# how safe are snowboard/ski helmets?



## jegnorge (Feb 15, 2010)

i was thinking, those slalom skiers travel at over 60mph, and yet they seem to be just wearing normal ski helmets. at those speeds, shouldn't they be wearing DOT/SNELL rated helmets at least? those of you who ride motorcycles know what dot/snell is. same with snowboard helmets, i go check them out at the store and they all look very cheaply made. i ride motorcycles and the EPS foam and comfort liner are much thicker. and i'm shocked that there aren't snowboard helmets with some sort of chin bar at least. we've all seen nasty face plants which require visits to the dentist, which can easily be prevented with the right gear.

anyone who says he's a pro and needs no helmet yada, yada, yada is in denial. just take kevin pearce as an example. awesome rider but the crappy helmet didn't protect him well enough. anyone who watch motorcycle racing? every rider is always in protective gear head to toe even they're just practicing. cuz... you can get away with it 1 million times, but it just takes that ONE time to get messed up.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

I've _seen_ people on Seymour wearing what looked like full-face motorcycle helmets. Mostly in the park. And I can't blame them.

The thing is, any helmet is better than no helmet. And with snow sports, you aren't so concerned about the pavement or the side of the car. It's more about cushioning abrupt deceleration than preventing blunt-force trauma. Also, bike helmets get _heavy_ after a few hours and they don't breathe very well. Can't speak for anyone else but when I snowboard, I _work!_ My problem is usually getting rid of heat, not staying warm. All in all, I think I prefer the bicycle-helmet style.


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## HoboMaster (May 16, 2010)

Yeah, honestly I understand the full-face helmets for things like racing, boardercross, etc because those are high-speed and dangerous. The normal snowboarder however is not going 60mph+ down a slalom course on hardpacked snow.

The only time I've seen people wear that type of helmet was at Mt. Hood. All the time-trial/race skiers used them for training.

I would be with Donutz as far as how I would feel about wearing one. Unless I was doing something terribly dangerous where there was a high-chance of doing a literal face-plant, it would be pretty hot and cumbersome. Also, many basic helmets lip-out at the front so that if you do do a face-plant, that front edge of the helmet will make contact first.

The big difference between someone on a motorcycle and snowboard, is that a motorcycle has an engine and carries your weight and inertia. On a snowboard, it's all you baby.

Snowboarding is a dangerous sport anyway you look at it. You can protect your head, but unless you wanna wear a full body armor suit you can't protect the rest of it that well. I think the point is to find a happy-medium where you are protected but your gear doesn't effect your riding.


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## legallyillegal (Oct 6, 2008)

helmets are only as safe as your dumb ass


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## zacm (Nov 4, 2009)

couldnt you say the same thing for bicycle helmets? 

helmets dont make a sport any safer then the person pushing its limits.


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## Tarzanman (Dec 20, 2008)

The difference is that a full-face style helmet impedes your vision (and makes breathing heavily feel very 'stuffy'), and also limits the type of movement your head can make.

A full face street bike helmet limits your vertical vision too much for a sport where you slide down a hill. A dirtbike/motocross helmet would make more sense, but even that would be overkill for most skiers/snowboarders. We aren't usually on surfaces as hard as ice and the speeds are usually a lot closer to bicycle/skateboard speeds than to automobile speeds.

I agree with you in part regarding the snowboard/ski helmets. They are a bit of a rip-off for their price compared to what you get with a motorcycle helmet for the same amount of money.. 

