 Poster: A snowHead
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You might have seen them on TV? I believe the Ribcap has been developed by magical pixies from Mars. It's a soft cap that goes hard (ahem) when impacted - they've used this material on phone cases and flight boxes. The prices are comparable with normal ski helmets but the benefits are...well, it looks like a (slightly ugly) soft hat.
It would be good to know if anyone has one and if they have actually been saved from an impact? (The Gadget show hit them with hammers)
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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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I don't think you need to bin if after a whoopsie, because of the make-up of the Pixies from Mars magic material. But there is an issue about the joins in the ribs that are thin and would not save you from sharp trauma. It would be good to know if anyone actually has one of these....
Another issue. It makes your head look like a clove of garlic.
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Sofia, exactly . . . and what's wrong with garlic? . . . the white fuzzy one is quite cute.
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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 purely a blunt trauma saver, though I seem to recall tests of a similar substance for use in bullet proof vests, the idea is that as it hardens is spreads the load over the whole head reducing the damage to any single point.
Now as with all helmets this will help save you if you bash your head but may not if you ski out of control off a cliff, into a piste marker pole or another skier
It's biggest advantage is that having saved you once it will keep on working whereas a helmet once cracked needs to be replaced, the need to work a little on appearance though
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Someone with one of these coming up against a jobsworth compulsory helmets ski resort worker is going to be an unstoppable force hitting an immovable object.
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I know there are a bunch of companies (POC and Demon spring to mind) using similar materials for impact armour... mostly marketed at motorbike and mountain bike riders. First time I've heard of it being used for head protection though.
I note the manufacturers of this thing have yet to solve the critical problem of a helmet camera mount though. How can they ever expect to be successful without it? 
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As for safety, it looks like the main difference would be compacting. It can't save you if your head got stuck in a giant nutcracker. But before I think of buying, I'm still waiting to hear from a person/melon who has suffered from a hammer blow on a ski slope.
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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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The magical pixie dust is called D3O and its been out for ages. There are lots of people making hats and armour out of it. Very useful for people with Epilepsy too. Many look far better than those examples
Great video of the inventor being hit over the head repeatedly by a reporter with a shovel. didn't hurt apparently but he's 6" shorter now
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| Sofia wrote: |
| It can't save you if your head got stuck in a giant nutcracker. |
A common occurrence when skiing.
Yeah D3o really is an excellent material from what I've heard, haven't had a chance to try it out as I don't mind wearing a helmet, and those hats'd just fall off, but it'd be interesting for back protectors or the likes, If I ever got one it'd be d3o, been other materials like this but they're never this cheap.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Sofia wrote: |
| You might have seen them on TV? I believe the Ribcap has been developed by magical pixies from Mars. It's a soft cap that goes hard (ahem) when impacted |
So you don't only look like a knob?
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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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Haha! SkiingDad yes, they are really unattractive. The sales advert uses the best looking models but even so, you can't help but notice how ugly the shape is...
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You know it makes sense.
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mag1882, Just go looking for d30 protection, it's being used all over the place and there are plenty of t'shirt type back protectors on the market. Prices range from $40 up to $300+
I like this for a spring jacket.
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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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Loving this - h8 helmets and was being forced to get one for off piste as it distresed others when I didn't wear one - this should work. Obvious plus point is that it should be warmer than a helmet and if it folds away then waaaay easier to travel with. Sorted.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Beanie purchased - they are having a sale at the moment as well!!!!!
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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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Available for sunglass skiing particularly my French imported polarised photoreactive range in two styles. 
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@RattytheSnowRat - where are they having a sale? I've explored their site.....
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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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Found it! Different link - you were trying to trick us
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I bought my body armour from a supplier to the stunt industry - first class product and service
http://www.xionpg.com/
And it worked a treat bouncing down a double black diamond mogul field on my derriere recently 
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hal031235, good looking kit but with all that d3o doesn't it get sweaty?
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Now own a D30 trappers hat from Ignite. If it arrives by Saturday I'll take it to Cairngorm and see what happens.....
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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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Sofia, you bring the hat we'll bring the shovels 
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| Masque wrote: |
| Sofia, you bring the hat we'll bring the shovels |
Ok, I'll be the one with the hammer!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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With an eye on the odd recent thread, I wonder if the use of D3O would satisfy an insurer if your policy said that a helmet needed to be worn whilst doing snow sports?
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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 got a burton beanie with D3O for about £30 a few years back. Comfortable enough. Never tested its protective qualties though
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Sofia, ha! Got my Infinite this morning.
