Will you wear a helmet?

briN_s · 15-01-2010 2:46pm

Has anyone got any reason not to wear a helmet besides "because I dont want to"?

Don1 · 15-01-2010 4:27pm

As I said last year;

No for cruising around, yes for trying jumps and rails and what not.

Although I recommend everyone wear one. I've had two concussions already from not wearing it. :rolleyes:

EDIT: My reason not to is my helmet doesn't have built in speakers and I can't afford a new one.

Narkius Maximus · 15-01-2010 5:46pm

I haven't worn one over the past couple of seasons as I never really hit any serious speed. But just thinking about it I do wear one for biking so it's a bit stupid not wear one skiing when you could be doing potentially similar speeds in more difficult conditions in a sport that i only get to do for 1-2 weeks a year.

I see plenty of people with head injuries, bad lacerations in motorbike crashes/ car crashes/bicycle crashes in the day job. I do not enjoy talking to parents/wives/husbands etc about their seriously injured partners.

It is a dangerous sport, so why not look after ourselves a little better and at least try prevent serious injury when we are bottling down a slope. So my 1st port of call will be the ski shop to be a lid!

robinph · 15-01-2010 6:08pm

People still seem to believe that they are at more risk when going at speed on a black run compared to when tootling about slowly on a green. The most dangerous thing on the slopes is not the speed or colour of the slope marked on the map, it is the other objects on the slope with you. Unless your going through trees then those other objects are people and their boards/ skis.

Where will you encounter a higher concentration of people? Where are you more likely to collide with someone, or find someone blocking your way? Where is the surface that you land on more likely to be icy and hard when your head hits it? On the greens/ blues and "easy" slopes for all of the above.

Now what exactly is the danger in going down a steep black run, other than falling over and someone seeing you and laughing? You may twist/ snap a limb in the fall, but a knock to the head is the least of your worries on a black run. Unless your Scott McCartney(?), but I don't think any of us here are going that speed or doing those kinds of jumps.

Oisintarrant · 15-01-2010 10:40pm

Was up Corenet Peak last season in QT NZ, like any other day on the slopes, when I was going along happy out then all of a sudden like as if woken from sleep by a mate I didnt recognise for ages afterward!
I thought I was in Wisconsin US, and went looking for my ex gf from 4 years ago. And kept asking was my leg sore before (pulled my PCL 3 weeks before hand).
Vomited all the way to the hospital. Spent most of the night there in and out of consciousness. Turns out I had a grade 3 concussion.
Vowed to never go up again without a helmet even though the doctor said it wouldnt have changed the resulting concussion very much.
Ill admit I was daft enough to go back a few times without it but lesson learned really as I was dead against them before hand.

a147pro · 16-01-2010 12:12am

has anyone got any recommendations for a helmet? am thinking one that doesn't get too hot, maybe has headphone access or built in headphones. and would you be better off getting one here than in France or Switzerland. saw the mask I bought in Chamonix for less in Great Outdoors

Psydeshow · 16-01-2010 3:49pm

I must make a confession, I was one of the ones who voted that I would not be wearing a helmet this year. My reasons were thus: never have before (and didn't think I'd change this year) and they always look uncomfortable.

However when I went out, I was the only one in the group not wearing so I decided to rent one for the week and try it out at least.

Infinitely more comfortable than I expected but not perfect either (though presumably rental helmets aint the greatest), not quite as classy looking as my vast selection of hats as well. Also found it a bit harder to hear what was going on aorund me with the ear flaps on.

No real 'glad I wore a helmet' stories, just a few wee knocks which would otherwise have been annoying. Not sure I'm convinced on paying the €100 odd for one just yet but my mind is significantly more open to the idea now.

Just my two cents

LeoD · 17-01-2010 8:42pm

briN_s wrote: »

Has anyone got any reason not to wear a helmet besides "because I dont want to"?

I thought helmets were stupid until an incident earlier this week. I was walking to the shop to get a sliced pan and a pint of milk when a car flew past me doing 30mph. Luckily I was on the footpath and the car was on the road but if that car had swerved onto the footpath I would have been a gonner no doubt. Walked straigth past Spar and into the local ski shop and bought myself a helmet. Don't leave the house without it now - you just never know what's around the corner.

a147pro · 18-01-2010 1:47am

helmet fail

bonkey · 18-01-2010 9:59am

a147pro wrote: »

has anyone got any recommendations for a helmet? am thinking one that doesn't get too hot, maybe has headphone access or built in headphones. and would you be better off getting one here than in France or Switzerland. saw the mask I bought in Chamonix for less in Great Outdoors

Giro G10, Omen, or Fuse might suit you.

