 Poster: A snowHead
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I can't be arsed to read the thread, but a friend hooked a tip on a hidden stump on a steep section of a tree run and triple backflipped into a tree a couple of days ago. He's a solid skiier and wasn't doing anything at all out of his depth or particularly risky. We're pretty sure without his helmet he'd of been at best knocked out. As it was, his helmet has a rather large dent in and I was able to dig him out, and he skied away. There's no excuse for not wearing a helmet.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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rob@rar, I was surprised (and pleased) to see two instructors wearing helmets in Val d'Isere back in February.
I'm hoping to spot more this season. 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Jonpim, only once seen an instructor wearing a helmet, and that was during a race camp. I think it's more common for instructors to wear them in North America?
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We got 2 of our kids helmets yesterday, they were really pleased with them. I think they were surprised at just how comfortable and lightweight they were, my daughter loves hers, it is a Salomon one with furry ears and chin strap:
http://www.salomonski.com/others/products/POISON-2-4-2-300643.html
We still have to get my injured son one, so we are off to S&R today to see if we can kit him out.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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IncogSkiSno, how is he?
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Yes, I would like to know too - how is your son?
I hope your christmas wasn't marred by all this.
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NewSkier, Jonpim, He's fine thanks, back to his normal self AFAICS, though he still can't remember the accident or that day. The accident has completely changed his view on helmets as he was really opposed to wearing one before the accident. We still have a lot of sorting out to do regarding the insurance claim, and also have to claim for his lost Dragon goggles, which he hadn't realised he'd lost until he got back to his hotel.
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So glad he is fine. Hope you manage to fnd him one today.
He will enthusiastically encourage other youngsters to wear helmets now no doubt!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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achilles, the chunkiness of the helmets IS irrelevant to the argument I was making.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Jumping on the back of this thread and from other stories i've heard I've been thinking about getting one - can anyone make any recommendations....
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Nick-o, This American site has some useful info: http://www.skihelmets.com/ about size, fitting etc. but ultimately my advice would be that you should not buy anything without trying it on.
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Only just read this thread - hope the news was good for your son.
Both my daughters have had nasty ski falls.
My youngest was only 8 (~now 13), when she fell forward on to her tummy- not a particularly big fall, but her ski flew up behind her and cracked her on the back of her head. The instructor didn't notice. When we picked her up from ski school she compained of headaches, took off her hat, to find a half inch wide and quite deep gash on the head. After that we bought her a helmet and she has always been quite willing to wear it since!!.
Luckily we also bought our elder daughter a helmet. Two years ago she tried snow boarding for the first time. She did very well, but at the end of the week whilst sliding across the hard packed flats to ski school meeting place she fell backwards and cracked her head on the ground. Even with her helmet on she had mild concussion. I dread to think what the result would have been without!
Stupidly however, neither my husband or I have ever worn helmets. After 25 years of skiing with no major falls, I suppose you begin to feel almost invincible!?! However, maybe it's the getting older bit, or premonition, but both of us have bought helmets for this season.!! I have to admit that I'm not relishing the idea - I even find wearing a bike helmet uncomfortable - but I will perservere!
Merry Christmas and a Happy and Safe New Year to you all!
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You know it makes sense.
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nickynastics, welcome to Snowheads - and helmets!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Weclome to nickynastics,
Like your family stories, after 20 years of skiing without a helmet or a headbanging crash, 4 years ago I managed it twice in two days when learning to snowboard, resulting in, as other people have said on here, the stars, the dizzyness, the need to go and lie in a darkend room for the afternoon. Ouch.
This persuaded me to...
not snowboard anymore.
But, with my wife and my skiing friends all buying and wearing helmets last year, and having skied with Rob@rar and others who know oh-so-slightly-more than I, I did actually go and get one this summer (it was Sale time...)
Yup, succumbs to peer pressure even at my age!
It will be interesting to try it out for the first time this winter, and see how I get on. But I wear the bike helmet now without any fuss, despite initial misgivings, so I guess it won't be too bad.
