New helmet rules from Canada...will they start a trend?

[catskills]

i heard Belleyare was gonna make employees wear em last year then backed off.....not sure why tho

Belleayre employees will be required to wear a helmet for the 2009-2010 season.

From belleayre.com - Although a helmet is not required for general skiing or snowboarding, it is highly recommended. If your child is in the Alpine Development program, helmets are required.

 

[tcharron]

Interesting. Maybe it's my NH blood, but I hope we don't ever get to a point where a helmet becomes mandatory.

I personally don't wear a helmet. When I was growing up, only racers wore helmets. When I picked skiing back up, it wasn't even an option in my mind, and I was surprised by the number of helmets.

When I was a kid, only kids wore seat belts. :-D

The way I look at it, they can ONLY help.

 

[jaywbigred]

Having known someone who died from a head vs. tree collision, retrospectively I am surprised it took me so long to start wearing a helmet, which I now do religiously. Besides being safe, I find it warmer and more comfortable, and also fun, as music is piped in through me earpads and it also serves as a mounting spot for my headcam.

I'd pit the overall injury rates/severity of supposed increased-risk-helmetwearers vs. the supposed risk-averse non-helmetwearers any day.

I'm not going to force anyone though. Wear it if you want to...if you don't, well, we have to thin the heard somehow.

 

[deadheadskier]

Purchased a helmet in Feb 07 after being a never ever with little interest. I've gone without a couple of times on hot days in the spring skiing slush bumps, but other than that, I prefer it over wearing a hat.

Personally, after a couple of years of wearing one, I think it's silly for folks not to. I'm not sure why I didn't start wearing them earlier. I've always felt the same way about motorcyclists. Then again, the world could use a few more organ donors, so maybe it's not a bad thing.

 

[jaywbigred]

Then again, the world could use a few more organ donors, so maybe it's not a bad thing.

Haha. Good point. +1

 

[speden]

Besides being safe, I find it warmer and more comfortable, and also fun, as music is piped in through me earpads and it also serves as a mounting spot for my headcam.

I was looking at helmets on the web the other day and noticed they have models with built in speakers. They are a little pricey, but kind of appealing. It seemed to me it would make them less safe since you couldn't hear people coming up from behind you. Do you find the built in speakers don't block out a lot of surrounding sound compared to say ipod earplugs?

 

[nycskier]

I finally broke down and got a helmet. This year will be the 1st year I have one. I'll see weather I actually wear it.

But looks like mandatory helmets might be the way resorts will go. The killer will come when insurance companies in the US call for it or offer mountains that have it lower rates.

 

[ta&idaho]

I finally broke down and got a helmet. This year will be the 1st year I have one. I'll see weather I actually wear it.

Like others have said, I find my helmet to be more comfortable than a traditional ski hat, in both cold and warm conditions. If its hot, I open up the vents, and if its really cold, I add a thin balaclava . . . either way I find it more comfortable.

 

[eastcoastpowderhound]

I was looking at helmets on the web the other day and noticed they have models with built in speakers. They are a little pricey, but kind of appealing. It seemed to me it would make them less safe since you couldn't hear people coming up from behind you. Do you find the built in speakers don't block out a lot of surrounding sound compared to say ipod earplugs?

they block less sound than the ear buds because they are in the ear pad of the helmet, not inserted in your ear. depending on the volume you've got them on you can still hear conversations on the chairlift...or you can turn them up so you can barely hear the snow gun as you ski under it. Personally, my volume is typically set so I can still have a conversation on the chairlift and if I'm on groomers, I usually can't hear the music because the sound of the wind is too loud.

 

[Riverskier]

wearing a helmet has never given me a false sense of security...its not like after 23 years of skiing without one, on the day I put one on I suddenly felt 8' tall and bullet proof. The one thing it did do was allow me to just duck my head to avoid small branches in the woods as opposed to having to throw my hands up to block. In the 10 years since I started wearing one, I've been very glad it was on about a dozen times. Plus, they're warm, comfortable, and IMO, much less of a hassle than a hat...you move your goggles and a hat slides all over your head...always sliding around and riding up...helmets stay in place much better. My $.02

I'm not some timid scaredy cat that does everything as safely as possible like Ben Stiller in that movie with Jen Aniston...I played rugby for 10 years, not exactly a low impact sport...but when doing something risky I think its good sense to do what you can to mitigate any negative consequences...riding a motorcycle, helmets a damned good idea, using a table saw...eye protection is a good idea...one night stand...a condom is a good idea...hauling ass down snow and ice, surrounded by rock and trees...helmets are a good idea. I don't get the whole "I'll never wear one" schtick that some of our members are on...do you think it makes you look less cool? Less core? They aren't heavy...there are enough variations in fit and style for every head shape and get up you're rocking...so why not? Don't get me wrong, I think you should have the choice...I just don't understand how not wearing one is something that otherwise smart people choose to do. My soapbox...your melon, your choice...but if you don't do it for yourself, think about your parents...kids or significant other.

