 Poster: A snowHead
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I know it has come up in various threads and reading them convinced me to start using a helmet and my daughters have always worn one. I need some help in trying to convince my wife to use one. I have used all the arguments that I can think of and I know some will say it is personal choice but I would be much happier if I could persuade her.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I use one. It keeps my bonce nice and toasty, and stops the pain when I bang my head on chairlifts. I don't know how much use it will be if I hit a tree, but I expect it to be of some use if someone skis/boards in to me.
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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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I must buy a lid also - we have looked at them a few times but never been out and bought one.
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kevinrhead, has she tried them on yet, and found one that fitted?
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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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I bought one in La Rosiere last February following intense pressure from SP - he quite rightly could not understand why he had to wear one I didn't. I have to say I do feel very warm and comfortable with it on and as we will be going off piste I feel it's an essential piece of kit.
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Ok I said I would never get one... After all I know how to ski, I don't go mental like some of the boys, I'm not jumping or whizzing through the trees... And they look hideous!
Anyway I had a bad fall - you know one of those stupid ones where you're going really slow, catch an edge and just hit the deck. The reverberations in my head were crazy... decided to investigate options...
At the same time took up interest in snowboarding and found in that arena most of my mates wear helmets as a matter of course and that there are some nice ones out there.
Found a good fit... and am now the proud owner of metallic red lid in the following style...
http://www.the-eye-shop.com/EN/produit.aspx?categ=1&id_pdt=25403
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Wear The Fox Hat, No can't even convince her to get that far.
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Helmets are the spawn of the devil. I got hit by a guy wearing one. Lucky not to have cracked a rib. if you are not going to crash into people, then by all means wear one. I speak as someone who wears one for ice climbing - where there is a real risk ( of crap coming down the route) and a helmet will do some real good. For me for me on a ski slope the helmet carries all the connotations of the false burberry skip cap worn by your standard ned/chav .
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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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CP,
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| I bought one in La Rosiere last February |
Small world - me too.
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stevepick, you'd have been hit whether the guy was wearing one or not.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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stevepick, I tried one out for the 1st time last winter. Mine saved me from several chairlift related headaches. I got it from Facewest. When I was snowboarding in Heavenly, I did not have a helmet and hit my head on the piste when I fell , which left me pretty dazed.
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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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You know it makes sense.
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stevepick,
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Sorry guys, I have never been hit on the head by a chair - where are you standing?????
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Same place I have stood for the last 21 winters, but I bow to your greater experience, unless of course you simply ski 1 week a year 
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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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| stevepick wrote: |
| Learn not to fall over |
 NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
One of the major causes of injuries is because people learn not to fall over, rather than learning how to fall correctly!
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Poster: A snowHead
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If you don't fall over, while skiing, every now and then you're not trying hard enough.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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or drinking enough
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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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My helmet doesn't give me a false sense of security. In fact, I don't really notice I have it on. I just bought it for one of those freak occasions when I accidentally have a tumble and bang my head on something hard.
Just like when riding a bike/ motorbike.
Just like when I used to ride my horse.
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I have mentioned this before, but do ski helmets come with the same replacement warranties that bike helmets do? ie: When you take a fall and hit it, and therefore it is rendered ineffective do they give you money off your new one?
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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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Steve, the collision might have hurt you, but you can be pretty sure that the other guy was thankful he was wearing a helmet! At the end of the day, everyone can have an accident, including guys much more experienced and skilled than yourself.
An arguement I might make to a mother would be based along the lines of what might happen if the worst did occur. With no helmet she would vastly increase the chance that she leaves her daughters without a mother. All because she wouldnt wear a helmet.
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magicrichard, don't know the answer but they certainly should as most are made by the same manufacturers who make bike bone domes - Giro being the biggest I suspect.
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kevinrhead, tell her shes just being selfish
stevepick, maybe if you learnt to be more observant and dodge rocks then you wouldnt need a helmet to climb, its a pointless fashion accessory.
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kuwait_ian, There was a plan for bike helmets to be made VAT free to encourage more people to buy them. Maybe the same scheme ought to apply to ski helmets - if they really are deemed that necessary. I'm tempted to buy one, but for £60 i'm willing to risk that i'v never hit my head yet...
