Helmets

[Bowler 0]

Interesting comments from ye all.

 

question: i wonder if you helmet wearers rekon that helmets give you a limited range of sight. like, is your vision interfered with due to your wearing of THE HELMET!!!

 

i mean, would i have a disadvantage in a snowball fight because my vision would be impaired? i dont wanna get my arse kicked just cause im wearing protection.

[jared 0]

googles usually take care of limiting your field of vision long before you put on a helmet.

[Fattwins 0]

You could also blame the equipment for aloowing more speed and control, no?

 

Helmuts make it all that much safer. Skis are fat, mid fat twined and on and on. Snowboard bases are getting super fast and the design teams are building the whole package better. We can ski almost as fast in powder as we can on a groomed slope, if we want too.

 

Come on the ratcheting bindings and clip systems have probably added an additional 2 runs per day to snowboarders. The straps form what Vie seen don't break half as much either.

 

Parks, natural hits and kickers, urban rails and foolery- the level has been pushed.

 

Would you tell your friend riding his bike at 60 km an hour that wearing a Helmut doesn't make it safer, bah? Lots of riders out there are exceeding this speed. We all know it doesn't take much to hurt your head. In fact it only takes the right knock in the wrong place.

 

We are not talking head on crashes here that is a full body impact anyways. Helmets work well for back slaps, side slaps tumbling crashes with bonks.

 

Your stats mean nothing if you don't take into account the techno improvements.

 

There will always be those who wear and those who don't.

[Telleboy 0]

Food for thought, been workin patrol around the world for years now, since the average ablity has increased so hugly over the last ten years accidents involving head injuries has also increased by 80% above all other injuries, hitting trees is generally all cool for bumps on heads but its colliding with the punter that you dont see comin thats the killer. This situation I hace seen more in NZ than any where else cos the snows hard people go fast what ever ability. I myslef have been cleaned up by someone else at least five times while working,so about 4 years ago got myself a helmet more to stop that other person givin me concussion. Stupid thing is NZ patrol, and also Japan patrol have a standard NO HELMETS TO BE WORN WHILE WROKING AS IT PORTAYS SKIING AND SNOWBOARDING AS A DANGEROUS SPORT Bloody stupid or what.

I give helmets the big thumbs up.

[Siren 0]

 Quote:

i dont wanna get my arse kicked just cause im wearing protection.

I have the same question - especially on steep.

Siren

[Fattwins 0]

That policy is stupid. I know alot of patrollers using buckets in canada. I think they have to wear them at some resorts depending on insurance. One resort I knew of made the patrollers set their bindings at the proper din settings. If they adjusted them they lost their insurance coverage.

[Glen Falting 0]

Ocean - the number were simply to illustrate the point. Nothing more. I can't imagine not wearing a helmet.

 

 

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml99/99046.html

 

Not sure if the attached link will work, but this contains some pretty disturbing figures on the number if injuries. Makes my head hurt just thinkng about it!

[Fattwins 0]

Link works fine.

[alferg 0]

all my mates used to say to me "you ride like a maniac, get a bloody helmet!" & it wasnt until i nearly brained myself by catching a heel edge & slamming my head right next to about 10 small tree stumps, about 6 inches high, any of which could've gone straight thru my skull quite easily if i had fallen differently, that i finally went & bought one! since then it has saved my life at least once (head-first into an icy tree!) & saved me pain on countless occasions.

 

(heres what i posted in another forum)

 

here are some of the many reasons i wear a helmet, my mates wear helmets, & we tell everyone we talk to that helmets are a good idea >>

 

protected head when stacking

protected head when landing jumps badly

protected head when catching heel edge

protected head in collisions with people

protected head in collisions with objects

protected head from chairlift safety bars

dry head

warm head

warm ears

goggles stay on

you can just pop up & keep riding after most stacks, without stopping

no looking for beanie/goggles after stack

no cleaning snow off beanie/goggles after a stack

you can tuck your neckwarmer under the back of your helmet.

[Telleboy 0]

Hey Kambei, great links, certainly makes you think twice.

[barok 0]

The study is vague, but I'll read it again.

 

The most interesting thing that I gleaned was that overwhelmingly, head injury related deaths involve collisions, usually with a tree. So if you treeride, wear a bucket.

