Snowboarding Forum - Snowboard Enthusiast Forums banner

To wear or not to wear a Helm?

58K views 333 replies 150 participants last post by  snowyc 
#1 ·
Just interested in freestyle riders thoughts on using helmets. I'm a pure freerider who hasn't had much experience with jumping/jibbing other than backcountry kickers into deeeeep pow, so I never wore a helmet, even though my mom bought me one about 12 years ago, lol. Do you guys bring your helmets along just for riding 'park' or no helmet use? I did not like the feel of a helmet on my head when I tried it way back in the day. Plus, the helmet was noticeably colder! Feel like I need to yell FREEEEEEEEEEEEDOM from the top of my lungs like William Wallace when I was wearing one. However, I do know that park riding is more deadly to your lightbulb...
I should note that despite getting into more freestyle oriented riding this winter, if it snows, I'll be riding pow, not in the park :p
Wanna protect my head while in the park, but don't exactly wanna lug a helmet around with me on my pack, already enough crap in there!

My question is, what are your thoughts on helmet use in respect to freestyle riding.
 
#124 ·
I tried to wear one one year and I hated it. I wear one of those neck toques and the helmet straps always got in the way. My ears were always cold. And lest importantly I looked and felt like a tool.

But once I start shredding with my daughter I will wear one ONLY when she's there.
 
#126 ·
I wear a helmet, its a POC recepter bug. I was riding in between 2 runs at White Pass following a skiers tracks. I guess I'm not as agile as he was, and while trying to squeeze between a group of 3 trees I caught my head on one. Gave me a gnarly black eye and a mild concussion even though I was wearing a helmet. Stay safe out there everyone!
 
#130 ·
Waxed it off a box yesterday on the last run. Went upside down on my head and landed all kinds of fucked up. Got a mild concussion, neck stinger and a black left eye. Wife is buying me a helmet today. Now I am at work and can barely move my neck and mah head hurts like the dickens.
 
#133 ·
I got a concussion not wearing a helmet about 12 years ago and have worn a helmet every since. Even if that had not happened to me I would still wear a helmet for three reasons:

1) First and foremost, I have children and need to set a good example for them and not get hurt so that I can be there for them.

2) My wife is a doctor and after working emergency room covering trauma (during her residency) she emphatically will tell anyone who asks that she would NEVER ski/board without a helmet (or ride a motorcycle under any condition). She is not an alarmist at all but has seen first hand the effects of head injuries and the ability to try to protect oneself by putting on a helmet is so easy.

3) No matter how good of a rider you are, stuff happens (that is why they are called accidents). It can be another rider, tree stump or rock you don't see when conditions are poor, etc.. that creates a bad situation.

I don't pass judgement and folks can do what they want but I am surprised that helmets are not mandatory on all mountains and believe they will be.
 
#134 ·
I never wanted or felt the need to wear a helmet until....my son and I went on a MLK weekend trip to Camelback in PA. Last run on Sunday night (blue ice run) I washed out and it happened so fast I couldn't have braced myself if I wanted to. Long story short, I immediately knew I had a concussion, a mild concussion but a concussion none the less. And to add insult to injury, a separated shoulder. Needless to say I'll be getting a helmet. I love riding to much to risk taking myself out of the sport.
 
#135 ·
This is my very first season. I bought a helmet and wear it on the bunny hill. There are a few reasons.

My daughter is 7. She is in her second ski season. I make her wear a helmet, and I try very hard not to be a hypocrite. So if I want her to wear one and think its cool I need to wear one. She has a seperate helmet for her biking, skating, scootering. It is my job to protect her...and if that means me putting on a helmet with her then so be it.

I am a mom. I can not risk not being there for her as she grows up. So if I am going to do something risky I need to take every precaution I can.

Last weekend I had a nasty fall that involved flipping several times and tumling. It was scary. Even more scary was how bad my head hurt and how dizzy I was after hitting my head. I was on any icy bunny hill...not like I was out there on a diamond run.

My husband does not wear a helmet. He never has. Been boarding for 20 years, and on skis before that. I don't nag him. It is his life. I have told him I would prefer that he wear one, but I left it at that. I am not his mother. It is a choice. I can think your choice is stupid all I want...but I am not going to advocate taking that choice away from you.