They're not the cheapest of helmets, but have plenty of ventilation, and either come with audio earflaps, or have audio earflaps available as a standard option.

jules7723 · 25-01-2010 3:52pm

Hi All,

I'm researching a newspaper article at the moment about people wearing ski helmets and wondered if anyone would like to contribute - particularly anybody who mentioned above that they got a ski helmet and were thankful afterwards because of an incident they were involved in.

Of if you feel strongly about not wearing a ski helmet, feel free to get in touch. You can PM me or email [email]jules77 at vodafone . ie[/email]. I can explain more about the article to anyone who might be interested in contributing?

Thanks!

I_luv_2_ski! · 25-01-2010 9:03pm

bonkey wrote: »

Giro G10, Omen, or Fuse might suit you.

They're not the cheapest of helmets, but have plenty of ventilation, and either come with audio earflaps, or have audio earflaps available as a standard option.

RED do one in Snow and Rock in Dundrum, the earphones are extra but there really good. when i went in they didnt actually have the earphones so i bought a mutz that was RED as well and the earphones came out and went into the helmet perfectly. there was also a volume control and an on/off button on the headphones, great idea!!!

jules7723 wrote: »

Hi All,

I'm researching a newspaper article at the moment about people wearing ski helmets and wondered if anyone would like to contribute - particularly anybody who mentioned above that they got a ski helmet and were thankful afterwards because of an incident they were involved in.

Of if you feel strongly about not wearing a ski helmet, feel free to get in touch. You can PM me or email [email]jules77 at vodafone . ie[/email]. I can explain more about the article to anyone who might be interested in contributing?

Thanks!

This year was my first year to wear a helmet...and i think i picked the best year to buy one seen as i fell so much when skiing this year compared to other years!!! my worst fall happened on our last day when i was coming to the bottom of a slope and was leaning forward. there was loads of fresh snow and i didn't realise there was a raised bit ahead of me untill i came over it and tumbled in mid air and came down on my head so hard that snow compressed itself into the airholes in the helmet and onto my head! at the time my head was sore from the weight of my whole body coming down on it but it would have been worse if i didnt have d helmet on!!! for the next few days i couldnt move my neck much, especially couldnt lift it off the pillow but thankfully it wasnt worse!!!

petethedrummer · 25-01-2010 9:09pm

briN_s wrote: »

Has anyone got any reason not to wear a helmet besides "because I dont want to"?

Because helmets are dorky looking.

I won't wear one cycling and I won't wear one skiing.

I_luv_2_ski! · 25-01-2010 9:11pm

petethedrummer wrote: »

Because helmets are dorky looking.

I won't wear one cycling and I won't wear one skiing.

i never wore a helmet on my bike when i was a kid but last year we decided we'd get them this year!!!

as your more out of place if you dont have a helmet on cause everyone wears them! i could believe the amount of people with them on!

petethedrummer · 25-01-2010 9:18pm

I_luv_2_ski! wrote: »

i never wore a helmet on my bike when i was a kid !

And you're still alive and well. Amazing isn't it?

Next thing is people will be prescribing you ski in a hi-viz vest. with a siren on your helmet. in a suit of armour.

I get enough safety nonsense in work. I don't need it on holidays.

Don1 · 27-01-2010 6:58pm

petethedrummer wrote: »

Because helmets are dorky looking.

I won't wear one cycling and I won't wear one skiing.

I know its personal opinion but this is really not a good way of deciding to wear one or not. I don't wear one when I'm just rolling about and relaxing but do when mountainbiking or tricking about on the board.
The only reason its not on all the time is I find it annoying and not as comfy as a hat.

That attitude about looking dorky is the reason kids don't wear them on bikes and the reason imo that Beaumont is as busy as it is.
People should be forced to wear helmets on bikes and I'm starting to think on snow too. As somebody who's had a near death crash on a bike as a kid I'm glad I was forced to wear it growing up.

