Ski Helmets

I read somewhere that 40% of people wore one in Austria in 2008-9 season, that sounds a little high? Basically, is it a good idea to spend £80 or so on one if you're not the type to do backflips etc, just a standard intermediate skiier? Do you get the same levels of insulation? (A normal hat costs around £20)

Well .........
The views on this are many and varied and heated and ........
see http://www.j2ski.com/ski-chat-forum/posts/list/7518.page "The Ski Helmet Debate" which is currently running at 60 odd pages of comments/replies (arguments, exchanges, puns, veiled threats, outright war, divorces, murder [well nearly] etc etc)

I'm going to lock the old thread, as it rather lost its way.

Anyone wishing to join a constructive discussion of ski helmets is very welcome to reply here but Admin's famous shears will be hanging over this one... anything remotely resembling abuse of either helmet wearers or fresh air fans will be removed. :twisted:

well i looked at them today at decathlon and they seemed to have lots of l but no xl (they don't have them in their own brand ones) ..and the l weren't that big ...don't particular want to spend £80 on something I don't want...

Start by asking yourself some question

Would you wear a crash helmet on a bike in town...after all you are only doing a max of 30mph?

Am I a fashion freak or do I value my safety? You would probably spend over £300 to keep warm so is £80 too much to keep safe?

If I go for a helmet does it mean I should also consider body armour?

Am I macho or sensible?

etc etc...

Me I wear one, some of my friends don't...so far we are all still here. I just remember that it B***** hurt when I banged my head after falling on a blue doing no more than 20 mph and ended up with a huge bump and an crashing headache for 3 days. Perhaps I was unlucky but I wear one now.

I personally think its a good idea to wear a helmet regardless of whatever level of skiing you are at. I was on the fence until I saw a women get wiped out in Les Arcs in France and suffer a head injury. Also if a slope is hard packed and you fall and hit your head then its like hitting concrete. Just look at what happened to Natasha Richcardson in 2009 and that was in a ski lesson! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natasha_Richardson

At the end of the day it does come down personal choice and there are some disgusting helmets out there, so I spent a fair bit on mine (£85) and bought a salamon ranger helmet which looks good and is so light that I don't even notice wearing it. It does give you that little bit of added comfort knowing that your head has got a decent level of protection whatever happens, because you might be a good skiier but all that needs to happen is you get wiped out which can at times be as severe as being involved in a road traffic accident. Yes you may get bumps and bruises regardless of wearing body armour but a bang on the head in the wrong place can leave a ticking timebomb in your head.

I myself wear one most of the time and I'm now used to it so its fine. I think that at some point in the not so distant future that it will become compulsory to wear one in most of Europe and especially the US.

jbakes87 wrote:I personally think its a good idea to wear a helmet regardless of whatever level of skiing you are at. I was on the fence until I saw a women get wiped out in Les Arcs in France and suffer a head injury. Also if a slope is hard packed and you fall and hit your head then its like hitting concrete. Just look at what happened to Natasha Richcardson in 2009 and that was in a ski lesson! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natasha_Richardson

At the end of the day it does come down personal choice and there are some disgusting helmets out there, so I spent a fair bit on mine (£85) and bought a salamon ranger helmet which looks good and is so light that I don't even notice wearing it. It does give you that little bit of added comfort knowing that your head has got a decent level of protection whatever happens, because you might be a good skiier but all that needs to happen is you get wiped out which can at times be as severe as being involved in a road traffic accident. Yes you may get bumps and bruises regardless of wearing body armour but a bang on the head in the wrong place can leave a ticking timebomb in your head.
I myself wear one most of the time and I'm now used to it so its fine. I think that at some point in the not so distant future that it will become compulsory to wear one in most of Europe and especially the US.

That will be a sad day :cry:

Yeah I agree, even though I think its a good idea to wear a helmet I still think people should have a choice on whether they want to or not, I wear mine 90% of the time but I do have some nice hats I still like to wear.