Helmets

[RJ]

How many of you currently wear a helmet? If so, does having a helmet make you feel safer?

 

[Greg]

I don't currently wear a helmet. Probably the only place I feel I need one is while skiing glades. If/when my daughter starts skiing, I'll probably wear one mostly to influence her.

My head tends to get very warm and sweaty when skiing if it's above 30 degrees or so. I normally only wear a headband for those days. Don't helmets contribute to this problem?

 

[riverc0il]

i do not currently wear a helmet. i used to when i raced. i prefer my comfortable hat to helmets. however, i plan on buying one so i can ski some trees. i avoid trees since i don't have a helmet, and i do not enjoy having the limitation placed on my skiing.

 

[tree_skier]

yes I wear a helmut, my wife highly encouraged it as an example for the youn uns. it is warmer then a hat on real cold days but only gets too hot when it is really warm (this did suprise me). It isn't so much my concern about falling or hitting a tree in as much as being hit by some yahoo.

 

[SAB]

I pretty much always wear a helmet now. Definately nice when you ski the trees, but I also know someone who got a head injury from falling hard on the ice.

I actually use 2 different helmets depending on the temp. I have a standard ski helmet for usual winter conditions. Aside from a little loss of hearing, I don't notice any difference than a hat, and I figure the added safety is definately worth it. In warmer temps, I'll switch to my whitewater kayaking helmet which has very good ventilation.

I've actually taken to bringing the kayaing helmet in the backcountry too. I strap it to my pack for the climbs, but always wear it on the descents. Figure it only makes sense since I'm probably at bigger risk in the backcountry than I am at a lift served area.

SAB

 

[skiguide]

helmet use is definitely on the rise out east here... i remember going to Sunday River for the first time last year & practically put in shock, as it seemingly was about 8 out of 10 people @ southridge wearing them...

wonder if it'll be 9 or 10/10 this year!

definitely the benefits aside from safety, include the warmth of a helmet, especially on cold windy days...

I don't think it's a bad idea to have two helmets, either - and if you look around a lot, you can definitely find helmets that are much lighter and very well ventilated for warmer days - Briko's got a few out this year, and
I tested a great "spring" one by Louis Garneau last year:

http://skiing.about.com/cs/accessories/gr/lgtopone.htm

It was essentially like one of their bike helmets, but with a little more protection.

 

[Greg]

Some great points here. I never considered having a cold weather and warm weather helmet.