Bottom line, unless you are at a level where you will not fall no matter what you should be wearing one. This smug attitude towards ability and potential danger needs to be stopped, and I'm not excluding myself from this either, I am trying to wear mine more.

End of rant.

conno16 · 28-01-2010 10:09am

petethedrummer wrote: »

Next thing is people will be prescribing you ski in a hi-viz vest. with a siren on your helmet. in a suit of armour.

I get enough safety nonsense in work. I don't need it on holidays.

here here

LeoD · 29-01-2010 1:45pm

Reney wrote: »

I'd rather look dorky on the slopes than dorky in a hospital bed or 6 feet under.

I bought a nice carrera helmet last year in Italy for about 50 euro, I bought it so I can go flat out on the piste and to protect myself from other people who lose control. Skiing is an extreme sport for many of us after all so who cares what you look like as long as you can tap high speed adrenaline rushes and protect yourself as much as possible in the process?

I presume this is a wind up and you're taking the piss?

LeoD · 29-01-2010 1:53pm

Don1 wrote: »

That attitude about looking dorky is the reason kids don't wear them on bikes and the reason imo that Beaumont is as busy as it is.

Beaumont is busy because of the number of kids coming into A&E with head injuries from falling off their bikes? Unfounded and rediculous exageration.

Don1 wrote: »

Bottom line, unless you are at a level where you will not fall no matter what you should be wearing one.

Is there any activity you would deem safe enough to do without a helmet? Run? Walk? Get out of bed? Remember now, there is a possiblity you will bump off something while doing any of the 'activities'.

LeoD · 29-01-2010 1:57pm

I_luv_2_ski! wrote: »

This year was my first year to wear a helmet...and i think i picked the best year to buy one seen as i fell so much when skiing this year compared to other years!!! my worst fall happened on our last day when i was coming to the bottom of a slope and was leaning forward. there was loads of fresh snow and i didn't realise there was a raised bit ahead of me untill i came over it and tumbled in mid air and came down on my head so hard that snow compressed itself into the airholes in the helmet and onto my head! at the time my head was sore from the weight of my whole body coming down on it but it would have been worse if i didnt have d helmet on!!! for the next few days i couldnt move my neck much, especially couldnt lift it off the pillow but thankfully it wasnt worse!!!

So you fell and hurt your neck? How can you then say you were lucky you were wearing a helmet? If I get a belt on the hand playing hurling I wouldn't thank my helmet for reducing the severity of the injury.

LeoD · 29-01-2010 1:59pm

TakeTheVeil wrote: »

I've only gone skiing once, for 2 1/2 days, and I didn't wear one. But on the second day I went on a black run, pretty scary stuff altogether. I wont be buying one this year for financial reasons..we'll i'll have a look for a cheap one in Germany.. but I'll definitely be buying one if I go again next year.

If you are that concerned about safety you should learn to ski before trying to go down black slopes. Always a good idea to ski within your limits.

ShayK1 · 29-01-2010 2:05pm

LeoD wrote: »

So you fell and hurt your neck? How can you then say you were lucky you were wearing a helmet? If I get a belt on the hand playing hurling I wouldn't thank my helmet for reducing the severity of the injury.

If you read the post again you'll see that the poster fell ON THEIR HEAD!! That is what injured their neck. The fall could of been a lot worse had they fallen on an unprotected head.

It is clear to see that you don't agree with wearing a helmet and you are entitled you that opinion, but others are also entitled to have their own opinion so would you ever stop nit-picking at others post, it just comes off as if you're looking for an arguement which is quite sad in my own humble opinion.

LeoD · 29-01-2010 2:05pm

scottyboy wrote: »

I only started wearing a helmet 4 years ago and it saved my life a year later. I caught an edge on a cat track on the flat, going fairly fast to get over the flat, and poleaxed into my head. Cracked the helmet from crown to ear, inside and out. Didn't even know I had done it until I got taken off the mountain. After many x-rays and tests at the medical centre, the docs were impressed that I only had a bruised back and some whiplash. They said without the helmet it would have be a helicopter ride, probably in a box off the mountain. They kept the helmet to show school kids!

