Helmets or not ?

[RJ-PS]

Friend carving on the right side of the run caught an edge that threw him into the woods. Impacted a tree mid-section and ruptured his spleen, almost died. If it was his noggin, he'd be dead. One of the best skiers I've ever seen, he's been skiing since 2, mom was an instructor.

Get a helmet.

Wear it.

PS My favorite helmet company OVO just went out of business, I'm trying to find all the Bomber and Titan models I can to sell online. If anyone hears anything give me a yell.

[Aracan]

I started wearing one two seasons ago, and, protection issue aside, I find it a lot more comfortable than a woollen hat:

- Doesn't get wet through and through on rough-weather days.

- Goggles don't fog up when parked on the helmet.

- Always warm, and in spring you just air your head on the chair.

BTW, here in Austria helmets have become A LOT more common on the slopes over the last three years or so. Small kids used to be practically the only people wearing one. Now I would estimate that at least 10% of adults wear one, with their number growing every season.

[kipstar]

I don't bother, mostly because I don't ride in a way that puts me in a position to have big injuries anymore (I did used to ride like that with a concussion and few other injuries but that was before helmuts were popular) and I don't ride near other people that often; if I can hear someone I just pull over and let them through.

I'd guess riding like this reduces the odds of injury far more than wearing a helmet and then riding hard in the park.

My biggest concern these days though is, as per the comments of other people, riding and getting clonked by someone else. I have been through that before, being fully taken out around the bend to the right to the old chair 18 on Mammoth with a concussion as a result. Neither of us were in a helmet; now I wonder if it would have been worse getting clonked by a helmet wearer; it isn't like there is any padding on the outside of the helmet is there?

For rugby, no one wears helmets and there are a few concussions. For your game, American football everyone wears helmets and pads. At some point if enough people are wearing helmets, then maybe the remainder need to do so simply to avoid getting hit by all the ones in helmets; I would not want to play American football with no helmet i think!

That said, I've had far more brain damage from Thai boxing for 5 years with numerous kicks, knees and elbows (plus the odd fist) to the head, so i think the helmet isn't going to save me now :-) Maybe I should use the helmet for boxing....hmm.....

For kids though, it seems like a good idea.

[bumpyride]

Tried and even bought helmets. Couldn't stand them. Too heavy, too limiting, too geeky, impaired peripheral vision. Went without, no problems. Stopped in a store saw a Giro 9, just for the heck of it tried it on. Nice, very nice, bought it, wore it.

Jump ahead 2 years later. On the catrack, the rock hard iced catrack, maybe 6 miles per hour, walking speed. Looked back to check on the woman and caught heel side edge. Full extension, maximum leverage, rear cranial strike. People stopped, woman 75 feet back heard the head hit. On the ground for 20 or 30 seconds, a little woozy but fine. Helmet nicely dented, skull and contents nicely in tact.

Whistler, my oldest doing a long sweeping turn, gets clocked by a big skier in a tuck. Hit him in the upper torso, and sent him 2 full summersaults, in the air, before he landed on his shoulder. Full dislocation (first time). Skier takes off. Son has to have it popped back in. Think if he had been a little lower or the skier a little higher.

[deeluxflow]

joecarve, full face is nice, saved my face, but they do get hot in warmer weather, with more coverage on the side of your face, and earphones don't fit as well in mine, but that might just be me. i like them, but i also have a half face that i wear on those balmy days.

[slopetool]

It was always mandatory on the yellow short bus so I've always wore one since. Whatever my special ed. teacher says, I do it.

[Crashtopher]

I went out last week and at the end of the day I doing nice slow mellow carves on my last run since my legs were toast. I was almost alone on the slope, I could see no one below me when all of a sudden something hits me full force from behind while in a heelside carve. I went ass over teakettle and when I stopped tumbling I checked out my assailant. It was another snowboarder, I'd say late teens to early 20's. He looked at me and said something along the lines of "Sorry man, are you okay?" My response was "You are joking around with me, right? I'm the only person on the trail, and you plow into me?" He realized that I was REALLY pissed so he got up and skidded his way down the mountain.

Moral of the story: I wear a helmet because even when I have the trail to myself and I am riding in control, some jackass may be barelling down the slope and may hit me, the only other person on the trail.

[chadx]

I were a helmet for skiing/boarding, and motorcycles (street bikes and dirtbikes). Always have. Always will. I feel naked without one on. It's not just safety. It's comfort. Everytime a big old grasshopper, or rock kicked up from a vehicle, hits me in the faceshield, when cruising 60 mph down the road, I look at the bikers with me with no helmet on and snicker because I know they took one to the forhead, cheek, lips, etc.

