| How many SnowHeads wear a helmet when skiing or boarding? |
| Skier: Never |
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62% |
[ 80 ] |
| Skier: Sometimes |
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14% |
[ 19 ] |
| Skier: Always |
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13% |
[ 18 ] |
| Boarder: Never |
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0% |
[ 1 ] |
| Boarder: Sometimes |
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0% |
[ 1 ] |
| Boarder:Always |
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7% |
[ 10 ] |
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| Voted : 127 |
| Total Votes : 129 |
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 Poster: A snowHead
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After banging my head quite painfully a couple of times last season I've decided that it's time to buy a helmet which I will wear at least some of the time. I was wondering what other SnowHeads do to protect their Heads from the Snow (and rocks, trees, pylons, poles and other mountain users) so perhaps you care to vote in this poll:
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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.org.uk, some of us are both boarders and skiers. You only let me vote once. I got my helmet for the season just gone, primarily as I decided to learn to board with my 12 yr old son, and most boarding sites recommended a helmet. It also allowed me to counter Tom's arguement for him not wearing a helmet: "But you don't wear one, Dad!". Now he just wants a cooler helmet than his sister! You can't win!
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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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Have never wore one. But persuasive argument from a SCGB rep at Argentiere, plus jonpim are leaning me towrds getting one.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I have worn one for the last 2 seasons, and find it messes my hair less than a hat, while allowing me to regulate my head temperature better...
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Sun 10-10-04 17:56; edited 1 time in total
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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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It's one of those things that I know I should do but I don't. I can't defend my choice and hope I don't regret it one day.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I guess I'm very slowly 'heading' in this direction, having just bought a bike and my first bike helmet.
Unlike Fox I don't want to "regulate my head temperature" - I'd like the feeling of cool Alpine air to continue to flow through my hair in spring, which rules out ski helmets for the moment. [No doubt Fox has a helmet containing a thermostat)
Bike helmets seem to be better ventilated.
Also, would I ski more dangerously near trees if I had a helmet on? I mean, would I be subconsciously trying to test it?
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I might actually wear one if I could ever find one that would fit, when I was younger I'd have liked to try my friends hovercraft, but they could never find a big enough crash helmet for me then, I think I must fall just beyond standard sized helmet ranges
No jokes about big heads please, it is actually a concern 
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Never used to, but after smacking my head badly and scaring myself last season, I decided it just wasn't worth the risk - merrily careering down the slope in just a bobble hat. I bought a Giro 9.9 which is feather-light and extremely comfy. It has removable ear flaps and vents if it gets hot.
Thought I would feel silly amongst my friends, but didn't and you soon forget you are wearing it.
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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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I've never worn a helmet, but I'm beginning to consider it. I'd certainly wear one if I was to ski off-piste, but part of me (the irresponsible part I guess) just seems to think that it's overkill for the types of slopes I ski.
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I did quite a bit of tree skiing last season in USA and hitting a few branches in the process I decided to buy a helmet, the Giro Fuse. wearing comfort is really good. as I am wearing it now all the time it saves me time in the mornings to figure out which hat to wear.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Ive never worn one, I know its the sensible option and will probably look around for one this year. I have been thinking about it for a while
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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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So.. Types of helmet. So far we have reccommendations for Giro FUse and Giro 9.9 ( Giro helmets have a good plug, then) any other reccommendations?
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Nick Zotov, I have the 9.9 as well.
The best reccomendation is to find one that fits and is comfortable - I tried different brands, and different models, but the 9.9 fitted the best.
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You know it makes sense.
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Wear The Fox Hat, Thankls WTFH. Found out there is more on helmets in this thread.
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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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I think my bike helmet probably saved my life after a nasty fall at speed on some rock whilst mountainbiking in the Lakes this summer, yet I still feel ambivalent about putting a helmet on for skiing. Its hard to quantify the risk on snow, head injuries seem less common in skiing than on bikes. I did wear one for my feeble attemts to snowbard and it hit the deck several times. I'll wait for this thread to develop before deciding - it is yet another thing to put onto the 20kg allowance.
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Poster: A snowHead
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No probs, Martin Nicholas, just wear it on the plane.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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scream, then he has to make a telemark landing.. .