How can you say that? A cracked helmet does not imply your head would have cracked without it. There are numerous stories here where people have cracked helmets. Are you saying without helmets the boards.ie winter sports forum would have suffered multiple fatalities in the last few years?

scottyboy wrote: »

Went out and bought the exact same helmet (with built in headphones this time!).

How does listening to music on a crowded piste improve safety?

LeoD · 29-01-2010 2:11pm

Narkius Maximus wrote: »

I see plenty of people with head injuries, bad lacerations in motorbike crashes/ car crashes/bicycle crashes in the day job. I do not enjoy talking to parents/wives/husbands etc about their seriously injured partners.

First of all, motorbike and car crashes have nothing in common with skiing. Neither does biking but how many times have you had to talk to parents/wives/husbands etc about their partners who suffered serious head injuries while on a bike (doing regular cycling, not BMX/downhill MTB'ing) that were preventable by wearing a helmet?

Narkius Maximus wrote: »

It is a dangerous sport, so why not look after ourselves a little better and at least try prevent serious injury when we are bottling down a slope. So my 1st port of call will be the ski shop to be a lid!

Since when did skiing become dangerous? Reckless behaviour on the slopes is dangerous however.

ShayK1 · 29-01-2010 2:12pm

TakeTheVeil wrote: »

I wont be buying one this year for financial reasons..we'll i'll have a look for a cheap one in Germany.. but I'll definitely be buying one if I go again next year.

My g/f got one in Germany last year for around €25. I'm trying to find a photo of it for you.

Got it:
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs032.snc1/2479_129796000061_738835061_5817886_554_n.jpg

Her's is the white one. The green one is mine.
She says its very comfy and she's very happy with it.

LeoD · 29-01-2010 2:18pm

Mountain_Surfer wrote: »

Have been skiing and boarding for years, never wore a helmet...until last season. Had the inevitable few bad falls as a young'un but was always fine.

Bought the helmet before my 1st trip at christmas time last year. It paid for itself on the first morning of the trip. Had a bad fall, hit a big snow cookie in bad vis and was thrown around badly. Will be wearing one for the rest of my skiing days

This is what I don't understand. You say that you had a few bad falls but was always fine afterwards before you got a helmet but now after one bad fall since you got one you seem to credit the helmet with saving you? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you've never been hurt but I think you would have been fine without the helmet.

LeoD · 29-01-2010 2:21pm

ShayK1 wrote: »

If you read the post again you'll see that the poster fell ON THEIR HEAD!! That is what injured their neck. The fall could of been a lot worse had they fallen on an unprotected head.

If my aunt had b*lls she'd be my uncle.

ShayK1 wrote: »

It is clear to see that you don't agree with wearing a helmet and you are entitled you that opinion, but others are also entitled to have their own opinion so would you ever stop nit-picking at others post, it just comes off as if you're looking for an arguement which is quite sad in my own humble opinion.

This is a thread about whether people will wear a helmet or not. Many people have given their reasons for wearing one. I am simply questioning the validity of the reasons behind these decisions. Is that okay?

robinph · 29-01-2010 2:23pm

LeoD wrote: »

This is what I don't understand. You say that you had a few bad falls but was always fine afterwards before you got a helmet but now after one bad fall since you got one you seem to credit the helmet with saving you? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you've never been hurt but I think you would have been fine without the helmet.

Yet it costs nothing, well except the cost of the helmet, to wear one in case of the next hit which does happen to be on your head.

Helmets will not save your life, they will protect you from minor bumps etc from landing on an icey piste or more likely someone elses ski/ poles/ board/ head/ boot hitting you in a tangle of bodies.

LeoD · 29-01-2010 2:25pm

Mitch Buchannon wrote: »

Exactly.... A few years ago I was waiting at the back of a line for a chair lift in Austria (St Johann in Tirol) and a teenage "hero" skier hit me from behind. I never even heard or saw him comming.I went down like a sack of spuds but thankfully I wasnt hurt. That helped me make up my mind to get a helmet.

Someone banged into you, you fell over and you got up again. You weren't hurt. As a result you decided a helmet was necessary in future? Why - in case someone didn't hurt you again?

robinph · 29-01-2010 2:29pm

There is no need to go through every post in the thread from months ago picking holes in each seperate fall that people have spoken about.

LeoD · 29-01-2010 2:32pm

robinph wrote: »

A helmet is not going to save your life. If your in a life threatening incident then it's already too late.

