This Shield Claims It Can Protect Windshields from Hailstones the Size of Golf Balls

Of course, this doesn’t mean that putting blankets on the windshield is something beautiful to look at, but on the other hand, it shows there’s a market for this kind of product.

And this is how several companies out there have invented covers that you can easily place on your windshield to keep the snow and ice off the windows.

But someone on Indiegogo has come up with another idea. What if instead of a simple cover you can install a shield to protect the windshield not only from road debris but even from hailstones the size of a golf ball?

To do this, they created the so-called “Hail Shield,” a cover that uses super-tough materials to make sure it absorbs the shock and prevents any damage to the windshield. The researcher behind the project says the original idea involved Kevlar bulletproof materials, but eventually, the production model ended up using ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) ballistic fabrics.

The design of Hail Shield isn’t necessarily the best, but it seems to serve its purpose very well. It comes with two Velcro bands to easily secure the cover in place using your car’s mirrors, so in theory, it shouldn’t take more than a few seconds to install it.

The protection it offers to a windshield is impressive, to say the least, and the testing shows exactly why.

“This combined material system is employed to stop the damage of golf-ball-sized hailstones. A real golf ball (white, diameter of 1.75 inches) and a shining steel ball (diameter of 2 inches) were placed above the material system for reference purpose. The weight of the steel ball was 0.53kg. In order to simulate the golf-ball-sized hailstone (kinetic energy of 19.67 joules), the steel ball was dropped from 4.0 meters above the soft shield and NO damage was found on the windshield glass behind,” the product page on Indiegogo reads.

The project seeks only $600, and with a $127 donation, you can get your shield today.