Very well put. My experiences transitioning to a helmet are similar. No false sense of security, just warmer and safer. For the general public it should be a matter of personal choice, but why anyone would opt not to have the added safety a helmet provides, for no forseeable benefit is beyond me.

 

[jaywbigred]

It seemed to me it would make them less safe since you couldn't hear people coming up from behind you. Do you find the built in speakers don't block out a lot of surrounding sound compared to say ipod earplugs?

they block less sound than the ear buds because they are in the ear pad of the helmet, not inserted in your ear. depending on the volume you've got them on you can still hear conversations on the chairlift...or you can turn them up so you can barely hear the snow gun as you ski under it. Personally, my volume is typically set so I can still have a conversation on the chairlift and if I'm on groomers, I usually can't hear the music because the sound of the wind is too loud.

I never considered skiing with earphones/earbuds and still wouldn't do it. With those, evern with the music completely turned off, I think they block too much noise to be safe. However, I find that there is a nice sweet spot range where I can hear conversations on the lift but still hear the music on the cruisers. ECPH is right though, if it is windy or you get going decently fast, you might stop hearing it. Still, its nice for empty chairlifts and skiing bumps.

 

[Method9455]

I understand the "logic" behind that arguement but I just don't buy into it.

What do you mean you don't "buy" into it? You don't believe it or you don't like it?

I sold a lot of helmets in my time working at a ski shop. I always told a longer version of this (true) story:

"I started skiing at 4, and my Dad made me wear a helmet. I wore it until I was 13 and hated it the entire time. When I was 13 I was standing on the side of a slope adjusting my gloves and looking down the trail. I woke up laying on the ground with people around me and no idea what had happened. Apparently a skier was out of control and had a ski pop off on the hill above me, and it hit me in the back of the head. It hit me hard enough to make me fall down the hill and black out for a bit, as well as dent my helmet (thus, destroy it). Ever since then I've been happen to wear a helmet because through no fault of my own I was in a situation where I needed one and it protected me"

Since then, I've needed it for my own stupidity.

Ironically last year I started biking for my commute. Since I'm mostly on specific bike paths and not going that fast I didn't buy a helmet. One day in march my bike broke. Hard to describe what happened since I don't remember it, but basically the front axle sheared and the front wheel seperated from the rest of the bike. Needless to say I went ass over tea kettle and face planted in an intersection. A lot of stitches and a nasty concussion ended my ski season. If I had been wearing a helmet it would have been a whole lot better.

I remember being in the ambulance bleeding everywhere thinking, god it was so stupid not to be wearing a helmet.

A few thousand dollars in medical bills (thankfully covered by insurance so everyone else got to pay for my mistakes) instead of $50 on a helmet, bad move.

 

[SIKSKIER]

Spare me the righteous banter posted here.I wear a helmet because I chose to.Everyone should have their own choice PERIOD!

 

[dbking]

I was looking at helmets on the web the other day and noticed they have models with built in speakers. They are a little pricey, but kind of appealing. It seemed to me it would make them less safe since you couldn't hear people coming up from behind you. Do you find the built in speakers don't block out a lot of surrounding sound compared to say ipod earplugs?

If you ski fast enough people won't be able to ski up to you from behind. Just one more reason that skiing fast is actually safer.

 

[eastcoastpowderhound]

Spare me the righteous banter posted here.I wear a helmet because I chose to.Everyone should have their own choice PERIOD!

If the "righteous banter" in this thread makes one person change their mind, its completely worth it. Here's an email that was sent to me by a friend of my mother's who I talked into buying a helmet 10 years ago:

"I have you to thank for saving my life. Had poor Natasha Richardson's fate been different after her fall, I might not be saying "saving my life." Right after this picture was taken:
we skied down the mtn (the Loaf) and while trying to choose between slush-covered ice and a big patch of bare ground, I fell, hitting the back of my head hard on the ice. I didn't realize HOW hard I had hit it until I was driving home a few hours later when my neck began to ache. By Monday morning all the muscles in my neck and upper back were killing me and I realized I had a whiplash injury, something that has never happened to me. I am lucky that was all I had - otherwise I may have been keeping Natasha Richardson company. You are the person who chided me to get a helmet and if not for you, I might not have. As you can see, your mom and I wear ours and we really don't care if we get "helmet hair" or not. It beats the hell out of a brain injury.