But it is also an interesting comment about instructors - I wonder, is it because they feel it restricts their ability to observe and teach, or because when taking a class, they will be skiing well within their own capabilities, and therefore (other piste users crashing into them notwithstanding ) feel they are unlikely to be injured. Or maybe some other reason?
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Poster: A snowHead
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some of this protective gear is getting a bit much.. i saw one link that had full face helmets.. nice n safe im sure but you will lose all sensation of being up in the mountains .. ok if your racing then fine, your not intrested in anything other than speed, in the park if you fancy huge jumps then great.. but there are a lot of people who dont want to have loads of protective clobber, are happy to take the extra risk and enjoy a bit more freedom of movement (with body armour!) and sensation (with less stuff on their head..) if your that worried about the risks watch it on telly, thats what it will feel like once your bundled up in all the robocop gear.. i do understand that the modern lids are fairly cheap and easy way to protect your bonce a bit and especially for kids.. but i can also see why a lot of adults choose not to wear em .. to be honest if i was taking my motorbike down the shops where i live and i had the choice i wouldnt wear my crash helmet.. i wouldnt be going over thirty and on a nice sunny day it would be great to poodle around without a lid on.. my choice to balance the risks against my enjoyment..
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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JimW, it is a machismo thing.
Like Italians and seat belts, to many people helmets are cissy.
At present an instructor in a helmet thinks he/she will be ragged by colleagues.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| Jonpim wrote: |
JimW, it is a machismo thing.
Like Italians and seat belts, to many people helmets are cissy.
At present an instructor in a helmet thinks he/she will be ragged by colleagues. |
For me it's mostly a comfort thing. I prefer to wear a hat to a helmet because it's more comfortable and I lose less aural and visual awareness. Yesterday was a typical example: in the morning I was shadowing a class of plough-paralleling kids with NewGen ski school and wore a hat. In the afternoon I skied for myself, working on high speed turns and wore a helmet. It's a fairly simple risk assessment - when I'm teaching/shadowing there's no discernible risk from my own actions and only limited risk from being crashed into by others so I don't wear a helmet. When I ski at my own level there is significantly more chance that I'm going to get things wrong, and if I do it's going to hurt because of the speed I'm traveling at. So I wear a helmet. Image or machismo has nothing to do with, although I do like the notion that I could be macho if I wanted to. So often I fail miserably at this...
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Jonpim, Yeah - I guess that's how many "tourist" adults used to feel it's taken some time for changes to come about. CANV CANVINGTON, Agree - and if you want to guarantee you don't get hurt, the only sure way of doing it is to watch skiing on TV.
rob@rar, 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Incogskisno : glad to hear he is doing so well
Out here in JH over half the skiers and snowusers are wearing lids, but also more than half - it seems - of the instructors. Seems a tipping point has been reached.
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CANV CANVINGTON, your point is well made.
I wonder if in time, when most of us are wearing helmets (and full body armour?), "freeriding" will take on a new meaning:
Like freediving and freeclimbing. it will be for a brave (mad?) elite who ski without any protection.
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I've come accross one guide in Europe who wears one - Graham Austick of Piste to Powder. However in Whistler, skiing with Extremely Canadian, they all seemed to. They made me hire one, but the fit was so bad and I had to drop it off at a Restaurant.
Still not quite made up my mind to buy one.... but I went as far as trying on a few last week when buying sunglasses.
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I have tried on absolutely loads of helmets, and have yet to find one that is a good fit and is comfortable. Adult ones are usually too big, and the junior ones too juvenile.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Helen Beaumont, I have a Giro 9 in a small see if you can try one of those
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| Quote: |
Adult ones are usually too big, and the junior ones too juvenile.
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Helen Beaumont, it took me a couple season to find a junior model that's not "juvenile". I guess I got tired of feeling cold in my hat and really wanted a helmet that is both warm and safe. So I finally got one that's still got some graphic but not the childish kind (the graphic is "abstract"). I agree the choice of helmet is still not quite there...
