veronica 2 Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 Optional but advised..! Link to post Share on other sites
oo 1 Posted January 10, 2003 Share Posted January 10, 2003 Entirely optional. Thats it. Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted January 11, 2003 Share Posted January 11, 2003 Quote: Originally posted by Shimba: You don't have to be reckless to have an accident... Heard that a few times... esp. from people who crash driving. I hit black ice, the road was wet, etc, etc, etc. As with everything, if you crash (unless a third party was involved), there was an element you didn't know about or couldn't control. You were riding outside of your ability... reckless. If reckless turns you on, you probably should wear a helmet (motorcycle ones, read the reports, little else will save you) and full body armour. For those of us who ride within our abilities, however, unnecessary ('ccept fer headaches, of course, hardly a safety/mandatory issue, though.) Link to post Share on other sites
badmigraine 0 Posted January 11, 2003 Share Posted January 11, 2003 Good point, miteyak. Often the Xtreme, pro, or wanna/gonnabe-pro people who most vociferously decline to wear helmets are the very ones who should be wearing them. It's not like there is any perplexing question about whether helmets actually work... I guess I missed indoctrination to the philosophy that it's cool to skip helmets or pads when doing dangerous things. Lucky me. Heard a good one at the Mt. Brighton pipe here in Michigan. Some teen was jeering at another teen for wearing a helmet. The helmet guy replied, "Yeah, I can see how it's a waste of helmet money to try to protect YOUR tiny feeble brain..." Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted January 11, 2003 Share Posted January 11, 2003 Hey I know that dude Jesse. It was a pretty big shock to have someone in the community get really messed up. The thing was he was riding a 20 step hand rail in a parking lot in September. They were using crushed ice for a ramp and he was over concrete. Not exactly the kind of conditions most of us face on a day to day basis. But if you are good enough to be trying that kind of thing then you probably won't be wearing a helmet. My mortal fear of concrete will keep me away from that forever. Link to post Share on other sites
neversummer 0 Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 each to his own..but those of us who wear a helmet know the value when you take a huge hit to the head!! the first thing you think, even if youre winded, is how f#cked up you would have been if you werent wearing one. I bought one on my second day in canada, my first OS trip from Oz. Riding the 'Super-G' course at Sunshine Village from the '88 Olympics and ate it going over a roller at speed. Smashed my nose, goggles hit so hard they left cuts under my eyes and I dont ride without a helmet anymore unless helping friends learn. Use your brain, helmets are passed being 'on-cool' Link to post Share on other sites
gamera 0 Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Humm.... perhaps helmets protect people when they hit their heads, so we should wear one. But I have a problem!!!!!! My head is really big, 63cm around!!!!! So I have always had a hard time to find a cap or a hat in shops in Japan since I was a kid. When I was a high school student, there were not any caps that fitted my head. The only available one were 61cm, so I got it and cut the back side a bit to fit my head. Then moral tutors called me to ask why i did that. I needed to explain why. Then they all got surprised like " OMG, what a big head you have!".... After that, no moral tutors called me for it. Helmets are scary if they cover chin because I think I can try to wear one but if it's impossible for me to wear it off due to my head size.... Wish I could get a helmet that fits my head Link to post Share on other sites
nzlegend 1 Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Quote: Originally posted by gamera: My head is really big, 63cm around!!!!! Then they all got surprised like " OMG, what a big head you have!".... I had a friend with a big head.....we used to call him "bubble" I know your problem my head is 61cm around and I have recently tried on several helmets at Spotaka. All of them were woefully small, me thinks the majority of Japanese have small melons to match their small feet. I have 29cm feet (10UK, 11US) modest size feet by any stanards back home,but impossible to find shoes in Japan. I can see many western guys nodding in agreement from behind their computer monitors. It seems I am resigned to purchase my foot and now head commodities in the land of the the larger proportioned Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 I too have immense cranial capacity, but my Lavance helmet has room to spare and extra padding inserts supplied... Link to post Share on other sites
nzlegend 1 Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Lavance aye? where did you buy it Oceans? in the UK? or here? Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 I got it in a shop in Suwa that was having a moving sale. Knocked down from 12,000 to 8,000. I haven't seen them in any other shops though, but I haven't looked very hard either. A word of caution though - while it offers great protection, an airy lid it ain't. Link to post Share on other sites
Glen Falting 0 Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 The Japan Times had an article the other day about some research showing that because people with helmets tend to feel more protected, they tend to ski/board harder than they otherwise would. The result being that the aggressive skiing/boarding tends to negate the benefit of a helmet....strange but true (apparently!). The conclusion of the research was that people should wear helmets, but ski/board as if they aren't. I wear a helmet and wouldn't snow board with out one. Catching even a minor heel side front edge is enough to ruin a weekend. Link to post Share on other sites
rajeem 0 Posted January 15, 2003 Share Posted January 15, 2003 That's interesting to hear. People going mad with their helmets on! Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted January 15, 2003 Share Posted January 15, 2003 I doubt that it's particularly accurate. A certain percentage are going to be wearing helmets out of prudence, and that sort of person is not going to push the envelope further than they otherwise would. Anyway, how do you measure 'what extra risk you would take if'n you were wearing a helmet' with any degree of accuracy? A lot of people will tend to board harder and harder the better they get, whether or not they wear a helmet. I certainly go faster than I used to. That's not to say that certain nutters won't feel invulnerable with a lid on, but I doubt it's a widespread tendency. Link to post Share on other sites
Glen Falting 0 Posted January 15, 2003 Share Posted January 15, 2003 Not that I have any vested interest in the research, but I suspect the conclusions were reached because they found that the increase in the use of helmets was not, in certain circumstances, producing a corresponding reduction in injuries. They also found that for direct impacts above certain speeds (can't remember the exact speed, but it was surprisingly slow), the presence of a Helmet provided no significant benefit. I guess it pretty much depends on the individual. Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted January 15, 2003 Share Posted January 15, 2003 It's all been said before so I'm not going to harp on but mandatory helmet laws for cycling have often led to increased fatality amongst cyclists. The British government deemed there to be no real evidence to support the introduction of a mandatory helmet laws for cyclists, so one wasn't introduced. The figures for snow sliding also suggest helmets don't stop you dying. Ever heard anyone say they wouldnt try something without a helmet... well there you have evidence that helmets do lead to a false sense of security. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted January 15, 2003 Share Posted January 15, 2003 In the UK nearly everyone seems to wear a helmet anyway. I wonder what effect the voluntary use of helmets has had on head injuries. That someone would want a basic level of protection before trying something risky doesn't necessarily mean that they have a false sense of security. I wouldn't Dirtsurf without wrist guards on, but it doesn't mean I don't think it's not gonna hurt if I bing and fall down on them. But this roundabout gets tiresome... I think I'll get off here. Link to post Share on other sites
@tokyo 14 Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 Optional, for sure. Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted January 28, 2003 Share Posted January 28, 2003 I tend to think I ride about the same with or without my helmet. I rarely wear it but have resigned to wear it more often this year when I know I will be riding the park. I was wearing it yesterday and found myself not even noticing it was on. Link to post Share on other sites
Raury 0 Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 Here is a site with a lot of info on it: Lids On Kids Link to post Share on other sites
tinmachine 0 Posted January 31, 2003 Share Posted January 31, 2003 They shouldn't be mandatory, but definitely advised. Link to post Share on other sites
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