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Shopping online will save you some money in some cases, last year helmets online were several thousand yen cheaper than in the shops near where I live. They usually have the measurements in the website you are buying from. As ocean said there is a risk in buying something without trying it first, however, it did work quite well for me. In my experience if you do enough research you have a lot of chances of getting something right for you. I wouldn't bother with buying boots online though, but the helmet fit doesn't need to be as exact as your boots.

 

AK77, to wear helmet is a matter of personal choice, of course! But I think people here are just giving advice based on their valuable experience. Nobody is imposing helmet on anyone, (not that they even can, unless they own a ski resort). They are just saying "look if I hadn't been wearing a helmet I probably wouldn't be here right now writing this post so I think a helmet is really important". From that and other posts you draw your own conclusions and make your personal choices and assume the possible consequences related to them. This is the nature of internet forums, and I don't see anything strange going on in this one.

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AK-Not really trying to be persuaded or influenced in any way. Just wondering what people opinions were, and if anything I was really just trying to start something with EBC and you... ;\) there just doesn't seem to be the right amount of banter on this forum.

 

But if you really want to know my head is sort long and round with a bump in the back kind of like a western eggplant with a tumor......now can you help me???? :p

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Definitely want adjustable vents, thinking about the tunes option. Are they easy to turn on and off without having to undress. Good for chatting with your mates before dropping the line.....

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 Quote:
Originally posted by Fubuki:
Definitely want adjustable vents, thinking about the tunes option. Are they easy to turn on and off without having to undress. Good for chatting with your mates before dropping the line.....
I have the giro fuse with the tuneups. they have a mute button that you can clip to your collar. It froze up on me one stormday and I had it exposed to the elements. (only two days experience so far) Otherwise it was ok. There is a port on the earpiece where the wire plugs in- you can unplug really easily. usually, I just bump the mute button when I pull into a lift coral, or whatever. I think it's kind of a novelty that I don't expect to ski with on a daily basis, but rather those solo/storm days, etc...
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yeah that's a good point Samurai, didn't think about it freezing. But if it only happens on the really brutal days it could be worth the extra. It[s always nice to get you into the flow when you cruzin the trees.

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I learnt to board in Japan and one of the first things I bought was a helmet. My brother-in-law (nihonjin) said he didn't want to board with me if I was wearing a helmet :rolleyes: There was an element of truth behind the joking. I was very glad to have the helmet I am sure it saved me from concussion on a number of times. I stay up-right a lot more now but as TB said, once you've worn one there's no going back.

 

I cycle a lot and used to cycle tour around Europe in my younger days. I was militant anti-helmet. I used to pour scorn on cyclists I'd see wearing helmets. I used to think it was nuts cycling in 35 degrees with a helmet. I then got hit by a car. The next day I hobbled into a shop and bought a helmet. My main concern is that I don't want to be left in a vegative state, dead is fine, dribbling is a no-no. I've had to visit a friend after a cycling related head injury (no helmet). I was 18 and when I saw him they reckoned his mental age was back up to 15. He didn't recognise us, he was confused and it was shocking. I still continued to refuse to wear a helmet until said car accident 10 years later.

 

So I have my snowboarding helmet, so does Mrs T and the little T's now each have trooper style cam helmets. I think they look cool and where on earth are you going to attach your helmet cam otherwise? ;\)

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yeah samurai i just picked up a giro fuse, i chose it over the nine9 cause it has the easy vent system and is still super light. the helmet i was wearing when i crashed out in nz was a giro encore.... and i don't reccommend it, way too big and heavy. i just ordered tuneups for my fuse, and was looking at the earpads on it now, can't pull them out...... do i just have to really tug them out? i'm kinda scared incase they are not supposed to and then i ruin them, but they are supposed to come off right? surely. they come out really easy on the encore. confused.gif

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Dude,

Helmet all the way. The last thing you want is a dent in your dome. I've got 2 helmets - one for the home mountain and one for the road. Now adays, they are so well made - you don't even feel the difference after a couple of runs.

