 Poster: A snowHead
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I have never worn one except for DH races, but will be wearing one at half term this year - also DH mountain bike body armour if I can get it. With almost the whole of europe on holiday in the same week I suspect it will be necessary! 
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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've been wearing one for about 5 years now. Don't care if anyone else does or not - I tired to convince my parents, but they are old school wooly hat types. Looking at this thread, I wonder when most of you ski - I suspect that if you go in term time the average age on the slopes will tend toward the older traditional non-helmet wearing generations, whilst halfterms and holidays might see a lot of the younger sorts who will wear helmets a lot. As a cyclist, where not wearing a helmet puts you in a minority, I do find it odd that anyone would argue against the protection of one's skull and all that it contains. However, as a free thinking individual, I respect everyones right to entrust the safety of their head to the skiing ability and behaviour of the thousands of other skiers on the slopes above them. Good luck and take care out there!!!
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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 always have one on - my ears slow me down to much otherwise 
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Thing is, in the last 5 ski holidays, I've fallen over once. And that wasn't my fault. I ski slowly and carefully and stay away from crowds. I'm not saying it's never going to happen but my odds are rather slim. However, it is something I may consider in the future, although I do find lids restrictive and uncomfortable. I suppose I'm used to the motorcycling one but I avoid wearing the mountain bike one if I'm not riding on road...
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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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| alex_heney wrote: |
| They probably think that the snow is a lot softer than those trees or rocks |
Some of the pistes around here at the moment at bulletproof. Plenty of opportunity for head trauma by banging your head on the piste.
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I wear a helmet to ride my horses and my bike. I also wear one to ski. Why wouldn't anyone?
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erica2004, I wear one whilst riding my MTB and I wear one whilst ski-ing all it takes is some nugget to come down the slopes out of control and crash into you and your days could be numbered, ok its a low risk but is it worth the risk.
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Wearing a helmet makes you more confident and allows you to ski faster and take more risks, which is why DH skiers and kids doing jumps wear them.
ALl the fat and fifty guys you see in a tuck, eye balls out, speeding along on the flats wear them so they can go faster in a safer manner 
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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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But seriously does wearing a helmet give you that little bit more confidence, do you go that little faster or attempt that icy red with a bit more gusto than usual, do you think - nah I will not side slip this bit, I will ski it properly?
No one I am sure will admit to this
I did not wear a helmet for my first season and banged my head learning, but I wore a helmet for my second season and banged my head falling when going too fast for my ability, and then stopped wearing it and I honestly believe that I now board a little more within myself than I did compared with when I wore a helmet
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rayscoops,
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But seriously does wearing a helmet give you that little bit more confidence, do you go that little faster or attempt that icy red with a bit more gusto than usual,
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No. But the main reason I wear one is in the hope that it might reduce the risks inherent in a collision. I ski mostly on piste and the pistes are getting increasingly crowded.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Me and my whole family. Helmets are easy and afford significant head protection in the face of the increasing likelihood of collision. Me and the kids also wear back protectors. I'm thinking of investing in traditional impact armour but am hoping d3o will be out soon.
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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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| slikedges wrote: |
| I'm thinking of investing in traditional impact armour but am hoping d3o will be out soon. |
I've got a d3o slalom vest. Good for avoiding bruises when slapping into gates, but I don't think that it would make much of a difference to collision injuries.
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rayscoops, No. I think we just put them on and forgot they're there.
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You know it makes sense.
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Didn't used to, now do.
Have commented on other threads on this one, but as has been said, no point discouragin people who are here for the first time, so might as well post again.
Did fall heavily just the once last year, and am pretty certain it was as a result of attempting slightly too much on a steep icy pitch, due to unduly optimistic confidence levels... OTOH it didn't hurt as much as it might have done.
Having said that, skiing in the trees with rob@rar and others, 'branch slapping' (where they spring back from the guys in front) is a damn sight less painful with a helmet on.
