skiers to wear helmets.
Burton MT1 Mountain helmet
The tremendous success of the Skycap saw the development and introduction in 2000 of the Burton MT1 Mountain helmet for serious, big mountain, bordercross, and fast alpine riding. The MT1 offered a detachable jaw guard and visor, and lightweight fiberglass construction.
HIFI snowboard helmet
That was followed by the Decaf, a new version of the Skycap, with open venting allowed by the new ASTM safety standard for snow sports and then the Scynth full ear cover helmet and the hIFI.
Nike Quest hockey helmet
Steve then worked with Nike/Bauer in 1999 to create concepts for their revolutionary new Nike Quest hockey helmet.
The Quest also featured a flip up tool less adjustment system first conceived by Copeland.
Cooper CAT 2000 Helmet
Copeland turned his sights to baseball and developed the Cooper CAT 2000 with Irwin Toy. This was the first mass produced full face baseball back catchers helmet.
This revolution in baseball head protection was quickly accepted by youth baseball and softball because of its ease of adjustability with the Cooper Loc system developed by Copeland. It protected not only the face but the entire head and included an integrated jaw and throat shield.
RBK Fitlite Hockey Helmet
Steve teamed up with The Hockey Company to create concepts and design direction for the new RBK Fitlite hockey helmet. The Fitlite also features the flip up tool less adjustment system first conceived by Copeland.
Warrior Venom Lacrosse Helmet
Steve and his team designed the Warrior Venom lacrosse helmet combining three basic elements for performance and appeal: maximum protection, superior fit and an aesthetic that’s fit for the fastest game on two feet. Venom is equipped with 23 vent holes that allow for maximum breathability and lightweight comfort.
First Watch Marine Police Helmet
This search and rescue helmet was conceptualized from the ground up. Setting a new standard in SAR, with a carbon fiber shell this helmet is designed to pass SAR, Tactical and Industrial hardhat standards.
Copeland realized that though there was a growing awareness of concussions, rodeo and western riding has been much slower to adopt the use of helmets compared to other sports. After a year of development and testing, Humanscope brought a prototype to Hatco, a manufacturer of hand crafted American cowboy hats since 1927.
In 2016 Hatco introduced the Resistol Ridesafe, the first traditional western style cowboy hat that is fully ASTM/SEI Certified for Horseback riding.
Jannatec ENSO Smart Helmet
Copeland and his team at Humanscope worked with Jannatec to develop their Smart Helmet that provides a number of customization features that ensure worker safety. The smart helmet provides integrated safety features such as 360-degree high visibility LED’s around the brim, RFID tracking, proximity detection and camera capabilities.
Canadian Standards Association Heads
Copeland assisted the innovation and design of protective head gear for optimal safety while a member of the Hockey Equipment Advisory Committee. He helped with the creation of the first fully facially featured head forms for CSA the Canadian Standards Association. These head forms are mandated for testing in CSA and ISO hockey helmet standards.
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