 

Plus, helmets give you that 'hard core' look now adays.

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Brain Buckets!

 

I've found them to be most comfortable too in cold condition, and

 

I'd rather use my head to buy a helmet and wear it than using my head to

 

smack something hard and fast or fend off a accidental collission with skis or a board.

 

Don't worry - you can still pick up wearing a helmet.

 

They might even become fashionable if enough teenagers have the sense to wear them.

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Any sport that involves speed eventually uses helmets. Think about it, it is simple physics.

 

If you hit your head on something hard at 20+ kays you are going to do a lot of damage. Any sort of helmet is going to reduce the damage. The better the helmet the less the damage.

 

A few people have said that this is personal choice, well I'm not so sure it is. It is easy to say that the only person I'm hurting is myself, but if you end up vegetative or quite impaired it is often your family that takes up the slack - you can hardly call that zero impact.

 

I used to motor race and was religious about my safety gear, but for some reason didn't wear a helmet skiing or cycling. Being concussed a few times and then knocked out for 10 mins on a lonely on piste run soon put me right. If I go fast on anything I wear a helmet. Simple.

 

The helmet I have for skiing is awesome for warmth (can't remember the brand) during the cold months but has removable earpieces which makes spring skiing so much more bearable. The next helmet I get will definitely have more options for venting!

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There is in increased chance of neck injury with a helmet (especially with a cheap heavy one), despite the decreased chance of head injury. Head injuries are far more common of the two in skiing and boarding, but there's more than one way to become a nasu.

 

Weigh the risks and rewards of a helmet based on what/how you ski or ride. The answer is usually going to be that a helmet is good for most people, but not always.

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I'm for helmets.

There was a fatality at Happo last season where a snowboarder came off a cat track and hit a tree. Here is a photo of the accident site.

Snow%20Rat_1.jpg

The tree in the centre of the photo with the top bent over was the one involved. I couldn't believe how a small tree like that could cause so much damage.

I think that sport injuries can often be more about "hitting the sweet spot" and less about being reckless, careless or useless. Although I am probably biased after a torn ACL and dislocated shoulder from some pretty uneventful skiing over recent years.

I have purchased 2 helmets in the past 2 years. The first one I bought for a steal off ebay but threw it away because it gave me a headache. My new helmet is a RED Frequency size XL (I have a 62cm bucket head. I couldn't get a suitable fit in a Giro, the XL's were too tight and the XXL's didn't feel right.

My tips for buying a helmet are:

- Go to a really big store that has heaps of helmets to choose from. Try on every helmet in the store without looking at the price tag. Buy the most comfortable helmet that you try on.

- Get vents

- Put it on

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 Quote:
Originally posted by Tohoku bum:
There is in increased chance of neck injury with a helmet (especially with a cheap heavy one), despite the decreased chance of head injury.
by that logic wearing selt belts causes a massive increase in neck injuries in car accidents: whiplash etc.
Whiplash sucks but it beat the hell out of cannon balling out a car windshield and dying instantly.
Most helmets are incredibly light these days (my helmet is only 370gm - my beanie weighs 140gm! - long dreadlocks probably weigh more than my lid) and at the end of the day if someone elses ski or a rock or tree is going to make contact with your cranium, then having a helmet to absorb the impact and negate the impulse of said collision is a no brainer - cheesy pun intended.

Sadly many humans are very cavalier towards their health from refraining from wearing seatbelts, to saying no thanks to wearing helmets to inhaling noxious carcinogenic smoke into our lungs etc.
Take the risk at your own peril.
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Quick solution to online shopping problem.

1. Go to Alpen or Himaraya or other big store and try on all helmets. Find model and size right for you.

2. Check out rakuten

3. Buy from the cheapest place

 

This approach works for other items, too, of course!

 

Yes, it's a bit of trouble but you'll be hitting the big shops to buy various odds and ends anyway. As far as loyalty to the shop goes... well, most times their prices are obnoxiously high; they can use the online competition.