I DO think it is pretty damn stupid to sit there and say that you are never going to have an accident because you can control all the things that cause accidents. Obviously you have already sustained some sort of brain damage if you really think that. Kind of like someone saying they dont need a condom with a hooker because they can totally tell that the chick is clean....and can totally pull out so there is no way she can get knocked up. It is the shit you dont see that can kill you.
 
#136 · (Edited)
I was on the chairlift today and we saw a guy in the park below fall on a steep rail. He wasn't wearing a helmet in his head was this close :)ok:) to hitting the rail- just barely missed.

That was one lucky guy. But had his head just been an inch to his right, it would have been lights out for him.

I have personally taken multiple falls and slammed my head hard. The worst was on solid ice and even with the helmet on properly, it was still painful and I had to sit there for a while before I felt ok to get going again. Just a hour earlier, before I went in for lunch, I had been riding around with only a beanie since I has been hesitant to wear my helmet. All I was thinking was that if I hadn't chosen to wear my helmet it would be very likely that I might not be here now. Always been wearing one when snowboarding since that incident, and it has saved me from many other impacts.

jennifer was exactly right- I've only hit my head hard when I've least expected it. I don't have to worry so much about it though by wearing a helmet. A friend of mine told me he's going to try snowboarding for the first time next week. After telling him about the recent death of that girl in MI and some of my own experiences I told him, "whatever you do, wear a helmet. It doesn't matter if you rent or buy one, just make sure you wear a helmet." Thankfully he completely agreed, because he actually cares about making a ridiculously simple and harmless decision to dramatically increase his protection and decrease his chances of long-term injury.

Recently I've honestly been seeing more people wearing helmets that I do not wearing helmets. Just a few years ago it was the other way around, but now most people seem to actually care about preventing brain damage. :thumbsup: This only shows that people no longer give a shit about looking a little more bulky on the head, and don't give a crap if they see someone else wearing them.

One additional thing I like about my helmet is that I've rigged an audio system in the ear pads. One could suggest headphones instead, but I once saw a guy whose headphones fell off after landing a jump. Because mine are inside the helmet, they can't fall off when riding.
 
#138 ·
Helmets are warm and comfortable, just find the right one. I never used to wear one and was always skeptical of wether they'd be warm enough or useful... But i now fully appreciate it. I hit my head on a rail this year (wearing a helmet) and got hit by a stray ski. Better safe than sorry and tbh some of the designs look pretty cool. Warm as hell even in -10 Celcius + windchill i was warm and toasty, built in headphones are way better than having earbuds in too, my ears used to be in agony from wearing earbuds+hat all day.

the question 'how much do you value your life' comes to mind.

I found it helped make me somewhat braver too.
 
#140 ·
I'd love to ride without a helmet. Feels better. Looks cooler. Like the original poster said, "Its FREEDOM!!!!" However seeing as how I ride the Ice Coast, how i've been run into from behind, how I've been tripped up by the mysterious rock that looked like a piece of snow or twig/grass pertruding from a thin area that I didn't notice causing me to slam backwards to the ground I will FOREVER wear a helmet.
Falls can happen anytime and I would like to be able to return home to my wife in the same condition I left.
 
#141 ·
+1 for the helmet.

This is my first year wearing a helmet. Last year I got knocked out with a grade III concussion, no helmet. I didn't even remember how I got to work the next day. I ended up getting taken to the hospital for a CAT scan.

At first I hated it and found it distracting. Now I don't even notice it. When I ride without it I feel like something's missing. And it def has the added benefit of keeping my head warm on windy and sub freezing days.

Now I look at few kids without helmets riding the park and think what an idiot, kind of the way I look at hockey goalies from the 70's.
 
#142 ·
I generally always wear a helmet now. I was introduced to a guy a few years back who could only communicate through pen and paper. He had lost all ability to speak in an accident, and yup, the accident occurred on a boarding trip in Japan... wasn't wearing a helmet.
His advice- obvious innit, wear a helmet.
 
#143 ·
Always, Always, Always.


Got a concussion last year from falling off a rail even with my helmet. I compressed the foam in the back.

When you catch an edge (happens to all of us at some point) you will be thankful you had it. It keeps you warm and today they are very light and stylish.

Do it.
 
#144 ·
After cracking my helmet this year doing a regular run (caught an edge on ice) I can only recommend that a helmet always be worn unless you consider yourself a professional.