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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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Scarpa, i guess this arguement has been done to death but any form of head injury is a bigger worry to me than anything else.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I went out without mine in Christmas week, just pottering around with visitors, we'd planned a very easy and short day. I was regretting it within 10 minutes, on the first chair, with a fleece headband and sunnies. I find the helmet much the most comfortable form of headgear on a cold day. It does make my head itch, but a lot less than a wooly hat. If it's really hot it can get a bit much, but I have excellent vents (Giro). And, of course, built in music (just to throw in another perennially controversial topic).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| skimottaret wrote: |
| Scarpa, i never understand the "low impact only" arguement. if you crash at speed or have a high impact with your head hitting a rock or icy patch do you not think a helmet would significantly reduce your injury? |
No, if an adult hits a rock or lift tower at the speed of even a fairly moderate speed the force of impact will be such the lid makes little to no difference (It might slightly extend the threshold for being a vegetable instead of dead). To absorb such forces the weight and dimensions of the lid would be such that it would likely break your neck due to whiplash in any fall. This issue can be sort of overcome if you have the budget of an F1 team, but not for the price of a ski lid.
Thus a lid offers best protection from relatively low speed collisions with hard things (esp likely in a terrain park), where they'll save you from a bad dose of concussion. So part of the things to weigh up depends on what your doing, but wrist guards ahead of helmets would prevent vastly more debilitating injuries if people were to buy one bit of safety kit first.
So far this winter I've been on my back bottom more times walking into town than on the slopes, so where do you stop with lids? Afterall one of the most dangerous places is in your own home!
Look at www.ski-injury.com .
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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 don't really see a reason not to wear one. They're defo no more uncomfortable than wearing a hat with goggles strapped around it. The main objection seems to come from some people who have skied for years without wearing one and therefore don't feel the need to start now. The same was probably said about seatbelts in cars years ago but I doubt many people on this forum drive without theirs done-up now.
The most illogical argument comes from those who say because I ski carefully, on uncrowded pistes, etc, etc I don't need to wear one. To go back to my car analogy, because you drive especially prudently on quiet roads would you not attach your seatbelt? The seatbelt (like the helmet) protects from the dangers of others' stupidity as well as your own. Surely the story of the poor chap who died after being skied into on a deserted piste whilst stationary only goes to show the need for a helmet regardless of your own prudence.
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| Tommy4681 wrote: |
| They're defo no more uncomfortable than wearing a hat with goggles strapped around it. |
That's a matter of opinion, not fact.
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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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| slikedges wrote: |
| I'm thinking of investing in traditional impact armour but am hoping d3o will be out soon. |
Have you checked out Forcefield soft body armour? I do some work for them and it is really good, i have a pair of impact shorts and they were great on dry slope falls. I would definately get some upper body armour if i start GS training.
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| Tommy4681 wrote: |
| They're defo no more uncomfortable than wearing a hat with goggles strapped around it. |
That's a matter of opinion, not fact. |
Very true. But I reckon the whole discomfort thing is psychosomatic for lots of people who are just more accustomed to having a woolen/synthetic hat on their head. After all, the shell of the helmet is hardly heavy and the inside is lined and padded. When I started using helmets for skiing and cricket I found them uncomfortable and a hinderance but that quickly disappeared. Interestingly I never felt that same hinderance when wearing one to ride a bike as I did so from day one. Obviously, as with most things I write, this is mere opinion and not fact.
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Since I stopped wearing a helmet I have never hit my head on a chair lift safety bar, and have never bumped my head on the floor when having a simple tumble, whereas when I wore a helmet I would think 'lucky I had my helmet on the otherwise that whack on the chair lift bar would have hurt' and 'my helmet saved me then from that whip-lash effect that bumped my head on the floor when I fell backwards', because just maybe the only reason I banged my head was because of the helmet. If I wear a helmet on a building site climbing through scaffolding I always bang my head, if I do not wear one I use my eyes more and do not bang my head.
The point I am making is that there are circumstances when I am sure a helmet will help, but lots of times when we have whacks on the helmet it is likely to be because we have a big lump of plastic on our heads that make our heads so much bigger that we whack it more. Also it would be interesting to know if a helmet increases the momentum of the head and whip-lash when falling ?
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Having taken two quite severe hits to the head resulting in unconciousness, concussion and headache I decided to buy one.
