Thanks to more than two decades of research, development, and close collaboration with its technical partners, Hans has emerged as the worldwide leader in driver head restraints. In recent years, this has led to the development of innovative head and neck restraint products like the carbon-fiber HANS Zero, the lightest HANS device ever produced. With the new HANS IV, Hans seeks to combine the safety advances introduced in these products while delivering a design that excels across a wide range of motorsport disciplines.

Advancing Safety

“The head and neck restraint is arguably the most significant advancement in driver safety equipment of the past two or three decades,” says Hans Product Manager Luis Ortiz. “And HANS devices have evolved significantly since the early days. They used to be large and heavy, but over time, designers have continued to refine these devices, making them smaller, lighter, and more comfortable while also enhancing the protection they provide.”

Ortiz notes that many of the HANS IV’s improvements are a direct result of feedback from racers using the HANS III, the brand’s best-selling head and neck restraint to date.

“The HANS III has been around for a while, and we felt it was due for a refresh. With the HANS IV, we put a strong emphasis on utilizing feedback from racers and visiting tracks to see how they’re using the product, what situations they encounter, and what concerns they might have. As in most aspects of motorsport, a common theme was the desire for reduced weight, so that was near the top of the list of design priorities. As a result, the HANS IV is about ten percent lighter than its predecessor. We achieved this largely by using the data we’ve gathered in testing to optimize the geometry for the loads the device will be subjected to in a collision.”

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Designed for use in vehicles with an upright 10 to 20-degree seating position, the SFI 38.1-certified HANS IV elevates safety while maintaining an easy-to-use form factor.

“We also took inspiration from the HANS Zero with improvements in shoulder harness retention by reshaping the legs of the device so that the harnesses ‘nest’ in there,” Ortiz explains. “That’s been an important area of focus because it makes these devices more effective in incidents involving multiple impacts. If you have a device where the legs are angled outward, it creates a situation where the belts can slide off as you move left or right in the seat.

“Many of our competitors sell separate attachments to try to fix this issue by clipping the harnesses to the device,” adds Ortiz. “But we wanted to address the problem by integrating it into the design of the head and neck restraint itself.”

Enhanced Ergonomics

Ortiz says that when it comes to head and neck restraints, weight is one of the primary enemies of driver comfort. With that in mind, engineers focused on minimizing excess material on the HANS IV while ensuring that its strength and crashworthiness remain unaffected.

“This is something we really started to focus on with the HANS III. Prior to the III, there was the Sport and Sport II – Hans’ first composite devices – and they were relatively heavy. So, with the HANS III, we aimed to reduce weight. We began looking at where we could achieve this using material and load analysis, which helped us identify areas where material wasn’t contributing to performance."

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This same approach was applied to the development of the HANS IV, resulting in a design that’s noticeably lighter than its predecessor and better suited to a wider variety of race seats. “The back side of the device is effectively shortened,” he says. “This reduces weight, and it also helps mitigate compression effects that happen in the later stages of an impact event. Shortening the back side also reduces the chances of the device’s legs interfering with the shape of the seatback, which means the design can comfortably fit more people into more seats.”

Comfort is further improved by a new integrated pad design underneath the yoke arms.

“In our efforts to make the device stronger, we also opened up a cavity on the bottom of the legs,” Ortiz says. “This allowed us to custom-mold the padding that rests on your shoulder and collarbone, which now settles into place in the cavity on the back of the device. That not only provides a much cleaner aesthetic, but it also yields a more fitted feel and ensures that the pad won’t slip.”

Better Safety for All

While the price of advanced head and neck restraints can often be prohibitive for competitors on a budget, the HANS IV will be offered at a sub-$500 price point, making it more accessible to grassroots and sportsman racers.

Designed to work with helmets carrying SNELL SA2015 or FIA 8859-2015 ratings or newer, the HANS IV will be available in Small, Medium, and Large sizes. However, it’s important to note that the sizing options for the HANS IV have been adjusted compared to its predecessors.

“With the HANS IV, we now offer Small, Medium, and Large sizing options, rather than just the Medium and Large sizes available with the HANS III,” Ortiz tells us. “This allows us to provide appropriate sizing for smaller drivers while also accommodating larger individuals with the bigger Large size.”

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Ortiz also notes that customers only need to know their collar size to determine which size to select for the HANS IV. Beyond that, it’s simply a matter of choosing the appropriate anchor style for their helmet and ensuring it meets the applicable race sanctioning body rules.

“We’ve streamlined the buying process to make it easier for customers to get what they need. We have the post anchor, which is the standard for HANS devices, and it’s both SFI and FIA approved. We also offer an SFI-approved quick-release-style Quick Click tether as an option with your HANS IV. These have been our two most popular configurations. There are other options – like M61 – which can be purchased separately, but with the HANS IV, we wanted to deliver a product that includes the tether, anchors, and padding right out of the box.”