On the slopes, it's not even your own ability you have to worry about. It's everyone around you. The excuse that you know your capabilities or are just going to go for a slow cruise and not hot rod down the slope make no difference when, like many of the examples above, some hot jockey, in a full tuck, plows into you or comes flying out the trees in a direction where you could never see them coming no matter how 'aware of your surroundings' you are. Like on motorcycles, it's usually not your own ability and awareness that get you. It's "the other guy" that does.

It doesn't matter if you go 20 years without an accident. Condider yourself lucky...so far. It could happen tomorrow. Besides, a helmet is cheaper than a hospital bill. I was at a motocross equipment sale and a mom had her 3 young sons with. She said, "What, the motocross boots are $200 each?! I have three boys and they'll just outgrow them in a year anyway. Too expensive." The rep pointed out to her that X-rays cost more than that (much less the rest of the medical bills for setting bones, etc.). She bought three pair.

Bottom line, I believe it's everybodies choice. I feel the same on motorcycle helmets. But I will say that I will never be caught without mine.

[bjvircks]

From crashtopher : "You are joking around with me, right? I'm the only person on the trail, and you plow into me?"

When training new hang glider pilots we had to specificly tell students that when on landing glide DO NOT look at anything NOT where they wanted to go because they would fixate on what they see, lock onto it and fly right into it. Same kind of thing for mountain biking. You must look at the hole between the trees, not the trees.

There seems to be an increasing percentage of boneheads that do not have the slightest idea about safety!

Kind of related to this rant is the fact that most folks on the slopes have difficulty processing or "understanding and forecasting" the way carvers move about the slope. When they cannot instantly understand what they see they tend to disregard the data and assume you will do what they expect rather than what they have seen you do. Then it is "our fault" because they hit us from behind (HEAVY SARCASM).

[mackDan]

I wear a helmet all the time. Comes in handing when blasting through the trees. Works good for carving spinouts too.

I have hit plenty of branches, and some of those would have left nice scratches or bumps in my head. Did take one fall and slid slowly into a tree face first, but I took the hit on the side of my head/helmet. Slid off a park box and the helmet came in handy. (yes all of that was on a craving board)

Like the other guys say, keeps your head warm, holds the goggles, is there when you'll need it most, and its a nice place to put stickers!

[Jutta]

After skiing for 20 years without ever wearing a helmet (and thankfully never getting injured) I managed to get a concussion and two cracked/broken ribs on my first day ever on a board.

Lessons learned:

- do not put camera in chest pocket: the camera might survive a hard fall unscathed (mine still works), my ribs don't

- always wear helmet when on hill.

Three years ago my then 6 year-old turned right in front of while exiting a chair lift at no more than walking speed. Result: a slow fall and a 3" crack in my helmet. I'd rather not think about what my bare head wold have looked like. As it was, I only had a mild headache for a few hours.

On the more-risk-because-of-more-protection theory, I don't think that can be applied to all or even the majority of people. I certainly don't take any more risks now (If anything, the older I get, the more risk averse do I become); wearing a helmet is simply a precaution I take when engaged in potentially dangerous activities.

And then of course, for us parents out there there's an additional encouragement: if we expect our kids to wear a helmet, what good reason can we cite not to?

[Dave Pushee]

I started wearing a helmet a couple of years before the high profile tree hits (Sonny and Michael). I immediately noticed that I stayed warmer and my goggles no longer fogged when they were pushed up on my head.

My first helmet had very little ventilation and got hot on warmer days. Newer models have much better ventilation and removeable earflaps for those spring conditions.

I have observed that increasing numbers of snow sport participants have taken to using helmets. That said, the almost 94% using helmets as shown in the current poll is amazing.

- Dave

[Guest FatBoy]

I have worn one for about four years. I find it more comfortable.

I took my nephew up for his christmas gift and got him a lesson. Second day out he is linking turns and doing great and the he disappears for a few. Then I see him coming down the hill. "What happened, catch an edge?" I say. He looks at me and says "How did we get here this morning???"

After a couple of hours at the medic center and a good concussion, we went home.

Sure glad I bought him a helmet. He'll NEVER go without it. He was wearing is at the time. Can't imagine him if he wasn't.

[mattj]

I never wore a helmet until I went to a snowboard race camp at Mt Hood in 2000. I survived day 1 of the camp and bought one that night at a sale in town. Have never boarded without it since.

Matt

[roman]

..if you aren't wearing one cause you are saying 'i can watch myself', wear one because the other on the slopes who don't watch the others...!

i never go out on the slopes without it.

roman

[ealely]

First year with an helmet and even if I was reluctant to wear one, after a few days using it, now I just love it! Feel safer, it keeps you warm. In Europe it's getting more common to wear an helmet but it's quite new though, as for me it's just about getting old, thinking too much or being wiser....