A helmet is no guarantee that you won't get a concussion. Football players wear metal helmets with much better padding, going slower speeds and they get concussions all the time! A helmet is supposed to mitigate the injury to your noggin. If they were concussion proof then we would all look like dark helmet from spaceballs.



jegnorge said:


> i was thinking, those slalom skiers travel at over 60mph, and yet they seem to be just wearing normal ski helmets. at those speeds, shouldn't they be wearing DOT/SNELL rated helmets at least? those of you who ride motorcycles know what dot/snell is. same with snowboard helmets, i go check them out at the store and they all look very cheaply made. i ride motorcycles and the EPS foam and comfort liner are much thicker. and i'm shocked that there aren't snowboard helmets with some sort of chin bar at least. we've all seen nasty face plants which require visits to the dentist, which can easily be prevented with the right gear.
> 
> anyone who says he's a pro and needs no helmet yada, yada, yada is in denial. just take kevin pearce as an example. awesome rider but the crappy helmet didn't protect him well enough. anyone who watch motorcycle racing? every rider is always in protective gear head to toe even they're just practicing. cuz... you can get away with it 1 million times, but it just takes that ONE time to get messed up.


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## zacm (Nov 4, 2009)

Tarzanman said:


> I agree with you in part regarding the snowboard/ski helmets. They are a bit of a rip-off for their price compared to what you get with a motorcycle helmet for the same amount of money..


ski/board helmet $150-$200 for something top of the line

motorcycle helmet $700-$1000 for something top of the line

motorcycle industry is littered with crappy brands that will offer basic protection for $150...if your buying a motorcycle helmet you truly are getting what you paid for...it doesnt fluctuate so much with snow sport brands.

also a full face motorcycle helmet will give you just as much peripheral visions as a snowboard goggle...the fact is no one wants a 4 lbs helmet sitting on their head while they are trying to snowboard, you just cant move the thing since its big.


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## Qball (Jun 22, 2010)

jegnorge said:


> anyone who says he's a pro and needs no helmet yada, yada, yada is in denial. just take kevin pearce as an example. awesome rider but the crappy helmet didn't protect him well enough.


If he weren't wearing that "crappy" helmet he would probably be dead. A helmet is not designed to make your head invincible.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

My niece took a fall on MT Hood last summer. Without her helmet She would likely be a vegetable. She got taken to the hospital unconscious but woke up fine. Big rock ding on the occipital region of the helmet. Would have cracked her head wide open without the helmet.


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## WolfSnow (Oct 26, 2008)

Helmets are safer then not wearing them at all.


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## Grizz (Nov 10, 2008)

jegnorge said:


> i was thinking, those slalom skiers travel at over 60mph..........and i'm shocked that there aren't snowboard helmets with some sort of chin bar at least


Slalom skiers never race anywhere near 60mph. Freeriding sure, but not slalom. 

Slalom helmets will have a chin bar to avoid taking a gate to the face.


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## arsenic0 (Nov 11, 2008)

Snowolf said:


> Riding in control and riding defensively is going to save your noggin more often than the helmet will. Too often I see and hear people riding way beyond their skill level and being reckless to themselves and other skiers and riders because they feel that because of their helmet, they are now invincible.


This is why i got a helmet honestly. Not to protect myself from myself, but to protect myself from other people. Coming down off MHM lift towards the giant HRM clusterfuck intersection can be a nightmare sometimes with some of those people not looking anywhere but straight forward trying to get up the HRM hill.

I get cut off or clipped going down that tiny section of the mountain atleast once a season it seems...i see near misses or hits atleast 75% of the time im up there during weekend warrior days.


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## Jim (Jan 27, 2010)

zacm said:


> ski/board helmet $150-$200 for something top of the line
> 
> motorcycle helmet $700-$1000 for something top of the line
> 
> motorcycle industry is littered with crappy brands that will offer basic protection for $150...if your buying a motorcycle helmet you truly are getting what you paid for....


I disagree, there are reports done stating in many cases you are better off with a DOT helmet then you are with a SNELL helmet (SNELL being the more expensive one typically). And a report stating that some of the cheaper dot helmets offer as good or better protection then the high priced ones.


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## Leo (Nov 24, 2009)

Ski racing helmets are different from normal snow helmets.

