Helmet and protective equipment

[fivat]

In the Miscellaneous forum, there is a poll about the helmets:
viewtopic.php?t=48

I think the question is particulary interesting about off piste riding. The death of Gilles Voirol makes me now really afraid of the exposed boulders! And the boulders right below the fresh snow are even more dangerous

This winter, for the first time, I rode off piste with a helmet. Since the season was bad, with very few snow, I was really happy to be protected.

However there is a bad point, which is also true on piste:

The reason I choose not to wear a helmet for this is it allows me to hear my board and the snow better which give me a better feel and balance, also I can hear more of what is going on around me [...]

And what about other protective equipment? What do you think?

-Patrice Fivat

[RicHard]

Ciao!... I was riding for years without any protection when I discovered helmet. A very light one... and a great feeling with it: the difference between what you can hear with or without it is unnoticeable.
Since I just ride on-piste, I recommend its use due to the crowd you can find on the slopes or... better: I was riding on a slope alone (it was tuesday, very few people in the resort) whan I heared "Ohhhh..ohhhh...OOOOOHHHH... SBONCKKKKKKK!".
A skier catched me from te back (not an hardcore issue, eh?!?!?) letting me fall down facing the snow with him over me. So it's not a matter of crowded slopes but a matter of how much you wantto be safe. I'm thinking about protecting even my spine with protections and I will buy as soon as possibile a protection...
But it depends: how much you wanna risk? Everybody has its own perception and management of risks... so... everybody does what he think it's right. ONE accident could be enough, ONE accident could happen never in a life. Boh?!?!

[sml]

I've been skiing/snowboarding for about 20+ years and never wore any protective gear...until now.

I am motorcyclist also, and got used to wearing protective gear. I have a back protector that I use to ride that I know use to SB also.

As for the helmet, the only question I have know is "shall I buy a full-face or an open-face helmet ?"

To me SB has always meant "Freedom" in some way, and all this gear is not very compliant with that "Freedom-spirit". But as time goes by, I get wiser (at least I hope so), I go faster, and the slope are still as crowded as they where before. So I decided to protect myself from myself (a bit) and the others (mostly).

It's like riding a bike. I never thought wearing a helmet on my bike 10 years ago. If I were to cycle again, I definitely would buy one.

sml. I'm getting old I guess...

[cjhoffmn]

I just upgraded my helmet this year to the Giro Race with face protector. I've always been an avid "listener" on the mountain and never felt that helmets impeded my awareness, although I will note that of course things are a bit muffled with a helmet on my head. There are helmets available that have no shell over the ears, yet have great coverage for the rest of the head. I almost bought that model this year but I opted for the full face because of the likelihood of stories like those in these posts.

I've also always worn wrist guards and kneepads. To me, they are very small, quick and easy to put on, yet enhance my comfort and confidence on the mountain. Spraining a wrist or bruising a knee would affect my real life greatly, and the gear to protect is simple and easy, so the risk/return greatly favors to the return. I feel much the same way about the helmet.

I've never looked at too much other protective gear for carving. Just as a helmet that has no holes for hearing would become more dangerous because of decreased awareness, I've wondered if spine gear and rump pads restrict movement to the point of decreasing my reactions and abilities on the mountain. I also never gotten enough carving speed to feel that a fall would hurt me so that gear like that would help. That's changing now, I'm definitly getting more speed these days and would consider such gear, but haven't actively done so yet.

Just my thoughts.

[silentbob]

Hi guys!
Mi first post on you forum!

longskaters wear a lot of protection: crash pad, spine protection, full upper body protection in addition to the classical helmet (full face) and knee/elbow pads, reinforced gloves...
As a hard boots snowboarder, I wore wrist guards some times, and after having a look at the videos on this website, I decided I would take my crash pad to the Alps this year !!!

Yes, protection is good, if only because it makes you feel more secure, thus making your take more risks and learn faster.

Of course one loses some perceptions, but let me compare it to this: gloves are protection for the hands, and even though it would certainly feel better to plant the hand in the snow during every turn, you don't do it.

OK guys, see you on the slopes!

[MarkN]

An avid follower of EC and P&J movies, but a first time poster. I found it interesting that as I got better I actually wore more protection. Started just with wrist guards, but now wear knee, elbow, helmet, and buttpad. More for collision against hard objects (or skiers/boarders) than for falls. I was thinking about a full face helmet as well, but am very used to a protec skateboarder style helmet which is light, airy, and does not affect hearing at all. Would be interested in hearing thoughts on the more protective helmets though.

If people are concerned about being too weighed down by butt protection, look into the AzzPadz (a Canadian invention!) -- it is really light, cheap, and you hardly feel it at all. I actually wear it as much to add warmth and cushioning for the chairlift ride as for protection.

