A new class of braided composites has been designed to maximise the total energy absorbed during tensile failure. Braided loops of light, continuous fiber tows are configured in such a way that they must be drawn through relatively large displacements before they come into direct contact with one another. Upon loop contact, the material hardens locally, forcing further damage to develop by the same process elsewhere. In this way the entire gauge section absorbs energy before ultimate failure. Levels of energy absorption per unit volume reach 30 MJ/m(3) and, per unit mass, 18 J/g. The mechanisms involved in damage delocalisation and failure are detailed and modeled at a very simple level. While the current values of energy absorption are already attractive, the simple models indicate much higher values for composites that have been optimised.