So - thank you - again. I might have been as unlucky as N.R. but for the wisdom of a man who knows that bad things can (and unfortunately do) happen to skiers."

I was just minding my own business at work on a Tuesday morning when that email arrived. Sure, if you want you can call BS and say I just wrote that myself...but that's not the case at all...I copied and pasted directly from the email she sent me and didn't change a word...just removed the pic of her, my aunt, my mother, and their friend. So, call it righteous banter, call it BS, call it a soapbox...if it makes just one of you change your mind about wearing a helmet, its worth all the :argue: likely to follow.

 

[philly_bluenose]

I see it as a benefit-risk argument.

I never wore one when I was younger, but when my kids started to ski, I insisted they wore helmets. Unfortunately, we'd raised them to think, so they asked where my helmet was. So I got one.

I think there are clear safety advantages to wearing one, and it hasn't decreased my skiing experience.

N.B. In terms of absolute risk, I think we're probably all in more danger driving to the ski resort, hence we wear seat belts.

 

[speden]

If you ski fast enough people won't be able to ski up to you from behind. Just one more reason that skiing fast is actually safer.

I hope at some point I will be able to ski that fast! For now if I were skiing that fast I'd be out of control.

 

[speden]

I think there are clear safety advantages to wearing one, and it hasn't decreased my skiing experience.

Back in the day when I was into motorcycling, I'd see arguments about mandatory helmet laws all the time. It's really a much tougher call for motorcycling because the helmets are a lot more uncomfortable. You ride a motorcycle mostly in summer when it's boiling hot. The helmets are full face and with a full visor. You ride a motorcycle to feel a sense of freedom and yet you have to put you head in a heavy, hot, confined helmet to stay safe. I still always wore one but I wasn't always satisfied about it.

By comparison ski helmets are ultra light, and it's cold out, so they keep your head warm, they shelter you from branches in the glades, protect you in random crashes small and big, probably are more comfortable that a regular hat, and when skiing you're surrounded by people of widely varying skill who may run into you. There's practically no downside for a ski helmet. About two seconds after I put one on, I don't even feel it or think about it.

 

[campgottagopee]

What do you mean you don't "buy" into it? You don't believe it or you don't like it?

I sold a lot of helmets in my time working at a ski shop. I always told a longer version of this (true) story:

"I started skiing at 4, and my Dad made me wear a helmet. I wore it until I was 13 and hated it the entire time. When I was 13 I was standing on the side of a slope adjusting my gloves and looking down the trail. I woke up laying on the ground with people around me and no idea what had happened. Apparently a skier was out of control and had a ski pop off on the hill above me, and it hit me in the back of the head. It hit me hard enough to make me fall down the hill and black out for a bit, as well as dent my helmet (thus, destroy it). Ever since then I've been happen to wear a helmet because through no fault of my own I was in a situation where I needed one and it protected me"

Since then, I've needed it for my own stupidity.

Ironically last year I started biking for my commute. Since I'm mostly on specific bike paths and not going that fast I didn't buy a helmet. One day in march my bike broke. Hard to describe what happened since I don't remember it, but basically the front axle sheared and the front wheel seperated from the rest of the bike. Needless to say I went ass over tea kettle and face planted in an intersection. A lot of stitches and a nasty concussion ended my ski season. If I had been wearing a helmet it would have been a whole lot better.

I remember being in the ambulance bleeding everywhere thinking, god it was so stupid not to be wearing a helmet.

A few thousand dollars in medical bills (thankfully covered by insurance so everyone else got to pay for my mistakes) instead of $50 on a helmet, bad move.

Thanks for not copying my complete post----I was referring to the comment that people who don't wear helmuts are at risk of raising ins premiums for the masses.

I do wear a helmut mowing my lawn after 3 tubes and 8 beers---would hate to fall off my tractor at flop around on top of that well head of mine. :dunce:

 

[boston_e]

I was looking at helmets on the web the other day and noticed they have models with built in speakers. They are a little pricey, but kind of appealing. It seemed to me it would make them less safe since you couldn't hear people coming up from behind you. Do you find the built in speakers don't block out a lot of surrounding sound compared to say ipod earplugs?

I've never tried one, but there is no doubt that the music would be a distraction and thus less safe.

I've always been interested by all the comments I read about helmets being more comfortable. I dont wear one for that exact reason (I understand all the saftey comments about wearing a helmet). My experience is the opposite... not warm enough on a cold day, too hot on a spring day. Nothing more comfortable than a ski hat. I guess comfort is a matter of opinon though.