 

I was about 65%helmet/35%not this season. It saved my head quite alot early to mid season, but come spring, I just didn't want to wear it anymore. I felt comfortable without it, but that was stupid, considering my hardest stacks were in the spring and without a helmet.

 

My best guess is that helmets are a damn good thing. I got soooo sick of hearing that patrol siren at the 47 park. Every day like 2 or 4 times a day would they cart someone from the bottom of the medium sized kickers that everyone hit. These two jumps were maybe 2.5 or 3 meters long (read short) but they were poorly made, had landings that were too short, and because everyone hit them all the time, they got rutted out. You would approach the lip, and all of a sudden your board would slide into this groove, throwing you way off balance. People were constantly falling on their heads. It was hideous, and for the life of me, I couldn't understand why park designers wouldn't spend more time brushing the jumps out - but I think the reason was that they were too busy having fun riding the big kickers themselves to bother trying to help people. Anyway, the point is that on a 3 meter jump, where you get maybe 1 meter of vertical air, a helmeted fall will not hurt your head at all - (I speak from lots of personal experience) But a non-helmeted fall will leave you with brain soup.

 

So yeah, helmets on trees and jumps, kiddies

[Ocean11 0]

Right, so we all vote that miteyak should be made to wear helmet? It's for his own good...

[miteyak 0]

 

(you'll never take me alive...)

[Fattwins 0]

A new poll should be should miteyak wear a helmut. If yes would he agree to wear one. miteyak are you game. You post good reasons for not wearing one personal ones and we will either vote yes you should put it on or no you dont have to bother.

[its-a-clock 0]

Do it!

[snobee 0]

A few more stats and info.

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml99/99046.html

 

Also I'm looking for a lid for the kid (5yrs) looking for a lid for the kid (5yrs). Had a good look on the net, but any first hand bits much appreciated.

[jared 0]

While were at it we could have a should Ocean take up skiing and should jared take up ski boarding poll.

[snobee 0]

OOOPPS! Didn't notice that Kambei had already posted the same link. It seems the general consensus on here is that helmets are fine, but it's one's own choice. Probably that's the best perspective - but NOT to wear one because people have died while wearing a helmet or they envelope themselves in a false sense of security further endangering themselves(and others) are pretty poor excuses. If you don't want to wear one -just say I don't like them (too hot, tight, etc....) Using stats to prop up your decision, we may as well support all the loony states in the US which are repealing compulsory bike helmet laws - because they believe the figures are on their side and it's the riders right. Yeah, right!

[Siren 0]

a rather informative message (by a Randy S) on the subject posted on bomberonline:

 

 Quote:

Date: October 08, 2003 10:53 AM

Author: Randy S. (randysalzman(at)hotmail.com)

Subject: I've now owned 5 different ones

 

 

In the 9 years I've been wearing a helmet, I've owned 6 different ones. Here's my experience:

 

1) First and foremost, it has to fit right. Some people have round heads and some have more oval melons. Mine is oval. As a result, Leedom, Boeri and some others don't fit me well (they squish my head front-to-back if they fit side-to-side). Don't buy a helmet without first trying it on. It is OK to buy online if you at least try one from that mfg at a store (then buy it online to get the color or price you want). I've found that Briko, Giro, Acid, some Red's (Burton) and the new K2 fit my big (60cm) oval head.

 

2) Ventilation is key. My first helmet was a Briko race helmet with no vents. It was like wearing an igloo cooler on my head. I got so sweaty I was constantly wiping sweat from my eyes. This was true even though I was riding in NH and Maine at the time (where it is damn cold). Once I moved to California, there was no way I could ride with a helmet that wasn't well vented. Most of the time now I ride with earflaps off and all vents open all the time. Any helmet will keep you warm. You'll probably want earflaps, but removable ones are nice. The one benefit to full ear coverage (if you can stand the heat) is protection if you slide out. Full face is nice if you go really fast or ride in trees a lot. I have a full face (Giro Flint SC) but don't wear it too much because it is too warm. Also, it is hard to find full face helmets in XL size (Briko's largest is M/L). My newest helmet, the K2 Ultramatic has lots of vents and you can close some of them. The Giro 9 that someone else mentioned is also a nice one, but make sure you hang onto the plugs for the holes. Also, snow can get stuck in the holes if you do an endo in deep stuff. The K2 has mesh covering the holes to keep most snow out. If you never sweat (or get cold really easily), ventilation may not be important to you.