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 Quote:
Originally posted by SG:
 Quote:
Originally posted by Tohoku bum:
There is in increased chance of neck injury with a helmet (especially with a cheap heavy one), despite the decreased chance of head injury.
by that logic wearing selt belts causes a massive increase in neck injuries in car accidents: whiplash etc.
Look, I'm not advocating not wearing a helmet. And I'm not in the mood for a philosophical debate about this.

car seats have headrests to prevent your head from snapping backwards if you are rear-ended. If you are rear-ended on skiing or riding and you've got a two-pounder on your head...

Connecting what I said with not wearing a seatbelt? man, talk about being illogical.
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And so I won't be misunderstood about this (again). . .

 

If you're riding park, you'd be a moron not to wear head protection.

 

If you're racing or in the trees without a met, you're even stupider than the moron in the park.

 

If you ski under control on groomers, your biggest danger is probably the out-of-control **** about to rear-end you. And a helmet is as likely to do harm in that situation as it is to do good.

 

I have been blindsided twice--once the person broke my pole, the other time the person cracked my ski boot. The time my ski boot cracked, my neck was f'd for weeks. Personally, I'm glad I wasn't wearing a helmet that time.

 

Why am I suddenly the guy advocating not wearing seatbelts for pointing out a very real danger?

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I have been on piste and off piste for over 30 years w/o a helmut. I can't fathom the extra weight of a helmut given all the gear I am usually already hauling. Looking back it would never have been of use to me so far.

 

I am more aware of my environment w/o a helmut, I have better sound perceptions.

 

I have never come close to hitting a tree head-on even in Japan. Bad luck is always possible, ie a hidden branch in the snow, etc... If you come so close to hitting trees on a regular basis, then my question is: should you be wearing a helmut or should you be in the trees at all? If you have good control and technique but would like to wear a helmut because of the potential bad luck factor mentionned above, then completly understandable.

 

If caught in a slide, then a helmut probably helps with trauma style injuries linked to whatever comes your way while the moving snowpack is rumbling you around. A lot of broken necks too in slides, not sure statistically whether a helmut helps or not on that front.

 

I have never some close to a collision in Japan but have witnessed many. Once again, being aware of your surroundings may help more than wearing a helmet and assuming that since you are protected you can pay less attention. It is similar to driving, being a good driver yourself or wearing a seat-belt will help but not fully protect you. You have to gauge your surroundings carefully and anticipate other drivers' potential mistakes around you even if they do not necessarily take place.

 

I am still hesitating on the helmut, but sticking to not wearing one for now...

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 Quote:
oHHH i did it, i totally thought i was gonna break them, but it worked, cheers tsonda.
There is a shark fin like piece of plastic stitched on the pads that clips on the helmet.
I find it easier to take them out when I grab the pads from there.

SerrceChe m8, not knowing the dangers that lie ahead and don’t take precautions is recklessness. Knowing the dangers that lie ahead and still don’t take precautions is foolishness.
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I respect people's choice of wearing or not a helmet and may end-up wearing one at some stage but would not go around calling people who do not reckless or fools.

Tsonda, if I follow your line of thought then I assume that when you are hitting the BC you always wear an Avalung AND an ABS on top of the usual safety gear right?

Quite a few people break legs and other stuff on the slopes as well. Why aren't we all wearing full body armour then?

It is all about risks/rewards ratio and we all have different threshholds.

What are your odds of getting head trauma while skiing / boarding?

How does that compare to your odds of getting head trauma while driving? I bet more people get head trauma as a result of driving than being on the slopes (to be fair people spend more time in their car than on the slopes). Do you wear a helmet in your car when you are driving (do yo work for the highway company or the police? \:\) )?

How much is enough and how much is too much? It varies from person to person. Respecting other opinions is always a good start. Does the guy who wears a helmet + another extra piece of safety equipment (that you do not own) have the right to call you reckless or foolish?

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