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Sun 10-10-04 0:58; edited 1 time in total
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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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Any ideas why there are 155 views at the time of posting and 26 votes?, methinks this is not a very representative sample
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Never
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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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| Nick Zotov wrote: |
| So.. Types of helmet. So far we have reccommendations for Giro FUse and Giro 9.9 ( Giro helmets have a good plug, then) any other reccommendations? |
Last year I decided to get a helmet. After reading some reviews and looking at the various features available I bought.... a Giro 9.9. I am well pleased with it - as others have said it is lightweight and you can adjust the level of ventilation. It would seem from this sample that Giro should certainly be on anyone's shortlist (P.S I don't have shares in the company  )
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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T Bar, now 191 views and only 32 votes. An interesting statistic. I can never resist a survey, and find it hard to think others can. I can understand just peeking and not posting, but voting is just a quick click, so why not do it? A mystery. Unless there is a necesary option not included in the poll?
Yup! I've spotted it. There isn't a "don't know" option. Obvious now, isn't it.
I note no boarders have voted. I suppose they are scared of getting poked with a stick if they come over here. 
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Jonpim, Wot about those who have voted, and potter back to see what the subsequent chat is? Or do you think the statistics show "unique" views? 
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Over several polls, it has been noticed before that total views (some being repeat visitors) usually well outstrip votes. Could be that lurkers don't even want to click a button. Sometimes the design of the poll doesn't help. This one for example really needs to permit 2 choices as Jonpim pointed out. Normally it doesn't matter, we treat them as a bit of fun, but since this poll has been promoted to appear on the Home Page we now appear very skiing oriented. Actually that is true of forum activity but it would be nice to have more boarders contributing.
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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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kuwait_ian, when I posted the poll I did consider allowing two votes per person rather than just one, but assumed that most people would vote based on the activity (ski or board) that they spend most time doing. I wanted to avoid the situation where some people could vote for both 'Always' and 'Never' for the same sport, if for no other reason than it would make me, the poll's originator, look a little stupid. I figured that the majority of SnowHeads would consider themselves either as a skier or a boarder, even if they spent a little bit of time on the other sport. How many SnowHeads would consider themselves to be a tue "bi-slider"? A question for another poll perhaps!
It is disappointing to see the number of views significantly outweigh the number of posts, but I assumed that was accounted for muliple views by the same SnowHeads as they check back into the thread to see how the debate was developing. I can account for perhaps 10 of those views just by myself. Is there any way that the forum software can tell how many unique visitors the thread has had?
Regards
Rob
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Hmm. This argument is also developing in Another Place. As a result of this article in ski-injury.com and this article in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (which concludes that "..even if all participants wore helmets, it would not eliminate fatal injuries and may potentially increase the rate of other neurological injuries. ") I am now less clear about the benefit of having a helmet. I shall watch the discussion with interest.
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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 Zotov, that first site is an excellent source of all sorts of stuff about snowsports injuries, protective gear and treatments. Highly recommended and written by a doctor who takes part in ski patrol work in the Cairngorms. Check it out for more than just Helmet-related stuff, snowHeads. It's own search facility doesn't seem to work but it's so well structured the menus should take you where you need to go.
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You may want to have a look here where there's lots of info including sizes reviews and so on, also explains why I can't find a helmet to fit as onlya couple of manufacturers make them in my size !
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You know it makes sense.
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I have to admit to being a foaming at the mouth libertarian where it comes to compulsory helmets etc. Reading these articles makes me think it would be much more logical to make people wear helmets when driving the car or crossing the road. My wife is making me wear a helmet on my Bike though 
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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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T Bar, I don't think anyone is talking compulsion - and I am now tending to the view (I can flip-flop!) that there is no case for me wearing a helmet. Thinking about it, if there were, the insurance comapnies would have made them a requirement.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I wear it for comfort and protection in the trees, and on the chair liftts
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Nick Zotov, said
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I don't think anyone is talking compulsion
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Probably not on snowheads, though the medical profession seem to be urging it in many other fields and helmets are compulsory for children in Italy now I believe.
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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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T Bar, as a member of the medical profession, just what were you referring to when you wrote:"the medical profession seem to be urging it in many other fields"?
Nick Zotov, very naughty: after our little discussion on skiclub about trying to present a balanced picture of the debate, you go and post just one side of the argument. Everyone should also read this article "Skiing Helmets - An Evaluation of the Potential to Reduce Head Injury" by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (1999) which reviewed all the evidence available.
And please excuse my cynicism, but, if helmets do save lives, economics would actually encourage the insurers to dissuade their use. If you look at the skiclub "super" policy you will see that death costs £5,000, Permanent Total Disablement £10,000, while medical bills could cost up to £5,000,000. Death is clearly the cheapest option.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Jonpim wrote: |
| T Bar, as a member of the medical profession, just what were you referring to when you wrote:"the medical profession seem to be urging it in many other fields"? |
Dentistry, I expect. 
| Jonpim wrote: |
Nick Zotov, very naughty: after our little discussion on skiclub about trying to present a balanced picture of the debate, you go and post just one side of the argument. Everyone should also read this article "Skiing Helmets - An Evaluation of the Potential to Reduce Head Injury" by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (1999) which reviewed all the evidence available.