I've been pleased with it so far, it keeps my head warm and doesn't itch like my woolly hat.
Compared to my motorbike helmet its a lot lighter so hardly noticeable.
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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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You need to take the time to shop around and find a really well fitting helmet. My OH spent quite a time choosing his but actually it's not very comfortable and so he rarely wears it. I tried on loads and loads, and only one fitted me.
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pam w, I agree. First helmet I bought was from an online retailer. Wasn't especially comfortable so I had to sell it. Other helmets I've bought have all been tried on before buying.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I generally don't wear a helmet, skiing or cycling.
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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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laundryman, me, the day after going for a pint of milk, on my cycle, without a helmet on...
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You know it makes sense.
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Wear one because I started at MK and they're compulsory in lessons. Would feel strange not to... Also windproof layer on head!
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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 probably would consider wearing one at the Tamworth Snowdome. That is by far the busiest and maddest slope I've ever encountered. Never really had a problem with crowded pistes on holiday...
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Poster: A snowHead
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Eisbar hat: £35
Smith Holt helmet or similar: £60
Judging the situation for yourself and taking responsibility one way or the other: Priceless.
You can cut the last one whichever way you wish, but given the almost magnetic exertion that lines through pointy rocks and round trees have over me...
And I know you can get hats for a fiver or less, but we're talking preferences, right? 
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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 wear a helmet! Although mainly for in the park or when it's freezing cold. If it's a nice day and I know I'm just going to be cruising around all day then a hat and sunglasses is the way to go 
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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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Helmet wearing, until it becomes compulsory (and it will......at least in some countries), will always be open to deabte.
I used not to, now I do, and can name at least one occasions in each of the last two trips when I would have needed medical treatment if I hadn't been.
Being a boarder does make the choice more clear cut, less so for the average skiier. The differences in the disciplines and the nature of the falls DOES make a difference. The reason a lot of younger people wear lids is because a larger proportion of them board. They're not buying helmets because they've come all over safety conscious..........................
No it doesn't make me more confident, it's just that my head hurts less when it inevitably comes into contact with the scenery.
"Hard snow" has all the consistency of concrete, so unless you hit your head on a rock/tree off piste, you stand at least as good chance of benefitting from a lid if you stay on piste, especially with the proximity of all those other hard objects around you, some of which are not waiting for you to hit them...............
Whatever you choose the probabilities that you will get a serious enough injury are low. It would however be hard to argue that they're not lower with a lid.
And if you're someone who's determined not to wear a lid, I don't think it will be too long before your choice of destinations is at least partly limited by your decision.
John.
EDIT: typo.....again.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Wed 31-12-08 15:20; edited 1 time in total
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I wear one whilst shopping - you never know when someone might hit you with a carelessly placed baguette or a coat hanger, and the tiled floors in Waitrose look pretty unwelcoming to me should I happen across some spilt milk.
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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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Guvnor, there used to be a simple guy who would stroll by the bus stop in Megève in the morning with his groceries in a granny trolley. One day, a medium-sized dog started sniffing around the trolley, and the guy drew a baguette from it like a sword and started beating it around the head.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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laundryman, sounds like my local Tesco's - hence I am always packing a lid
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I was given one as a present, although that said i have no problems with wearing them and they give me more confidence as well.
I think the same arguments are found when wearing pedal bike helmets.
Apart from the fact that they will save you from *most* injuries they also keep you warmer too.
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I said this would happen..........
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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 wear a helmet , find them warmer than a beanie and don't come off in fast sections which happened once when wearing a beanie and was annoying as it was at the beginning of a long uphill. The only time my helmet has really come in useful was pretty stupid, I pretty much dozed off on a long chairlift at the end of the day and it was one of those ones which turns 90 degrees at the finish before you disembark. I cocked something up, not sure what, and found myself on the floor while the chairlift slammed into my head. Had I not worn a helmet it would have a hurt a hell of a lot more. As it was quite amusing listening to the two french women also on the chairlift scream.
To answer your question the only two reasons for not wearing one is the small price and the percieved view that you don't look as ard.
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| anotherproblem wrote: |
| I said this would happen.......... |
Main reason for the post, mate............................
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