Hammer Head Swim Cap Released for Swimmer Safety

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Photo Courtesy: Hammer Head Swim Caps

MINNEAPOLIS – Hammer Head® — a new U.S.- designed swim cap is set to keep head safety top of mind for hundreds of thousands of aquatic athletes, triathletes and open water swimmers across the country. The first major safety evolution in swim cap design in more than a century, the Hammer Head cap looks and feels like a standard issue silicone swim cap but incorporates both a new, patent pending safety technology and a seamless, wrinkle-free fit for enhanced performance.

Hammer Head features patent pending HIT Honeycomb Impact Technology™ – a layer of honeycomb “pillars” on the inside of the top of the cap designed to help absorb the shock of impact from collisions with pool walls and other swimmers in busy practice pools, meet warmups or in crowded open water swims. TEKFIT™ – Hammer Head’s design also brings two important features: an evolved fit, longer in the sides to protect swimmers’ ears and seamless, wrinkle-free construction to eliminate cap drag and enhance performance.

“Many club swimmers, some coaches and athletes don’t think of swimming as a contact sport,” says David Burns, president Martha Burns Swim Schools, a 20-year veteran swim coach and co-founder of Hammer Head Swim Caps. “But the truth is water sports in general is a top ten sport for head injury and accounts for 30 percent more trips to the hospital ER than hockey, lacrosse and rugby combined. If you’ve ever swam in, or coached at, a busy practice pool, swim meet warm up, synchro or triathlon events you will know what we mean. It’s not a matter of if a swimmer will hit their head, it’s when.”

First conceived four years ago, the Hammer Head has been comprehensively designed, engineered and tested. The result is a dramatic evolution, if not revolution, in swim cap design that adds the first ever impact reduction technology to a cap and re-engineers the fit for greater comfort, ear protection and reduced cap drag.

Hammer Head Swim Cap Features:

  • HIT Honeycomb Impact Technology™ – a layer of honeycomb “pillars” located on the inside top of the cap designed to help absorb and dissipate the shock of impacts with pool walls and swimmers
  • TEKFIT™ – evolved cut that is more hydrodynamic, eliminating top of cap wrinkles to reduce cap drag in the pool; and to cover swimmers’ ears to help reduce water flowing in the ears that can cause swimmers’ ear infections.
  • Premium silicone fabrication – looks and acts like a traditional silicone swim cap

Like all great innovations, Hammer Head started with an aha moment. In 2013, Burns, owner of the Martha Burns network of swim schools was at a swim team practice when two young swimmers – his daughter eight and another 14-year-old athlete – independently hit their heads on the pool wall performing back stroke finishes. David remarked that swimmers should have helmets – and the idea for Hammer Head was born.

Burns is joined at Hammer Head by co-founder Theresa Finn, a sports brand marketing and business development executive with a young competitive swimmer of her own who personally suffered a head injury swimming backstroke. Together Burns and Finn formed Mako International LLC, parent company and manufacturer of Hammer Head swim caps.

“We’ve seen other competitive sports assess the risk of head injuries and design protective head wear to help,” says Finn. “But until now, swimming has lagged behind when it comes to head safety protection. We’re here to raise awareness about head injury the sport and do what we can to help protect aquatic athletes of all ages and skill levels.”

Hammer Head swim caps have already attracted the attention and support of members of the professional swim community including three time Olympian and former world record holder Tom Malchow, who says he’d rather have his kids head a soccer ball, something that is outlawed in youth soccer, than hit the pool wall with their heads.

Manufactured in the U.S. for Mako International LLC, Hammer Head swim caps will be available for purchase starting February, 1, 2018 at www.hammerheadswimcaps.com with swim store availability to follow. Hammer Head Swim Cap MSRP is $34.95 with price break discounts for swim teams, clubs, coaches and organizations purchasing caps at volume.

For more information visit www.hammerheadswimcaps.com or like Hammer Head Swim Caps on Facebook.

About Hammer Head Swim Caps

Hammer Head Swim Caps is a patent-pending and trademarked product of Mako International LLC, co-founded by David Burns, a 20-year expert swim coach and swim school owner, and Theresa Finn, a sports brand marketing and business development executive. The Hammer Head Swim Cap is the first major innovation in swim cap design in more than a century. The cap incorporates new, patent-pending HIT Honeycomb Impact Technology™ – honeycomb “pillars” that absorb the impact of collisions with pool walls and other aquatic athletes. Hammer Head swim caps are also designed to provide a more exact fit on the actual shape of the human head. Caps cover swimmers’ ears, reducing water flow in and out which can cause swimmers’ ear infections and are more hydrodynamic by eliminating top of cap wrinkles, which in turn reduces drag in the pool. Hammer Head is on a mission to prevent head injuries in the pool one cap at a time.

Press release courtesy of Hammer Head Swim Caps. 

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Maliha Hashmi
6 years ago

Can’t wait!!!!

Raquel Diaz
6 years ago

Joehayra Barrot

Joehayra Barrot
6 years ago
Reply to  Raquel Diaz

Juan Barrot

Nadia Redza
6 years ago

Michael Todd

Joseph Julien
6 years ago
Reply to  Nadia Redza

No chill…

Jonny Higham
6 years ago

Nathan Tomlinson

Lisa M Weir
6 years ago

Declan Weir

Tara Houser
Tara Houser
6 years ago

Ironically I just saw another post about Football & the large drop in concussion since the youth organization started putting new protocols in place like “Heads Up”. I mentioned in a comment on that article how I knew swimmers who ended up with minor concussions due to running into the pool after missing their backstroke count from the flags in… Definitely going to check it out…

Janet Bryant Brehm
6 years ago

Susan Bryant-totally want to get one for Taylor! She said no.

