looking for ski helmets for kids

laszlo

Hi All,

Anybody knows any places in or around Dublin where I can pick up two helmet for kids (6 and 7 in age) at reasonable prices?

The usual suspects in Dublin are quite expensive, Great Outdoors is 55 euro for one, Snow and Rock in Dundrum starts at 62 euro, and shops tend to stock top end brands only. In the UK there seems to be a pretty good selection online in the 20-25 pounds range.

Thanks,

Laszlo

Fattes

Keep an eye on TK Maxx they have stocked them over the past few years.

olaola

Also keep an eye out on Aldi/Lidl. Decathlon in Belfast is great if you're up that way.

Check where you're going, a good few gear rental places will also throw in the helmet for kids for free.

EileenG

Be aware that all ski hire shops in the Alps have ski helmets for hire. I'd buy adult helmets but hire kiddie ones.

CardinalJ

SportPursuit have kids helmets for £13.50 at the moment. There's £9 for delivery as well but still much cheaper than anything you'll get in Ireland and probably cheaper than renting.

Bloc make decent gear so I'd say they're fine. You have to join the site but its all legit. Ordered some stuff off them this evening.

bajj

With all due respect, can you put a price on your kids safety? I would steer away from the cheap option, they are cheap for a reason. The rental option is probably best until the little darlings stop growing. A couple of years ago my kids had good quality Giro helmets from the hire shop.

olaola

Once they conform to the saftey standards, the extra you're paying for is the look & feel of the helmet, brand name and extra comfort with warm linings etc.

All helmets must meet a minimum standard, so once it's up to you how much you wish to spend on them.

CardinalJ

bajj wrote: »

With all due respect, can you put a price on your kids safety? I would steer away from the cheap option, they are cheap for a reason. The rental option is probably best until the little darlings stop growing. A couple of years ago my kids had good quality Giro helmets from the hire shop.

All helmets have to conform to certain safety standards. Its the same with bicycle helmets. They all conform to the same standards. THe extra money is for more complex ventilation etc.

Google the manufacturers of the helmets, they're good, its just on end of season sale.

bajj

Fair comments all, I am just a little sceptical about minimum standards, the important thing is that they wear the helmets.

Northern Monkey

I think ski helmets are only tested for impacts at 15mph (can't find any articles stating it, but I remember the BBC running a story about it last year), so most skiers will be well in excess of that a lot of the time.

OP, the trespass store in the outlet banbridge had helmets of display for around the £20 mark.

robinph

Northern Monkey wrote: »

I think ski helmets are only tested for impacts at 15mph (can't find any articles stating it, but I remember the BBC running a story about it last year), so most skiers will be well in excess of that a lot of the time.

OP, the trespass store in the outlet banbridge had helmets of display for around the £20 mark.

If you go headlong straight into a tree then you are not going to be saved by a helmet, and there will be likely to be many other injuries as well which will do you more harm.
The helmet will protect you from falling over and knocking your head on the ground, that will be at less that 15mph even if you are moving horizontally at a greater speed. It will also protect you from other people on the mountain who hit you with poles, skis, boards and pull down the lift bar on top of your head.

CardinalJ

robinph wrote: »

If you go headlong straight into a tree then you are not going to be saved by a helmet, and there will be likely to be many other injuries as well which will do you more harm.
The helmet will protect you from falling over and knocking your head on the ground, that will be at less that 15mph even if you are moving horizontally at a greater speed. It will also protect you from other people on the mountain who hit you with poles, skis, boards and pull down the lift bar on top of your head.

Ah, being hit in the head by the lift bar is all part of the experience.

All other points I accept! Haha

bajj

robinph wrote: »

If you go headlong straight into a tree then you are not going to be saved by a helmet, and there will be likely to be many other injuries as well which will do you more harm.
The helmet will protect you from falling over and knocking your head on the ground, that will be at less that 15mph even if you are moving horizontally at a greater speed. It will also protect you from other people on the mountain who hit you with poles, skis, boards and pull down the lift bar on top of your head.

As they say "hug ze knees not ze trees"

Fattes

The standard is the CEN 1077

http://wiki.fisski.com/index.php/CEN_1077

Impacts tested are far in excess of 15KPH.

Northern Monkey

15mph according to this.

http://abcnews.go.com/m/blogEntry?id=15381120

Fattes

Northern Monkey wrote: »

15mph according to this.

http://abcnews.go.com/m/blogEntry?id=15381120

Using a US news report for an EU Standard is a bad start. I work for one of the ski companies and the minimum adult speed they test is 60Kph, the Eu standard requires 45kph & FIS race helmets are tested up to 130 Kph.

Just Google Scott McCarthney Kitzbul crash to see how effective they are, he actually podiums in Lake Louise last woken after this crash

Northern Monkey

Working in the industy, I'm sure you know more than I do Fattes. I was only repeating (slightly incorrectly) what I had seen in a BBC news report last year.

Found the BBC news article on it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16745259

Another article from the telegraph.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/snowandski/729644/Should-you-wear-a-ski-helmet.html

So it looks like I misquoted the original article by saying they were tested to 15 mph, what it was actually saying that in direct impacts with fixed objects above 12mph a helmet doesn't offer much extra protection.

I personally wouldn't ski without one as some protection is better than none and as Robinph mentioned, it will be of benefit in a lot of other knocks and bumps that can occour.

Fattes

Have a look at the below,Yep the spedo does read 140KPH just before the crash & the helmet splits on initial impact. In analysis after US Ski team Doctors say the Helmet saved his life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he24trOJ2H4

From Scott McCartney:

I wanted to clear up a few issues that I have seen out there. The first one is “the POC helmet”. I have read things online and even comment in Ski Racing questioning the performance of my helmet during that crash.
I know for a fact that that helmet saved my life. POC engineers put out one of the (if not THE) safest helmets you can use in ski racing. The helmet did what it was supposed to - absorb as much of the massive impact before that energy reached my head. The hard outer shell of the helmet cracked because it was designed to do so, further absorbing the energy of the crash. It was unfortunate that it cracked enough that the part holding the chin strap (which did not come undone as some have assumed) came apart. At that point, the big impact was over and I was already on the ground. Even so, I would have rather had the absorbing properties of the helmet when it was on for the initial impact than have a “more durable” helmet that would pass along a harder impact to my skull. The slight wear and tear on my face will be gone in a matter of weeks. It is my understanding that POC is working right now to improve the way that the helmet’s chin strap is attached to the helmet in next generation (so that it can absorb as much impact and still stay on the head under extreme conditions.) My final point on this matter: It was estimated that I hit with about 14-16 times as much force as the helmet companies are required to test at. I am just happy that a company like POC seeks to maximize the overall impact safety of their helmets.

A disclaimer: While I am sponsored by POC helmets, they don’t pay me enough to lie or toy with my own safety. As for other comments on YouTube… I am, in fact, not dead."

The 12KPH thing is complete bull if you think about even a bike helmet that would make nearly every one redundant as they are lighter than ski helmets and bikes can travel up to 40 Kph at top level easily.


I have taken some serious tumbles over the years and never visibly damaged a helmet while in a fall & I normally travel considerably faster than 12kph. I did crack one hitting a tree sitting on a beer tray coming out of the Moosweirt in Anton :P Helmet was in my hand at the time.

I ski with a number of top pro skiers on a regular basis and between them I have only ever known 2 broken helmets both in Half popes from serious falls at heights.

Fattes

Max Franz testing his helmet this weekend at Beaver Creek!

He is ok slight concussion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLH4e1HJIiA&feature=player_embedded