Doug Baldwin says he wore the same type of helmet for seven or eight years, from his days at Stanford to the beginning of his time with the Seattle Seahawks. It was simple, comfortable — and he was comfortable out on the field when he wore it.

Then, between the 2016 and 2017 seasons, he learned about a Seattle startup called VICIS that had designed a different type of helmet — slightly heavier, slightly bigger and, as data came to show, significantly safer. He liked his old helmet, but he couldn't ignore the research. So he switched.

"It’s hard to reason with anybody about why they wouldn’t (switch to a newer helmet)," Baldwin, also an investor in the helmet company, told USA TODAY Sports on Saturday.

"Their argument is it comes back to aesthetics: This (old) helmet is sleeker, it looks better, whatever the case may be. That’s just — to me personally, as a husband and as a father — it’s just not a sound argument."

Helmet technology has become one of the dominant storylines of the NFL preseason this year thanks to the ongoing saga involving star wide receiver Antonio Brown. The seven-time Pro Bowler is being forced by the league to ditch his old helmet and wear a newer, safer model. And he has been extremely resistant to the change, filing an unsuccessful grievance against the NFL and looking for loopholes that would allow him to keep wearing his old Schutt AiR Advantage.

Baldwin says he isn't here to bash Brown, or other players who prefer older helmets. And he's obviously biased as an investor in VICIS, whose Zero1 helmet has finished atop the NFL and NFL Players' Association's safety tests each of the past three years.

But he nevertheless finds it hard to understand why more players aren't embracing the safest equipment available.

"I understand there are people that are locked into their ways and their beliefs," Baldwin explained. "However, when there’s a product out there that’s safer and it’s backed by all this data and information proving that it’s safer, then I don’t understand why there’s not a push to put more people in that equipment."

VICIS expects about 200 NFL players to wear one of its helmets this season — a notable uptick from the 65 players who wore it two years ago but a number that still represents just a small fraction of the league. Competitors Schutt and Riddell have also made significant investments in designing safer helmets in recent years and continue to be popular with players.

Where old helmets long used foam padding and hard plastic exteriors, VICIS has used a soft plastic and series of columns designed the bend and absorb the impact of a collision, like a car bumper would.

For comparison, VICIS CEO Dave Marver said, the company tested one of the AiR Advantage helmets that Brown wants to wear against one of its own products earlier this week. The VICIS helmet reduced impact forces on the head by 30 to 40%.

"It's a huge difference," Marver said.

Baldwin demurred when asked if he thinks the NFL should mandate that all players wear whichever helmets perform the best in its series of tests. ("That would lead into a bigger conversation of whether we believe in capitalism or socialism," the 30-year-old said.) And he reiterated that he understands why players like Brown are wary of new equipment.

"It’s very hard for someone to be forced to change something that they’ve been doing their entire lives, and their entire career," Baldwin said. "But on the other end of it, it’s hard for me not to support the change, because there’s better products out there. There’s safer products out there. Especially when it comes to a violent sport like football, there’s no reason not to have safer, better equipment."

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.