Lynette Besonday-Washburn

No thanks

Kathryn Meinhardt
6 years ago

Smh

Gail
Gail
6 years ago

This cap should be marketed to swimmers who are blind!

Scout Wilkins
6 years ago

Zoë Toscos Sarah Campbell u guys should probs get this

Zoë Toscos
6 years ago
Reply to  Scout Wilkins

lets put all the shock your mom money into buying these for the whole team

Scout Wilkins
6 years ago
Reply to  Scout Wilkins

Zoë Toscos brilliant idea!!!

Anna Henson
6 years ago

Sarah Ladd maybe you need this…?

Sarah Ladd
6 years ago
Reply to  Anna Henson

Oh my gosh yes

Tara Aucoin England
6 years ago

Jennifer Lyn Hale Munch jonah and Madisyn Elizabeth England need this!!!

Jennifer Lyn Hale Munch

Yes, they sure do!!

Madisyn Elizabeth England

definitely

Connor King
6 years ago

Caleb Van Boven Patrick Wigger

Šimun Petar Jelavić
6 years ago

Jean-Philippe Dufresne

Janna Schiller Ostvolden

Good idea for younger swimmers… Or beginners. The more experienced you are; the less you hit your head – generally speaking.

Christopher Rutter
6 years ago

Kenyon Swimming And Diving

Ryan E Pangelinan
6 years ago

Roxy Pangelinan

Paul Ed Frithy
6 years ago

Matthew Harrop should be compulsory in your lane ?☄️

Savannah Damon
6 years ago

As someone who got a concussion from hitting their head on the wall (and no i wasnt a beginner), i think this is a great idea to promote safety in the sport!

Callum Smith
6 years ago

Darcy Wood read it

Jane Risher
6 years ago

More ER trips than hockey, lacrosse and rugby combined??? I doth smell some rather fishy data!! ?

Jennifer Adang Meyerson
Reply to  Jane Risher

As a trauma nurse who sees the numbers, I was left scratching my head as well…

Chance Ferrin
6 years ago

I would be embarrassed to wear it, but I smashed my head at least three times. Once enough to chip my teeth.

Chad Bloom
6 years ago

Give me a break.

Kylie Youmans
6 years ago

Bill Youmans Meg Perron Matt Nadel

Meg Perron
6 years ago
Reply to  Kylie Youmans

I don’t think I ever hit my head…is that real?

Kylie Youmans
6 years ago
Reply to  Kylie Youmans

im trying to remember but i think we had a couple people get concussions from collisions in crazy warm up times? or for kids who cant count backstroke? haha

Matt Nadel
6 years ago
Reply to  Kylie Youmans

Ha, I got a serious one senior season in college that put me out for 3 weeks, I got kicked though….this is hilarious

Jack Kennedy
6 years ago

You’ve got to be kidding me. Unless my kids were involved in freestyle starting block aerial trick starts, if that ever becomes a thing, there’s just no way…

Kristin Barone
6 years ago

Erik Barone guess we need one for Erika after today’s practice ?

Allie Niemeyer
6 years ago

Morgan Barnard

Hanne Borgersen
6 years ago

HAHAHAHA made for us Cece Williams

Cece Williams
6 years ago

Hahahahaha the incident

Gabriel Bellott-McGrath

Bridger Bell

Grace Baker
6 years ago

Emma Lawless “great idea for inexperienced swimmers”

Emma Lawless
6 years ago
Reply to  Grace Baker

I’ll take 2

Nicolai Degn Andersen
6 years ago

Nikoline Andersen Josefine Risum

Josefine Risum
6 years ago

Haahha

Brad Boelter
6 years ago

What is next? Elbow and knee pads for those who slip in the way to the blocks?

Paul Stanley
6 years ago

Tom Derbyshire if only this was around in 2014…

Tom Derbyshire
6 years ago
Reply to  Paul Stanley

Would of been ideal for you…

Beth Ann West Ivie
6 years ago

Erin Tierney Maurer is this what you where talking about?

Erin Tierney Maurer
6 years ago

Yes! Maybe I should invest in One

Sarah RW
6 years ago

Simon Smith for Lilja?! ?

Simon Smith
6 years ago
Reply to  Sarah RW

Definately

Jim Bowser
6 years ago

Silicon expensive water helmet@$34. Backstrokers learn to count stokes from the flags. Like Jane, I don’t buy the seemingly incredible ER trips compared to hockey lacrosse and rugby. What ever happen to spacing in a busy practice. The holes look like they would create more drag. Maybe they can be incorporated in a drag practice with parachutes. It is a novel idea that may have it’s place in the water world. Yet, the cost may prevent use by the masses.

Jennifer Adang Meyerson

As an emergency/trauma RN, I would love to know where you got those research numbers… are you including ear infections? Jet skis? Boating?
Surfing?
Are you including injuries like heels being sliced open when doing flip turns? Choking on gum during swim practice? Seizures in the water from preexisting conditions? Getting kicked in the stomach/groin during a mass triathlon start? All would be considered “water injuries” that I’ve seen but would not be prevented with a bulky swim cap.
And the sheer number of people involved in water sports also far outweighs that of lacrosse. Comparing apples to oranges…to lump this all together is really deceiving.

Pia Cordes
6 years ago

Becky for Libby ???

Rocko Jocko
6 years ago

I need this for backstroke..every so often I lose count and bam..the wall.

Shannon Brink
6 years ago

Pat Robinson Brink, Thomas O’Hare

Bradley Phillips
6 years ago

Anival Rod I’ll buy you one of these to make up for the concussion

Anival Rod
6 years ago

Haha concussions were mentioned today on my post with Ashley. It’ll be cheaper and easier if we can get it right, either circle swimming or split the lane ?.

Jack Hiniker
6 years ago

Tom Osmolak ??‍♂️

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