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Thread: Helmet discussion

  1. #1
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    Helmet discussion

    Pretty obvious what has precipitated this discussion, but I was wondering what everyone thinks.

    This has been on my mind a while. I ride motorcycles and sleds at speeds that can severely damage a person. The helmets I wear are state of the art, offer as much protection as possible. I don't wear a helmet when skiing, why? I don't really know, but I do know that I've never been impressed w/ any bike/ski helmet I've seen. Is it just me or do these things seem too flimsy? On the few occassions I've skiied while out sledding (I really need a friend who ski's to buy a sled... I digress) I wear my moto/sled helmet. Totally comfortable. Gives enough vision and I'm sure it would be 20X's better in a fall than any bike/ski helmet. What do you all think. I guess I'd look like a dork wearing a moto helmet around a resort, but what the hell...

    Oh yeah, I already know... tech talk bitch!!!

  2. #2
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    I skied in a moto helmet once when I was sledding. I liked it then because I wasn't familiar with the area. It made me a bit fearless. In bounds at a resort though, I've never even considered it. I don't fall on my head. I never really have. Ever.
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  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by 1080Rider
    Pretty obvious what has precipitated this discussion, but I don't wear a helmet when skiing, why? I don't really know, but I do know that I've never been impressed w/ any bike/ski helmet I've seen. !!
    I know the feeling!
    More gauze pads, please hurry!

  4. #4
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    Dude, if you’re skiing hard enough to warrant a motocross helmet, wear one. Yes, you will get really hot and you will look a dork, but why should that interfere with your piece of mind? Me, I find the current crop of ski helmets sufficient of my needs.
    The trumpet scatters its awful sound Over the graves of all lands Summoning all before the throne

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  5. #5
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    My helmet just protects from glancing blows off of rocks, tree branches, stuff like that. I'm pretty sure that if I'm going to seriously injure myself skiing, a helmet - or a better helmet - won't make much difference. I'm more concerned with going over a cliff band the wrong way or smoking a tree and breaking my back/neck/pelvis/etc.

  6. #6
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    Hats suck, there's nothing quite as nice as a good helmet for skiing in.
    "It is not the result that counts! It is not the result but the spirit! Not what - but how. Not what has been attained - but at what price.
    - A. Solzhenitsyn

  7. #7
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    current ski industry helmets are more of an accessory than offering any REAL safe head protection. the manufacturers and retail industries created another niche market to make $ by selling safety. your fooling yourself if you think putting a piece of styrofoam on your head is going to do much in a high speed collision with anything. is wearing one safer than not? yes, but the protection offered by a SNELL approved helmet is whats going to help you in a high speed collision. skiers don't wear them because their hot, heavy and stupid looking.
    Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. -Helen Keller

  8. #8
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    My sister overshot a tabletop a few years back, landed on her wrist and head. Broke her wrist and cracked her helmet. Despite the helmet she sustained a fairly serious concussion, but her doctor told her that without it she would have been a lot worse off.

  9. #9
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    Fullface helmets are gat. Everyone knows half helmets are cool!



  10. #10
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    I hate helmets. I don't wear one.
    Merde De Glace On the Freak When Ski
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  11. #11
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    1080-get a downhill mtn bike helmet. They're a lot lighter and you won't break your neck from whiplash.

  12. #12
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    I hit my head once trying to snowboard before I had a helmet. It sucked. Since I started skiing with the helmet, I've had a couple good knocks that made me glad to have it. I feel naked skiing without it.

  13. #13
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    i got this for 12 bucks...its just as light as my regular open face helmet...its very comfortable....

    isnt your brain/life more important than feeling like a "dork"



  14. #14
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    I've been pretty happy with the ski helmets I've used over the past 4 seasons. I didn't wear one before that, and now I always wear one. The fact that most these helmets are NOT multi-impact is worth mentioning. Over those 4 seasons, I have retired 3 giro open face helmets. The hits and wrecks that sent those into the trash were pretty brutal and only resulted in a headache instead of a possible ER visit. As I said, I'm pretty happy so far.
    As I progress onto bigger lines and trying new stuff off cliffs, I'm considering a full-face. The strength/weight ratio seems pretty important in this discussion as having too much helmet for the situation can often mess up your neck muscles more that it saves you a bell ringing.
    I've had similar success with current mountain biking helmets.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by powder11
    current ski industry helmets are more of an accessory than offering any REAL safe head protection. your fooling yourself if you think putting a piece of styrofoam on your head is going to do much in a high speed collision with anything.
    High speed, maybe not.