Paul Holland, I reckon a helmet would give me a false sense of security, i remember when i was into slightly more hard-core mountain biking, stnading at the top of a particularly tough looking track, helmet, gloves shin pads, goggles- i thought i was terminator... one collision with a tree later, and a bruised shoulder I realised that even with all this kit i still could have dislocated my shoulder and was going just that bit too fast!
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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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magicrichard, we had something previously about Vat-free safety equipment but I'm not sure if bike helmets are in that category.
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| buns wrote: |
Steve, the collision might have hurt you, but you can be pretty sure that the other guy was thankful he was wearing a helmet! At the end of the day, everyone can have an accident, including guys much more experienced and skilled than yourself.
An arguement I might make to a mother would be based along the lines of what might happen if the worst did occur. With no helmet she would vastly increase the chance that she leaves her daughters without a mother. All because she wouldnt wear a helmet. |
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you could argue that she shouldnt be on the slopes at all then. 
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are there any hard stats on the effectivness of wearing helmets on the slopes?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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magicrichard, perhaps without the kit would *would have* dislocated your shoulder
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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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CANV CANVINGTON, there are stats, but any time I've seen them posted, the "anti helmet brigade" come out and make counter claims that anyone who wears a helmet skis more dangerously, so they automatically discount the stats.
i.e. if you are really against wearing a helmet, you'll find ways of arguing the stats are invalid.
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stevepick, maybe if you learnt to be more observant and dodge rocks then you wouldnt need a helmet to climb, its a pointless fashion accessory.
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Nadenoodlee, I'm assuming this is supposed to be sarcastic, but just in case you seriously believe it, the risks of head injury from rockfall while climbing are fairly significant, and certainly far greater than while skiing, even off-piste, or snowboarding.
I come from a family of mountaineers and climbers, and my mother suffered a slight permanent loss of function on her left side at age 21 when hit by rockfall while climbing in the Dolomites - she took off her helmet for a couple of minutes because she wanted to eat a cheese buttie and the chinstrap meant she couldn't open her mouth...extremely unlucky but the point is that rockfall is unpredictable and there is no equivalent in skiing.
Most climbers will wear helmets, and most climbers who ski will not wera them while skiing. I've skied 21 years without a helmet, including many years off-piste, and never hurt my head, although I always wear a rucsack which helps with heel edge crashes on snowboard. It's a personal choice like anything, but I really object to this idea that if you're a serious skier you must wear a helmet - it simply isn't true!
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You know it makes sense.
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| Plake wrote: |
Nadenoodlee, I'm assuming this is supposed to be sarcastic, |
You assume right. well done. 
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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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Should we read anything into the fact that most of the stories about people being converted to using helmets, or being glad they were wearing one, involve low speed crashes or banging your head on a chairlift?
I am pretty ambivalent about helmets. I'd probably own one if I could find one big enough for my head. There are very occasionally times when I would feel better about a run if I had one (eg if I am planning to ski fast down a narrow couloir with rocky sides). Thing is, when I think about it rationally, I am not totally sold on how much good a helmet will do if I crash in such a situation. It'll be good for a glancing blow but if it's a head on collision, the damage is done by the brain bashing against the inside of the skull as you slow down v quickly. There isn't a huge amount a skiing helmet can do about this. When it comes down to it, it's about personal choice and accepting responsibility for that choice - I don't like the tut-tutting that comes out in debates like this.
As an aside, I'll mention that Jamie Pierre does his huge cliff jumps without a helmet. He sometimes suffers from concussion - not because he bangs his head on something but because of his brain rattling around inside his skull as a result of his rapid decelleration on impact. Not sure what this illustrates except that helmets aren't the answer to everything and that Jamie Pierre is slightly crazy.
Finally, Plake, I know what climbing helmets are supposed to protect you against. I have been lucky enough never to have to dodge rockfall. I do find a helmet v useful for not braining myself on overhangs however!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Its a personal choice, like wearing seat belts, taking drugs, smoking etc.
Why rant against people that want to wear one?