It will save your life when you least expect it, even if that's 1/10 time you make impact with your head. I value my noodle, don't see why others wouldn't.
 
#145 ·
When I first took up skiing no one wore a helmet. If you had a helmet on people would likely laugh at you.

Fast Forward to today and I would say at least half the people on the hill (probably more) wear a helmet. It's not cool nor nerdy to wear a helmet. It's like gloves vs mitts. No one cares if you wear mitts vs gloves. No one cares if you wear a helmet vs not wearing a helmet.

If you have concerns about your safety and choose to wear a helmet, then go for it.

If you don't feel like wearing one for some other reason other than not being cool, then don't wear one.

I wear one because I have hit my head on the slopes before and I had a brief blackout and a huge headache for the rest of the day. Likely got a concussion. Would a helmet have helped me? I don't know ..... I will let you know next time I smack my head hard and if my helmet helps :D
 
#146 ·
I will always wear a helmet, and have since I started. I have people I go with sometimes blaming me for making them wear helmets, because of my gnarly crash my first year out. One in particular could have been bitching about his head last night rather than his back when he fell on a patch of ice. When I see people not wearing helmets, especially in the park, I just think, "Bro/brah, you are gonna end up on an mf'n stretcher."
 
#147 ·
I ALWAYS ride with helmet, never felt uncomfortable with it and never cold (we can have -20°C). 10 years ago, it was only a bunch of snowboarders waring helmets here, now its 99% of skiers and I havn't seen one on a board without in this year.

After an out of control skier hit me in the back with a ski edge, I even began to wear a back protector if I'm riding without backpack (with integrated protector).

I'm quite happy to have a working brain and back. Somehow it happens to be that I only like sports where you risk them :dunno: but I at least can try to protect them.
 
#148 ·
On Saturday I attempted an arched rail, but slipped sideways and fell. The back of my head smacked the rail and I was on the ground. Weird thing is that I never saw myself fall. It was just slip, slam, somehow on the ground looking up in a second. My vision went yellow for a moment and I could feel my brain swelling a little inside my skull. I guy came over and asked if he should call ski patrol but I said I thought I was ok and luckily I was, except for the headache for the rest of the day.

All this happened with my helmet on. I can't imagine what it would have been like had I not been wearing it. :unsure:
The helmet itself looks fine but I don't think I can afford another at the moment if it does turn out to be cracked.
 
#150 ·
I wear a helmet most the time, but not always. I agree it's a great idea to always wear one but on a nice spring day when I want to hit the park in a T-shirt I'll forgo the helmet. It should be up to each person IMO, I very, very rarely hit my head anyway. The times I have I was glad to be wearing a helm though!

Sue me. =)
 
#151 ·
I wear a helmet most the time, but not always. I agree it's a great idea to always wear one but on a nice spring day when I want to hit the park in a T-shirt I'll forgo the helmet. It should be up to each person IMO, I very, very rarely hit my head anyway. The times I have I was glad to be wearing a helm though!

Sue me. =)
if the idiocy of this doesn't jump out at you, ill be amazed. when you want to go hit the park (which is inherently more dangerous) youll forego the helmet for what purpose? you cant wear a t shirt with a helmet?
you "rarely hit your head"? all it takes is one time. sarah burke. liam neeson's wife. etc. etc. etc.
yet you admit the times you have hit your head, you were glad you had one on. i hope for your sake you never have to regret NOT wearing one.
 
#154 ·
I think it's far from spewing my point..just making your point look idiotic. Actually, you really did that yourself. You even admitted its stupid. I'd rather look like a bobble head than a vegetable, and when it's 50* out take your helmet off between runs. Football players practice in 100+* heat in full pads. You can't ride a snowboard in 50* weather with a helmet cause its too hot ? LOL
 
#155 ·
Can't imagine riding without a helmet! In Austria, icy conditions are of the norm and a helmet saved me from some nasty headaches already. Ass protector, knee protector are standard for me. Thinking about elbow protectors next. Feels strange to ride without 'em. Helmet cold? Which helmet did you try?! Yeah, helmet head looks pretty goofy but when everyone has it.... who cares. Here in Europe, on many slopes helmets are mandatory for kids and I would say now 80% of all skiers and boarders wear helmets, if not more.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top