[Rob Stevens]

Over the last 5 or 6 years, I've been buying more and more "armor" for downhill mountainbiking. It seemed like a natural progression to start wearing the same gear snowboarding.
I run a Troy Lee Designs D2 full face helmet (90% of concussions come through the jaw) which looks fast standing still and has a grilled opening over the ears which allows me to hear as normal. On the knee and shin, I'll use my Dianese pads. The back knee / shin is really exposed on those toe turns. I'ts saved me surgery on a couple of occasions, no doubt. The "flak" jacket is becoming more a part of my routine every time I go out. With full spine, kidney, shoulder and forearm protection, I look like a football player (U.S. of course) but no one lips me off in the lift line.
I do own ass pants (Burton Red) and will wearthem on heavy days. Especially if i know there will be some pipe and park going down. Wrist gaurds are not on my menu, but should be, especially for the back hand which is the one that always seems to be getting in trouble.

[SITO]

Hi,
My conclusions about this is, use all the protections as you can,
just today what would be a funny day riden it have been a catastrophe,a friend mine has broken his jaw and serios damage in one of his kidney in a simply collided with an skier, it's very important safe your body in all moments, because we have only ONE!

Sito

[marcu]

I bought my helmet the day i started to ride off piste. But this year was poor in snow in my country and i had to wear kneepads, wristpads and back protection just to feel safe riding off piste. The irony of this is that i had more accidents on piste due to begginers learning on very steep slopes without instructors. After i bought my protective gear i had to learn to avoid accidents even if i was protected just because i almost broke someone's jaw when he colided with my helmet... and it is more extreme an more fun to do slalom between people. But i belive if you ride between your limits you can choose not to wear your protective gear. I always wear mine because i am still learning new tehniques and i am going to start riding hard boards cause my soft board doesn't do extreme carving due to the bindings. And i am thinking of buying a full face helmet just to feel safer.

[transsib]

This year I started wearing protecting gear and for me it becomes clearer and clearer
that it is really necessary. I don't wear it mainly for simply falling but for crashing with other
boarders or skiers that come from behind. Some of these guys are extremely fast and
totally out of control so that it is probably way too late when I hear them coming.

Check this out:

http://www.freedive.de/video/skilemming.wmv 1,4 MB

This is just a kid going straight down the hill. Gladly the boarder was able to avoid the crash.
Note that there was no reaction of the kid. Not before and not after the "near miss".
They were pretty fast - much faster than it looks on the video.
Not to imagine if they would have hit each other or if this would have been two adults with their
heads on the same height. The day before the same guy got hit by a skier, gladly at low speeds.

I wear a Giro Fuse helmet and a Dainese Protector Jacket. I am simply not sure that I
always hear and see somebody coming from behind early enough to prevent a crash...

Regards, Oliver

[nils]

the video shows something that happened to me 2 times but with crash! the worst was a guy using the nose of my board as a ski jump ramp and missed my head by a few cm! He dislocated his shoulder 20m down after a massive jump ( he was in downhill position when it happened).. Was wearing a helmet...
Now i have the great light Giro Fuse too, and think about getting a back protector from dainese next season.

Nils

[Benn]

It happened to me many times ...

It's a good idea to wear an helmet but it's a lot better to look behind before each turn.
Head is no the only risk ...
If you are hit by another person when laying down in a curve, you're head is like a punching ball and your neck would not able to bear all accidents: in a serious crash, your neck can be broken by skis or snowboard and you're dead ! (maybe think about a neck protection)

[marcu]

there was an unwritten code "how to ski on the slopes".
there also was a rule : "the skier from behind must avoid the skier in front"
you should wear protection just because those rules are not respected anymore.

[Amorphis]

I don't wear protective gear, but always look around very good. As a kid I once looked at a documentary on tv about a guy who crashed with another skier and a ski stick (how do you call those things in english) hitted his ass and came back out somewhere around his neck. The guy survived with complications but imagening the pain as a little kid gave me a big fear about crashing with other skiers / snowboarders.

With the introduction of carve skies (very easy to turn) and easy to ride snowboards overall speed has increased by a lot! More and more I see beginners going down like kamikaze pilots. More and more people think they can snowboard / ski after less then 10 hours ski lessons. But have hardly any knowledge about rules on piste. Mix all these variables and it can be very dangerous.

Luckily i havent had any close calls last couple of years.

[marcu]

I think someone should invent ski resorts esspecially for beginers. That would be pretty cool. With a more expensive ski pass that will include tutoring also, and with a rule like this one "all riders must wear helmets".