Styropack Supplies 'Business End' Of This Winter's Top Snow Sports Item

Styropack, the UK's leading manufacturer of protective polystyrene packaging has supplied a key element of this winter's 'must have' product for snow sports enthusiasts of all ages.

The RuRoC snow helmet, which has a black EPS (expanded polystyrene) liner, is currently being feted in all the top men's magazines. Esquire, Loaded and Men's Health placed the RuRoC helmet first on wish lists for Christmas and winter sports and GQ has placed it 7th on its list of 100 Best Things.

With accolades like these pouring in Robert Gavin, creator of the RuRoC is looking forward to a successful first snow season: "The media coverage has been fantastic, here and in the U.S. - our website has been inundated with orders from all over the world."

The EPS liner moulded by Styropack is essential to the RuRoC project. "We call it the 'business' part of the helmet - because it saves your life by absorbing all the impact," explains Gavin.

"EPS can be moulded into any shape so we were able to design airflow systems that make this the most technically advanced EPS helmet liner in the snow sports industry to date.

"When you are out in conditions dropping to -25 any exposed area is a no no... Add wind chill into the equation and it's going to be unbearable. Our design uses driving wind to our advantage. No wind contacts skin directly, it is channelled where you need it most," adds Gavin.

Gavin, a keen snowboarder, who was a top chef, catering for royalty and movie stars, insisted that the RuRoC helmet - entirely his own concept - is manufactured in the UK: "I wanted to support UK businesses. And, it is really great to able to drive to the factories in a day. I was able to manage the whole design-to-manufacture process personally.

"The Styropack team has been fantastic, they helped to bring our design concept into functional reality," says Gavin.

The RuRoC helmets (named after Gavin's two sons Rubin and Rocco) will be sent out when Gavin receives the formal proof of EN 1077 certification - the EU helmet safety standard - due in mid-December.