POC Skull Comp 2.0 Race Helmet 2011

As far as I know, there aren't any testing standards for snow sports helmets like there are for motorcycles. I've handled a few POC helmets and they are certainly more sturdy than other snow helmets. The company owner (an avid skier for over 30 years) says POC makes the highest quality helmets.

I wouldn't wear one of those though. They do make normal helmets as well though. Just not my cup of tea. 

I agree with others that say helmets are only as protective as the rider is smart (I'm saying it in a nicer way ). You shouldn't get a helmet so you can try a backflip on your first ever jump. Rather, you should use a helmet if you are trying to progress at a normal pace. You know, do an indy before a 180 and a 180 before a 360 etc...

Helmets do not protect you, rather they add protection. Get my drift?

By the way, I've had some bad spills both with and without a helmet. I prefer having those spills with a helmet 

Oh and Kevin Pearce has openly said numerous times that he would not be here had he not wore a helmet that day. He recommends riders use a helmet now. I push it on no one, but I do advocate it. The only people I push helmets on are my family and I have every right to do so


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## mikemounlio (Oct 6, 2010)

I think the helmet should be DOT but its your choice. My frist time on the hill i wrecked very bad. Broke a rib or so, passed out, brusied head to toe. I wasnt wearing any gear. If i had a thim crappy helmet mabye i would not have blacked out. Any helmet is better then no helmet. If they dont wear good enough gear then its their problem when (WHEN) they fall.


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## Tarzanman (Dec 20, 2008)

Many of those 'crappy' $150 dollar motorcycle helmets test better than the $600 jobs in collision tests.
An HJC or a scorpion will protect your noggin just as well as a $650 Arai.

Also, even though full face street helmets offer the same peripheral vision from right-to-left, they offer considerably LESS peripheral vision measure from up-to-down.

Last, most motorcycle helmets are 3+ lbs, not 4+. and you can move around okay wearing them.... try watching some X-games supermoto or bicycle big air. Those guys seem to do ok wearing them.



zacm said:


> ski/board helmet $150-$200 for something top of the line
> 
> motorcycle helmet $700-$1000 for something top of the line
> 
> ...


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## HoboMaster (May 16, 2010)

Tarzanman said:


> Many of those 'crappy' $150 dollar motorcycle helmets test better than the $600 jobs in collision tests.
> An HJC or a scorpion will protect your noggin just as well as a $650 Arai.
> 
> Also, even though full face street helmets offer the same peripheral vision from right-to-left, they offer considerably LESS peripheral vision measure from up-to-down.
> ...


They also are being carried by a big-ass motorcycle engine. When you are creating your own inertia, 3-4 lbs on your head is pretty cumbersome.


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## jegnorge (Feb 15, 2010)

those who say helmet is too heavy. perhaps you need stronger neck muscles


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## jegnorge (Feb 15, 2010)

Leo said:


> Ski racing helmets are different from normal snow helmets.
> 
> POC Skull Comp 2.0 Race Helmet 2011


that helmet price is pretty insane considering it probably doesn't even pass DOT, let alone SNELL. lol


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## Jim (Jan 27, 2010)

Why would a ski helmet be set to dot standards? DOT means dept of transportation... DOT motorcycle helmets aren't even tested by the DOT, they have standards and it is up to the company to comply, the company can put it on without the helmet being tested by the DOT.


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## jegnorge (Feb 15, 2010)

Jim said:


> Why would a ski helmet be set to dot standards? DOT means dept of transportation... DOT motorcycle helmets aren't even tested by the DOT, they have standards and it is up to the company to comply, the company can put it on without the helmet being tested by the DOT.


i would assume that a dot certified helmet protects better than a helmet with no certification at all or a "weaker" certification.


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## Jim (Jan 27, 2010)

Helmets are made for different purposes... DOT helmets are set to standards which absorb less impact then SNELL helmets, this allows them to absorb those impacts better, but not as hard of impacts as the SNELL. If it has to absorb less of an impact it can do it better, I would assume snow helmets aren't made to take as much of an impact as a motorcycle helmet.


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