I would be concerned about hitting an object that would go between the ribs of protective material and simply push them out of the way, tearing the fabric and impacting/penetrating the skull. It appears to only give protection for direct impact and only localized on that portion of the rib that takes the direct hit. It also isn't fastened to the head so it could fall off during a fall if your arm or hand or something else brushes against your head during a fall. Additionally, if the material were to deform during a fall into a shape that then became rigid as it impacted, the protective material itself could become a sharp, hard object that could penetrate the skull or poke your eye out.

I also noticed that the LiveScience article is on the "Science of Fiction" page, followed by science fiction references. Over the years, I have learned to take a lot of information posted on LiveScience with a grain of salt.

To me, it sounds more like trendy marketing hype for a new material "solution" looking for a "problem." Personally, I would not feel protected if wearing one of their hats skiing or otherwise. I hope their liability insurance is paid up for the inevitable lawsuits from people who believed they could do a head plant and come out unscathed.

I'll wait for the concrete test results from an independent safety lab that tests helmets that say their hats are approved as a safety device before I trust my head to them.

No thank you.