I think 2 posters here were saved by theirs!

robinph wrote: »

What a helmet will save you from is collisions with lifts, stray boards, stray skis and stray people and the resulting sore head and mild concussion. I would not be concerned at all with going of the top of a mountain and down some scary black run without a helmet on. If I have a fall there then it will either be into nice soft powder, or I'll be dead from major injuries to the rest of my limbs, a head injury is not a major concern there though.

Don't mean to sound funny but how will a stray board or ski hit you in the head? I've never seen anyone hit by a lift (I presume you are talking about the safety bars?) but if someone did bang the bar off your head, would temporary mild discomfort be more likely than concussion?

LeoD · 29-01-2010 2:34pm

gavkm27 wrote: »

I've been clocked at over 100Km/h,...so yes for sure i will

I'd wear a helmet too if I was going at that speed. I hope that wasn't on an open piste with other skiers though.

LeoD · 29-01-2010 2:36pm

loobylou wrote: »

Had a similar experience to above. Skiied for years without one but bought helmet a couple of years ago after clocking my speed on a GPS at nearly 100kph.
A couple of days after buying the helmet I fell on a slalom course and hit the ground so hard that the helmet cracked right through, inner foam and all.
Went straight out and bought another.

The same as above.

robinph · 29-01-2010 2:44pm

LeoD wrote: »

Don't mean to sound funny but how will a stray board or ski hit you in the head? I've never seen anyone hit by a lift (I presume you are talking about the safety bars?) but if someone did bang the bar off your head, would temporary mild discomfort be more likely than concussion?

I've been hit by the safety bar many times from people bringing it down too quickly. I've also been hit by peoples skis/ boards as they went over the top of me after some idiot tried to fit 7 people on a six man chair which resulted in me getting pushed off the front of the loading platform. Yes, temporary mild discomfort would be all that you would be likely to suffer from the bar hitting you, but I'd personally rather take the option of no discomfort and no bruise to my head which is possible by wearing a helmet.

As for getting hit by stray items, yes that will generally not be at your head level, if your standing up. I have encountered boards flying past me at head level though, but if they had hit me a helmet would not have done much good.

A helmet will not save you from crashing into a tree. A helmet will not save you from falling off a cliff. A helmet will not save you from a big fall at the top of a black run. With all of those type of incidents you'll die from severe trauma to the rest of your body, multiple broken bones and major blood loss.

A helmet will save you from minor knocks etc that you'll get from falling over and smacking your head on the ice, or from the person who then slides past you on that beginner slope and couldn't manage to avoid you in time so they land on top of your head. They will stop you having a sore head from injuries that were probably not life threatening even without wearing the helmet.

Would you rather take that minor injury and sore head and then miss the rest of your holiday, or would it be better to have a laugh about someone/ thing hitting your helmet with your mates in the bar later and looking at the big mark they made on your nice new lid?

LeoD · 29-01-2010 2:52pm

robinph wrote: »

There is no need to go through every post in the thread from months ago picking holes in each seperate fall that people have spoken about.

I think it's only fair to respond to other posters. I didn't have time before but I had a few minutes now so decided to reply. What is wrong with questioning people?

My problem with helmets is that I see skiing slowly (well no, quite quickly it seems) going from a safe, relaxed, fun, healthy, leisure activity to some dangerous extreme sport that needs to be governed by plethora of health and safety laws. If a helmet is required to do something then the perception will be it must be dangerous. I can fully understand people wearing a helmet in a ski park. I can also fully understand people wearing helmets if they want to go off piste through wooded areas. What I hate is skiers skiing recklessly at high speed and out of control on public/groomed pistes. This behaviour should not be accepted and should be policed more vigourously. Wildly exagerated survivor stories and baseless opinions portrayed as fact do nothing to calm the current safety hysteria.

LeoD · 29-01-2010 3:02pm

robinph wrote: »

Would you rather take that minor injury and sore head and then miss the rest of your holiday, or would it be better to have a laugh about someone/ thing hitting your helmet with your mates in the bar later and looking at the big mark they made on your nice new lid?

Am off to Austria next weekend and would hate to miss any skiing due to injury! Touch wood I don't fall and bust my head open!