[Dave ESPI]

I started out not wearing a helmet. I've taken a few spills in my day. as I got more and more agressive as a rider, I started to wear one back when no one was wearing them and got "laughed at"..... ( Untill I went big off jumps and chit and then the people shut up) I was racing one day in some time trials up at Mt. Snow for the 2000 X games to get in as a local boarder in some of the preliminary rounds and hope to make it to the finals with the national boys.

I took a massive dump when I caught an edge and flew nearly 20 feet in the air then slammed down hard, and slid about 30 more feet. I knocked myself out cold for 40 seconds to the point that I pissed myself and shat in my pants.

When I came to, I had a mild concussion, and looked at my helmet that I had taken off at that point. The helmet had the nastiest crack and rock gouge I had ever seen ! THe helmet had a crack that ran down the entire side of it.

That could have been my head. Luckily the onlything that was spilled that day was urine and crap.... not blood and grey matter.

When I ride now, I ride with a helmet and strongly suggest others do also. In Lessons, It is REQUIRED for riders under the age of 14 have a helmet, and I try to get "clumsy" adults (read as OMG HUMAN MISSLE/ Wiped-out Obsticle in the snow to avoid) to go get one also if at the end of the lesson they want to continue trying to ride.

THIS IS MY HELMET: A lot of people will remember it for years to come I hope. I have a few others, but I think the airbrush job on this one is some of my best "rush job" work.

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

I knocked myself out cold for 40 seconds to the point that I pissed myself and shat in my pants.

THIS IS MY HELMET: A lot of people will remember it for years to come I hope. I have a few others, but I think the airbrush job on this one is some of my best "rush job" work.

Dave,

and people tell ME I go into TOO much detail!!

Nice art work! Did you sell it on Ebay?

Is that the tongue or a part of the helmet? Looks like a chrome piece?

Note to self: Don't buy any snowboard pants from Dave

[roscoe]

its usually not yourself that you have to worry about, but its the other retards on the mountain. Occasionally when I fall i'll smack my head, but the reason why most people end up being thankful for wearing a helmet is when someone not paying attention clips them or causes them to fall to avoid a collision.

its the unexpected times/situations...always a good call in my book

[freecarver]

I didn't wear a helmet since I had an accident in my vacations in Italy when a skier bump straight in to me.

After this I bought a helmet straight on and I'm wearing it always when I'm riding. I even give it to my little daughter to wear it as my avatar saws cause she's a little bugger.

[Pow]

I always wear my helmet... well, unless the mountain's deserted in the spring and im only pretending to ride so i can sit in the sun and get a tan:cool:

[skatha]

Two stories....

1. We fly to Tahoe Jan 2005. I can tell you every thing I did Sunday, but I don't remember flying there or Saturday....

Hmmmmm........I remember little bits, like photos-sitting on the side of a run, laying on a bed with my hands on my face, covering my eyes

seeing somebody flying through the air just to my left.....

2. March 2006-nice looping carves on a greenie.I'd looked upstream twice and "owned" the run according to rule #8 until I hear two panicked shouts from kids skiing "Don't turn"

I flop back on my heels immediately, catch an edge and land so hard on my head, my neck pops....

Grumbling, I get up and start carving again...thinking my apres wine has now gone from optional to therapeutic

difference-a helmet

As for "research" showing both questionable benefit from seat belts or helmets.....

check who the researchers are before you buy that kind of crap...

Do they have a financial interest in their "research?"

Both the American College of Emergency Physicians and the American Association of Neurologic Surgeons advocate helmets and they have no financial stake in their pronouncements.

Oh, and both my kids and husband have helmets-in fact, my son has a camo Army style "soupbucket" helmet that Burton makes

[mopoet178]

I'm still young (16) and taking great risks when hardbooting (mostly last run of the day after denying total exhaustion). I crash so often that smacking the skid lid has become mundane. Thank God my parents got me started on helmets when I learned to ski 13 years ago. I use it every day I'm on the slopes. My parents would be bankrupt or off snowsports forever without the money saving device called a helmet. Like everyone else said, it's warm, it's windproof, it agrees with googles. I have never skied or boarded without a helmet.

ps-don't say you board with a helmet and have an avatar of yourself carving without a helmet

[Mike T]

I'm still young (16) and taking great risks when hardbooting (mostly last run of the day after denying total exhaustion).

LOL - I am 36 and I still do that way too often!

[Guest Juicy Juice]

i got a grade 3 concussion 2 years ago the day before the grand prix, it sucked.