 

3) Removeable liner. Don't buy a helmet with a liner that is glued into it. You must be able to remove the whole liner so you can rinse it out. Your liner will get sweaty. If you rinse it each evening, you'll be fine. If you can't remove it, you can still rinse it, but it takes a lot longer to dry. The best thing I've found for getting rid of helmet stink is Febreeze. Interestingly, someone recently told me that if you mix 1 part Vodka with 8 parts water, it works just like Febreeze. Plus you can drink the leftover.

 

4) If heat is an issue, color can make a difference. Dark colors tend to be warmer, light colors cooler. This is much less important than ventilation, but an interesting consideration. I've noticed lately that there are relatively few light colored helmets available, unfortunately for those of us who sweat a lot.

 

5) Price doesn't matter when it comes to protection. I've had expensive (Briko) and cheap helmets (Acid). They all protect virtually the same, as long as they fit well. The more expensive ones seem to hold up longer and may have better fit/finish (ear flaps stay on, velcro stuff doesn't come unglued, etc.) If you are poor, buy a cheap helmet that fits, or you could even wear your bike helmet with a balaclava underneath.

 

6) Moto visors piss me off. I like to ride really fast. The visor has three drawbacks. One, it makes it very difficult to put your goggles up on the forehead of the helmet. Two, it catches the wind at speed and pulls your head back. Three, it impeeds vision when you are in a full tuck (and trying to keep your head down). The first thing I did on my Giro full face was to remove the visor after one run. I can't think of a single reason to have it there, unless you are enamored of the look. You're wearing sunglasses or goggles anyway, so it isn't going to keep the sun out of your eyes. Plus it could get caught in a fall and pull your head back more than you'd want. Loose the visor, in my opinion. Maybe one of you techno weenies can machine me a couple of cool spikes I can screw into the holes where the visor used to attach?

 

That's what I've learned from my experience. I've found that helmets last 2-3 years if you treat them well. I ride 30-45 days/year and wear a helmet all the time. I started because I wanted to set the right example for my kids. I keep it up because I've knocked my melon pretty hard a couple of times and been very happy to have the helmet on. They are all light enough now, and have sufficient visibility to work better than a hat (not scratchy, itchy). Most now have a decent goggle retention device on the back, although living in California allows me to wear sunglasses most of the time. I like someone else's idea of bringing goggles with you when you try them on. You may need to replace your goggles when you start wearing a helmet. Goggles that don't have vents on the front of the lens tend to fog more when you have a helmet on (the helmet may block some of the ventilation on the top of your goggle). Also, you can ditch the hood on your jacket when you wear a helmet. The hood will make all your body heat rise right into your goggles and fog them instantly.

 

Have fun.

 

[mogski 0]

A very infomrative post. Particularly the info on the vodka and water! Must try this.

[Ocean11 0]

I like having a sun visor on my helmet. It does help on sunny days as we all know that goggles aren't perfect. I treat my helmet and goggles as one unit most of the time and don't bother trying to raise them over the visor.

[Siren 0]

Ocean,

 

I am a convert after seeing yours. I am going get a full-face one this season (hence the interest). Should be useful in cold places like Niseko and Zao!

 

Siren

[Jim 0]

Pro tec is what I wear and its about the best value for money. I got the half pipe model as it has lots a vents and I dont get a crazy hot head. I still wear a beanie under it. Keep in mind you will helmet specific goggles for a helmet so I had to get new goggles also, Spy Blizzards in my case.

[Siren 0]

Agree with you - I am thinking of getting the Pro-tec Fullface as well. Giro Flint SC also looks cool but the price is double.

 

Does a Wisdom sit well with Pro-tec?

[indosnm 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by snowboard_freak:
[QB] I started wearing one this season and feel more confident. Especially riding through trees and doing jumps and rails.

A bit late but I couldn't resist!
A mate of mine last year said the same thing but I reminded him that a tree will still hurt helmet or none.
Anyway he managed to slam himself very badly into a tree with this added confidence. Funny thing was that it wasn't his protected part that hit the tree and caused major damage to his shouler!
We had to laugh