By far the most common ski injury to keep you off the slopes is to knees but nobody wears a knee brace which would no doubt prevent the severity of some of these type of injuries.

Do you think a person wearing a helmet listening to music (drowning out sound of both people around them and the snow underneath them) is a safer skier? That's not meant to be funny/sarcastic - a serious question.

robinph · 29-01-2010 3:03pm

LeoD wrote: »

I think it's only fair to respond to other posters. I didn't have time before but I had a few minutes now so decided to reply. What is wrong with questioning people?

It looks more like your just trying to up your post count at the moment, there is the multi-quote that you can use instead if your really have to reply to everyone. Anyway, most of what you are replying to so far are posts from three months ago so no telling if that person is going to reappear to respond.

Discuss with the people that are here now.

LeoD wrote: »

My problem with helmets is that I see skiing slowly (well no, quite quickly it seems) going from a safe, relaxed, fun, healthy, leisure activity to some dangerous extreme sport that needs to be governed by plethora of health and safety laws. If a helmet is required to do something then the perception will be it must be dangerous. I can fully understand people wearing a helmet in a ski park. I can also fully understand people wearing helmets if they want to go off piste through wooded areas. What I hate is skiers skiing recklessly at high speed and out of control on public/groomed pistes. This behaviour should not be accepted and should be policed more vigourously. Wildly exagerated survivor stories and baseless opinions portrayed as fact do nothing to calm the current safety hysteria.

Skiing has always been a dangerous activity. Now more people get the opportunity to take part in it than ever before though so with more crowded pistes if becomes even more dangerous.

People should definitely not be wearing a helmet and then thinking that they have become invincible and I'd like to see more patrolling of some of the pistes I've been on before to control people who are out of control on busy areas and so becoming a danger to others. Even if you may be in control flying down some run, that beginner that you just went flying past and freaked out as you went too close may not be and could then end up in an accident with someone else.

I'd be far more scared going without my helmet on a green or blue run than I would going down a steep black or in amongst the trees. It's the other people who are the biggest danger to you on the slopes.

robinph · 29-01-2010 3:12pm

LeoD wrote: »

Am off to Austria next weekend and would hate to miss any skiing due to injury! Touch wood I don't fall and bust my head open! By far the most common ski injury to keep you off the slopes is to knees but nobody wears a knee brace which would no doubt prevent the severity of some of these type of injuries.

But people do wear wrist guards and bum protectors for boarding where the repeated falls could well put you out of action, or at least off form, after a week of landing on the same bruised spot.

LeoD wrote: »

Do you think a person wearing a helmet listening to music (drowning out sound of both people around them and the snow underneath them) is a safer skier? That's not meant to be funny/sarcastic - a serious question.

Definitely not. People who listen to music whilst going down the slopes are kidding themselves if they think that are still as aware of what is happening around them.

I did have an instructor used the reason that his vision was impaired when wearing a helmet. He also said that he couldn't hear as well, but the padding around the ears is not a whole lot more than you'd have from a hat, but if that actually effected the sound that much is another matter. Having music coming through the ear pad of you helmet will impair what you can hear though.

I_luv_2_ski! · 29-01-2010 8:19pm

LeoD wrote: »

Beaumont is busy because of the number of kids coming into A&E with head injuries from falling off their bikes? Unfounded and rediculous exageration.

my auntie worked in the head injuries department in Beaumont, and as a kid she made me wear a helmet if we were going roller blading or anything, and herself and her best friend who also worked in Beaumont head injuries were the first people i know (other then the kids who had to) to wear helmets!!!

petethedrummer · 29-01-2010 8:27pm

Risk Compensation:

Ski helmets
“There is no evidence they reduce fatalities,” said Dr. Jasper Shealy, a professor from Rochester Institute of Technology who has been studying skiing and snowboarding injuries for more than 30 years. “We are up to 40 percent usage but there has been no change in fatalities in a 10-year period.”[6][7] There is evidence that helmeted skiers tend to go faster.[8]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_compensation#Ski_helmets

Mmmm_Lemony · 29-01-2010 8:37pm

petethedrummer wrote: »

Risk Compensation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_compensation#Ski_helmets

The number of people skiing has also increased...but the number of fatalities has stayed the same...

This could have something to do with the fact that more people are wearing helmets. If 40% more people are skiing and that 40% are using helmets, then it would make sense that fatalities would stay the same.