    Reasonable speed... It won't prevent injury, but a helmet stands a fairly good chance of reducing it. And, reducing the severity of a head injury is more than worth it.
    "if the city is visibly one of humankind's greatest achievements, its uncontrolled evolution also can lead to desecration of both nature and the human spirit."
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  16. #16
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    yes, but the protection offered by a SNELL approved helmet is whats going to help you in a high speed collision. skiers don't wear them because their hot, heavy and stupid looking.
    My ski helmet has a big snell approved sticker on the back. Its not hot, its not heavy, and it looks like a normal ski helmet.
    "Verily, my folly has grown tall in the mountains." - Fredrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by nealric
    My ski helmet has a big snell approved sticker on the back. Its not hot, its not heavy, and it looks like a normal ski helmet.
    your stoked
    Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. -Helen Keller

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by A-wreck
    I don't fall on my head. I never really have. Ever.
    Only has to happen once, brah.

    I like my helmet. It's comfortable and warm. And since I'm a professional scalp model, my scalp insurance policy with Lloyds of London requires that I wear it. Sometimes when it's really warm I'll wear a hat, and think, yeah, this is really more comfortable. And then I'll see some sketchy shit happen and think, yeah, better put the helmet back on.

  19. #19
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    I never used to wear a helmet, but started to a few years back. It's saved my life (or at least saved me from having major head trauma) on a couple occasions:

    1. Ripping Horseshoe Bowl a couple years back, still early in the season, one ski scuffed the top of a rock and twisted me enough to send me tomahawking down the face going damn fast. My head, lucky to have on an older protec skate helmet at the time, ended up hitting another exposed rock and cracking nearly in two. All I had to show for it was some bruises and 20 stitches or so above my eye from where I believe the helmet hit me. Needless to say, if my head hit that rock, I may not be writing this.

    2. The injury to my face lead my lady to think that a full face would be a good idea when skiing hard. Thus, she was cool enough to buy me a TLD D2 for Valentine's Day. Sure enough, first day out wearing it, the East Wall happens to open. I dropped a cliff, nothing big, but the lack of packed snow allowed me to sink too far and catch another rock, which resulted in a double click and my face plowing right into the snow (and rock to much dismay) beside me. I skied away with a face full of snow and half my visor hanging off, but without the fullface, I'd probably have less teeth and be uglier than I already am.

    Anyway, a couple of lucky breaks for me has taught me that helmets are cool, even if I look like a tool. (the rhyme was unintentional)
    I've got more suits than Liberace, but less than Eastvailhucker.

  20. #20
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    You only need it once...
    Deep day last year in NH, Roads closed, power outages, I braved the storm and ended up at Tenney pretty much alone. Figured it was deep enough that I would't hit anything hard, my head would be fine. No reason to be in the trees. Mellow terrain. Almost didn't wear the lid...

    Cruising down when all of a sudden I'm going ass over tea kettle, no clue what happened but it didn't really matter. I ragdolled for a few rounds, landed face down in the snow... Not a big deal... Except that my ski came tomahawking down after me and hit me square in the head. It was not a good feeling, but without the helmet I probably woulda been un-conscious on a deserted day.

    I'm glad I wore it
    Last edited by XtrPickels; 12-13-2005 at 04:57 PM.

  21. #21
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    Helmets won’t save me in an avy and may only provide partial protection in a crash….

    but I really believe that I’m and better off with one than without and I like setting a good example for these two…








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  22. #22
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    Personally, before moving out west I wore a helmet only when required for racing. The past two seasons I haven't made so much as a single turn without mine. It is light, allows plenty of peripheral vision, has built in headphones, and has decent ventilation. For better or worse, it is my security blanket especially when skiing tight trees. It has definitely been a blessing all the times I've clipped branches and knocked my head when crashing. Thanks for the reminder about them not withstanding multiple impacts - it's time for me to upgrade.

    It is quite commendable that CR and his buddies decided to wear helmets fulltime. Given how hard they ski there is no reason why they shouldn't.
    It is unfortunate that their female counterparts don't do the same. Ingrid, for example, is an amazing skier who is apparantly too cool to wear a helmet. Why Giro continues to sponsor her is beyond me since she fails to utilize their product. And most of us have seen that MSP footage of Sarah Burke doing an asphalt head grind on a failed railslide attempt. Locally, there's a little ripper who has downgraded from wearing a fullface fulltime to a pompom hat while she continues to ski more and more aggressively by the day. Do these girls really think beanies make them that much cuter?

  23. #23
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    i wear a helmet. It's a Boeri.

    i don't go down on my head much, but i have and i am glad to have a helmet when i do. I am also sure i hit my head more than i think, but the snow cushions the blow and i just roll back on to my skis. In the future, when a rock happens to be hiding in the snow, i am going to be very happy to be wearing a helmet.

    it's also way better than a hat.

    however, mostly i use it to blast through tight trees.
    Last edited by ncsears; 12-13-2005 at 05:26 PM.

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by ncsears

    i don't go down on my head much,

    Much??? You mean you can and do sometimes?!?!?!
    You are what you eat.
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    There's no such thing as bad snow, just shitty skiers.

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by bcrider

    If you're going to have your kids wear helmets, please spend the 30 seconds it takes to make sure it either fits right, and/or is worn correctly, unlike this photo.
    OOOOOOOHHHH, I'm the Juggernaut, bitch!

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