Niviuk have announced Orikami – a new type of back protection that they will showcase to pilots for the first time at the Stubai Cup in Austria.
Named Orikami after origami, the honeycomb-type design is made to bounce back and re-form after impact. At 5.5cm thick it is also slimline, designed for today’s low-profile high-performance harnesses.
Announcing the new technology Niviuk said: “Orikami [is a] revolutionary new protector technology for the paragliding industry. It is the slimmest and most efficient on the market, certified in accordance with the EN and LTF standards.”
On Niviuk’s website they said: “It’s development and technological inspiration is based on the Japanese art of origami, as its structure folds in on itself to absorb and disperse energy during an impact. After the impact, the protector returns to its original shape.”
They added: “Niviuk developed Orikami with the aim of offering the market an alternative solution to other existing protector materials, being specifically designed for high performance harnesses – it is more compact and has a high energy absorbing capacity for multiple impacts.”
They said as well as being slimline, one of the main characteristics of the new back protection is that it does not “rotate or displace” from within its foam matrix when a sideways impact occurs.
It also rebounds into shape after impact, and as such is designed for multiple incidents. Niviuk said the new Drifter 2 paragliding harness will use Orikami.
More details of the new material will be presented by the Niviuk R&D team at a presentation on Friday evening at this weekend’s Stubai Cup.