Theres no doubt they are uncomfortable, but the more that people wear them will drive the demand higher for more comfortable and fashionable products.

a148pro · 30-01-2010 8:29pm

petethedrummer wrote: »

Because helmets are dorky looking.

so is brain damage

I just bought a helmet, wore it today for the first time. didn't even notice I had it on to be honest. I'd say a good 40% of people were wearing them. They don't look dorky at all. In any event, my jacket and salopettes already look dorky enough. very few people look good in their skigear. they tend to be the people who don't actually ski.

Did experience reduced hearing, and also limited me from using the mobile phone - prob a good idea. also kept my slightly too big balaclava in place. cost €115 in Great Outdoors. Uvex x rider something or other. nice design, very comfortable, has a vent which you can open and close and a thing for fixing your goggles on to the back of it. bought white one so it doesn't get hot in the sun, in theory anyway.

you can rent them out here for €4 per day so will presumably take 30 odd days skiing to pay itself. there is the advantage of not putting on someone else's sweat infused helmet though

petethedrummer · 30-01-2010 11:48pm

a148pro wrote: »

so is brain damage

Then its a good job I have neither a helmet nor brain damage.

a148pro · 31-01-2010 7:54pm

ah come on pete, all drummers have brain damage

St. Robbie · 03-02-2010 2:32pm

I've done about 7 weeks of snowboarding, only started wearing a helmet after the 6th week. Feel more comfortable doing jumps and stuff wearing one

fergalmejergal · 03-02-2010 8:07pm

Arrghhh der dave !

TrueBlue1000 · 09-02-2010 2:15pm

2 years ago I kept saying I would buy a helmet.
Last year, I kept saying the same. Half way into the week, I finally bought one. 3 hours later, I remember thinking in a split second how glad I was that I bought it. I had a major fall, smacked the back of the helmet on an icy slope and broke ribs :eek:

Roll on next week when I tackle that slope again :cool:

So, a big YES TO A HELMET.

3greenrizla's · 09-02-2010 9:33pm

TrueBlue1000 wrote: »

.... I finally bought one. 3 hours later, I remember thinking in a split second how glad I was that I bought it. I had a major fall, smacked the back of the helmet on an icy slope and broke ribs :eek:

Sorry to hear about your ribs, but there are a few examples like yours in the thread..."bought a helmet, and a few hours/days later had a bad fall, the helmet definitely saved me"...

Is this just a lucky coincidence?, is it due to people skiing beyond their ability because they think the helmet makes them invincible?, or are people exaggerating the the extent of their falls in an "OMG like that fall was the worst ever, much worse than anyone else's, I was soooooo lucky" kind of way"?

I'm not sure if I am going to get a helmet or not. I might pick one up if i see one I like. and I do understand the risk of head injury, a friend (of a friend) fell when getting into a car, hit his head & was in a coma for 3 days before life support was turned off. But that was an unfortunate freak accident. Similar to another girl I know who was left paralysed after a 5ft fall when climbing a tree.

am i bovvered · 09-02-2010 11:41pm

3greenrizla's wrote: »

I'm not sure if I am going to get a helmet or not. I might pick one up if i see one I like. and I do understand the risk of head injury, a friend (of a friend) fell when getting into a car, hit his head & was in a coma for 3 days before life support was turned off. But that was an unfortunate freak accident. Similar to another girl I know who was left paralysed after a 5ft fall when climbing a tree.

Get yourself a helmet then !

3greenrizla's · 10-02-2010 1:03am

am i bovvered wrote: »

Get yourself a helmet then !

I might. I'll have to if they become compulsory. but the point I was making was that accidents do happen, admittedly if skiing at speed it is more likely, but I am sure there is an increased risk if you have stairs in your house or play more or less any sport (goggles should be compulsory when playing tiddlywinks).

& I find it a little coincidental that a lot of posters have said that their helmets have proved there worth very shortly after getting them.

But then I am only learning, & haven't had a scare yet so I might change my mind as I progress. Or I might just get one because everyone else has one, I had a look in Galway the other day & I am not going to spend €100 on one so I'll probably have a look when I get out there.

Also do people replace their helmets after a bad fall, I have heard somewhere that it is recommended.

Will you wear a helmet?

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