JimW, I'm not sure machaoism is the main reason for instructors not wearing helmet. Maybe just like you and nickynastics, most of us who had skied for decades simply don't feel helmet is such a urgent matter. So it just gets delayed and delayed...
So far, I found my helmet is MORE comfortable than a hat. As for lossing sensation, I found goggle does that more than helmet. So I think I'm going to keep my lid on.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Saw another pisteur wearing a helmet in Les Arcs today. Like the guy I saw yesterday he was a first aid pisteur rather than piste security.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I've seen quite a few instructors in Laax this season wearing lids.
My first helmet was a freebie- a Giro Fuse in a small, and it was too big for me, had to buy a new helmet in XS (a Giro 10 was the one that fitted best). Definitely a case of <smug> since Rutschen can never call me a big head again 
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Helen Beaumont, I think you'll find there are more around now, my son and daughter both bought size small helmets, and there were some XS and some of the kids ones were just smaller versions of the adult ones and not juvenille looking at all.
Anyway, we went to S&R yesterday and got a nice Red (brand name not the colour) Helmet (£80) and Oakley Goggles (£40) for my son who suffered the head injury.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Helen Beaumont wrote: |
| I have tried on absolutely loads of helmets, and have yet to find one that is a good fit and is comfortable. Adult ones are usually too big, and the junior ones too juvenile. |
Some helmets come with additional padding elements for the wearer to customize the fit. Failing that you can buy thin, breathable hats that are designed to be worn under a helmet to improve the fit.
Modern helmets are light and don't restrict peripheral vision or hearing to any degree worth mentioning. People often complain that they get too hot wearing one, but this is usually due to the wearer not wearing very technical/breathable clothing or knowing how to adjust layering to compensate for a lid.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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The extra padding elements are really useful for adjusting the fit - I have a weird shaped head (all long and pointy!) and it's never been easy to find a good one. The pads help loads. Mine is super comfortable now, I just dont notice it at all.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Just been watching the Hahnenkam downhill on TV with (non-skiing) hubby and saw MaCartney's awful fall which trashed his helmet not his head, though he was still knocked out, suffering severe concussion & bruising to his brain; they say the prognosis is good, fortunately. Hubby has now suggested I ought to get a helmet - we hadn't ever discussed it before. I think I will. Even though I have no intention of going very fast or anything, it's just too easy to slip or get knocked over and hit your head.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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to add to the top of discussion about ski instructors. I have never seen any of the ski instructors wearing helmets, they would be setting a great example if they did so. Although I have never seen an instructor have an accident or even look like falling over. I know you can never prevent a collision from behind, but it seems it'd be a waste of money.
I wonder whether most ski guides and instructors who take people off piste wear helmets?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
they would be setting a great example if they did so
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That's not their function. Make your own judgements.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Lizzard, They taught my kids 2 weeks ago. The kids were 6,7 and 9. Are the kids supposed to follow their example?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Christopher, No instructors on the piste in France wear a helmet, but I am not as good as an instructor so I wear one. Keeps my head nice and warm as well.
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thefatcontroller, your children are your responsibility. If you want them in helmets, make them wear helmets.
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Lizzard, Well I would think that they should be teaching you how to get the most enjoyment of the mountain environment in the safest possible way. Im sure a lot of instructors would agree with that comment. If for safety, helmets are essential (not that Im agreeing with that) then should instructors should encourage their use to improve safety.
I wouldn't say a ski instructor has a matter of fact blunt function to teach skiing, which is what you're implying.
Im not a helmet wearer so Im not hurrendously fussed, but I just think that it would be a good example. My opinion on the matter is that its your choice and I dont believe its worth me getting a helmet at my current level.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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FAQ
but from reading the thread a few more will have helmets on this Winter. 
. Kids listen to authority and act on what they see from those around them. I saw kids in Les Arcs without helmets on, it just amazed me. 