Arrival was followed by about 10 mins of persuading my g/f to don said head gear (delay mainly induced by style/fit/'me dragging her out of bed' related issues). Then proceeded to whack her round the head with a rolled up newspaper (no shovel to hand).
First impression – it’s a big piece of head gear for a soft hat.
Second impression – it does seem to work – it’s not going to work against all penetrating types of impact but for your bog average snow related crash it should do the job. The g/f complained that she felt the impact more than she would in a helmet which I think is an accurate observation since her motorcycle helmet has way more padding. I think the other issue is that a rigid shell spreads the impact but this can only limit the spread to the D3O plate the impact hits so the impact spread is less.
Third impression – it’s way warmer than a helmet and a doddle to pack!
I shall continue the testing this evening with bigger and bigger items (I have a sledge hammer). We’ll see at what point the g/f gives up (I believe you non-rugby types use the phrase ‘passes out’).
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You know it makes sense.
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Megamum, that's a very interesting question. If it specifically states 'helmet' I would suspect the answer is 'no'. It certainly would not be compliant for a motorcycle in this country (but then neither would the average ski helmet):
"(a)with British Standard 6658:1985 as amended by Amendment Slip number 1 published on 28th February 1986 and are marked with the number of that standard, or .
(b)with any other standard accepted by an EEA State which offers in use equivalent levels of safety, suitability and fitness for purpose and are marked with a mark to indicate that standard, .
and in either case are marked with an approved certification mark of an approved body (whether or not they are required to be so marked by the standard in point)."
If this type of headgear had been accepted in some other EEA state - Italy would be my favourite - then I would guess that a very strong argument could be run that it was insurance compliant, absent specifc language otherwise.
Sofia, think they've changed the site since yesterday 
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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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| Quote: |
The g/f complained that she felt the impact more than she would in a helmet
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I applaud your choice of test subject. 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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D3o is more often used as a supplement in helmets, its used in a lot of riding helmets and crash helmets for m/bikes. I was involved in testing some early body armour which i still use,(skiing and hockey) the top had the material in the shoulders and elbows and the shorts on the thigh hip bone and coccyx. Not only are they light and flexible, but theyve proved their worth. I remember the demonstration very well, stick your thumb in a block of the material and hit it with a hammer!!!Having had the stuff for some years now, it has broken up in one of the shoulders and elbows, but still works. You can also find it in gloves, bodyguard/protection jackets and tops, and a variety of other impact garments, and i do believe its British!!!!!!!!!!!
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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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Megamum, no watermelons in the bedroom at that point in time and I was late for work
Seriously tho' - I actually put the beanie on and let her whack away - boy, was she happy. I should have specifed that she should only aim at the beanie before letting her off the leash tho'. Lesson learned.
The impact needs to be sudden to set the D3O off but tbh the hat is thick enough to give pretty good protection regardless. It has no crushing impact protection at all. Slide in the right direction - yes, wrong direction - no (or not much).
As far as I can work out it was floated to every dangerous sport where you might need a back protector but they mainly went for the motorcycle/scooter market for the volume.
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RattytheSnowRat, I think the problem with this type of protective headgear (and why it won't meet standards as a helmet is that without the compressible foam layer (present in ski and cycling helmets) it cannot reduce the deacceleration rate of your head when it hit something solid. It is this deacceleration that deformable helmets mitigate, brain injuries can be caused by, in effect, your brain splatting against the inside of your skull when your skull stops too abruptly. The beanie may well provide protection against cut or fractured skull, but is not a full replacement for a helmet.
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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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| Quote: |
no watermelons in the bedroom at that point in time |
LOL
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Megamum wrote: |
| With an eye on the odd recent thread, I wonder if the use of D3O would satisfy an insurer if your policy said that a helmet needed to be worn whilst doing snow sports? |
Only one insurer makes helmet use mandatory - Essential Travel.
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My word, those are seriously ugly!
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foxtrotzulu, the one I got is a plain black beanie - no fashion crime but it is bulky. If you had a large head it might be a bit be a bit odd.
RobinS, agree - however the knit padding on each side of the D30 looks as though it would do a pretty good job of non-elastic deformation. tbh, honest I think it would do better job than some helmets I have worn and certainly some ski helmets I have seen. I've smacked my head on rocks a number of times so I know I have a thick skull, I think that's the main danger to my brain.
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FAQ
) it would clearly give some protection. However, I guess it wouldn't be so effective at preventing slower crush type impacts, or even perhaps a slide and then impact with a possibly softer (though still hard enough to cause an injury) mound of snow. or maybe cracking through an icy layer first to finally hit something harder that follows. I wonder if they are being aimed at certain sports in particular and if so are skiing and boarding included?