It doesn't bother anyone else. You cant do 'passive helmet wearing' like smoking.
It's the warmest, most comfortable ski hat I've ever had, and I'd probably carry on wearing it even if it didn't offer some head protection as well.
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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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Arno, Im no expert but the space between the skull and the helmet's shell is designd to deform - absorbing impact energy. THe resulting 'brain slosh' is much reduced.
I dont have a helmet, but will considder one if I do much more off piste and after Adam's 'experience' in the fun park at the PSB, would get one for throwing myself over stuff.
I have been knocked unconcious once - aged about twelve I fell out of a tree house onto a concrete slab ! (less the four feet)
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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lampbus, my understanding is that this aspect of helmet design protects against sharp impacts which might damage the skull (eg your head catching a sharp piece of rock) but makes much less of a difference on "brain slosh" (good term, btw!). I may be wrong on this though - just going on what I have read.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Dave J said :
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Its a personal choice, like wearing seat belts, taking drugs, smoking etc.
Why rant against people that want to wear one?
It doesn't bother anyone else. You cant do 'passive helmet wearing' like smoking.
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Dave I don't disagree with your personal choice to wear one - just don't hit me when you do!!! . I don't wear one for most of the reasons listed by Arno. I just think they have been hyped by an industry that like to sell us lots of useless things ( anyone remember compact skiis? rear entry boots , fluorescent skiwear - yes people bought that in thier droves too  including me)
Finally snowbunny please don't take this the wrong way , but if you are standing in the same place and you get hit by chairs all the time - then maybe a position change would help??  , and yes I am a very good skier , I have been told so by BASI trainers, I learn't to ski in scotland in leather boots on skiis with the edges screwed on and leashes intstead of snow brakes, and I have spent a long time on snow at every oportunity in scotland and abroad.
Finally my brother is a racer, he wears a helmet when racing , but it didn't save his ACL when he had his worst crash, and he doesn't wear one when he is free skiing - mind you a good bang on his head might actually improve him 
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Arno, I think it's a bit of both. If a helmet was just for stopping impacts shattering your skull, then they would just be made out of a tough piece of plastic or something.
The reality is that they also have a layer of thick polystyrene which acts as a crumple zone, helping to prevent brain damage. I think. 
The horse world went through this a few years ago with the result of all the hats having to comply to the PAS015 standard which meant the hats look incredibly stupid as they stick out more than an inch over each side of the head, much like the Giro Bad Lieutenant.
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Just a report f mine from the News-SKier dies in Banff
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So he/she is one of the first reported deaths this season.
Maybe it is the first but it wont be the last .
It happens every season.
If folks want to buy/where a helmut fine but please dont force the issue on us all.
A word of warning about Ski Helmuts. Im not sure if theres any safety standard for the manufacturing of these helmuts ie; like Motorcycle helmuts ?
From what I have seen of skiers/boarders who have them and treat them like footballs ie; crunch heads, drop them etc . They are pretty much rendered useless
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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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stevepick, absolute rubbish.
I come from a Moutain Bike background (competed at junior level some years ago now), and, similar to what Paul Holland has said about riding, people had the same arguments then as they do about ski helmets now: they look terrible, no proof they help you, I'm so good I won't crash, and all the rest of the crap I heard then on the subject.
BS, ANSI and similar standards ARE NOT a fashion accessory, they are scientifically proven and meticiously applied standards that are designed to save your life in case of an accident.
The only reason for not wearing a helmet, is, from what I can tell - the concern that it won't go with your Versace one piece with fur trimmed hood and gucci sunglasses.. and if thats the case - a fractured skull might do them some good.
And yes, I feel very strongly about this. Have to admit though - been hit across the back of the head by a chair would suggest to me to move, rather than buy a helmet
I wouldn't force the issue on anyone (although I wouldn't blame insurers from doing so), but don't expect any sympathy from me when you get a serious head injury when skiing whilst not wearing one.
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In my opinion, and in my job skiing with guests sometimes, its not just what I do, but what other people do. And with resorts getting more and more popular, there are a lot more people about to cause you potential problems. It would really wee wee me off if my head got injured, and it wasn't even my fault... So I wear a helmet.
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