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Jonpim, isn't fairly every post on this forum preceded by an implicit IMO? If it isn't, then why are we mucking about chatting on safety issues?
From Vermont Ski Safety's FAQ page comes this:
| VSR FAQ for Skiers #6 wrote: |
HEAD INJURIES
In a typical year there are about 135,000 medically significant snow sport injuries in the US. Shealy has found 2.5% (3400) of the 135,000 are potentially serious head injuries. However, 77% (2600 of the 3400 per year) of all potentially serious head injuries are mild concussions, which do not usually require any treatment, and normally do not result in any long term consequences. In other words, on an annual basis in the US we can expect about 800 head injuries that will have some consequences, in a population of 10 to 15 million participants.
HELMETS
Shealy has found that approximately 60% of all fatal injuries in skiing involve the head. Virtually all of these are the result of a high speed impact, 90% occur on intermediate terrain, and 90% are to intermediate or expert skiers. Helmets are a known and proven effective means of reducing the likelihood of head injury, or in the alternative, of reducing the severity of a head injury, if one is struck in the head, or strikes one's head against some object or surface. However, helmets are probably more effective at preventing skull fractures than concussions. Yet skull fractures account for only 0.1% of all skiing injuries in comparison to concussions, which are about 2.5% of the total. It is not practical to build enough deceleration time and stopping distance into a helmet to be sufficient to provide a great deal of protection beyond a 12 to 15 miles per hour direct impact with a solid fixed object. Speeds that are routinely encountered in skiing range from 25 to 40 miles per hour on intermediate slopes. Thus, if a skier on the edge of an intermediate trail were to lose control at typical speeds and strike his or her head on a tree, it is unlikely that any commercially available helmet will be of any great assistance in the prevention of a devastating injury. If it were required that everyone wear a helmet while skiing, it would cost 1 to 1.5 billion dollars the first year (10 to 15 million skiers times 100 dollars per helmet) and approximately 50 to 100 million dollars per year to maintain the inventory after that, with no assurance that helmet use would substantially attenuate the severity of the roughly 800 serious head injuries or prevent very many of the 20 head related deaths which occur each year (the Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates 11 would be prevented).
COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS
For every death due to a head injury in skiing roughly a thousand times as many Alpine winter sports participants (20 to 25,000 per year) will suffer a devastating knee injury (ACL), each of which will cost ten to twenty thousand dollars in direct medical costs alone. This works out to 200 to 500 million dollars annually. But, there exists a solution that has the promise of cutting the toll of ACL injuries in skiing in half or better (see TIPS). According to our calculations, implementation of a national program, using what we already know can help to reduce the risk of this devastating injury, would not be more than $2.5 million dollars spread over the first five years and about $100,000 a year to maintain the program after that. The savings envisioned through such a program could be 125 million dollars per year.
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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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Duplicate post deleted.
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Sun 10-10-04 16:54; edited 1 time in total
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Jonpim, Sorry, I meant only to point out why I now doubted whether a helmet was for me. As for the American Consumer Product Safety Commission report, I was swayed by the comment in ski-injury.com that
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this study has been criticised by most leading ski injury researchers (including Bob Johnson & Rick Greenwald) as being politically motivated with misleading use of statistics. As one example, snowboarding head injuries are quoted rather dramatically as having risen from 1000 in 1993 to 5200 in 1997 – without mentioning that the straightforward reason for this was that the total number of snowboarders on the slopes increased by at least the same % if not more! ...
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D G Orf, as a XXL Boeri user (62cm head circumference), you will allow me to recommend them wholeheartedly, especially the Moto-style race ones like the Myto Switch.
Not for "safety" but comfort through discouragement of stinging branches and the like.
One thing I am somewhat mystified by in this thread is the noticeable need for ventilation to avert head sweat aka (by WTFH) "resting the head on its lees".
(Does that give it a mushroom flavor or Burgundy aroma, WTFH?)
How well muffled are you ventilators elsewhere? Would you welcome the possibility of a lighter jacket along with the warm helmet? Warm helmet, lighter gloves, tighter boots, lighter base layer?
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comprex, I'm glad you're keeping an eye on my spelling!
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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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comprex, that might just fit but it would be very close
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FAQ
