# Why'd You Start Wearing a Helmet?



## Deacon (Mar 2, 2013)

High velocity and the fact that I have children that I'd like to remember when I get old.


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## 2hipp4u (Dec 24, 2010)

I started wearing a helmet because i got a concussion without one.


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## BigmountainVMD (Oct 9, 2011)

I wore a helmet randomly my first year. It was warmer than my hat, so I would wear it on cold days. One day without it, I had slipped on some ice and didn't hit my head, but was just sitting down on the ice patch in a flat area. I simply laid back (imagine a snow angel with a board on) and my head hit the ice. It was NOT hard by any means, but it did not feel good. I thought to myself, if it was that uncomfortable for my head to hit the ice while slowly laying down in a relaxing manner, imagine how bad it would be if I fell while actually riding.

I've worn one every day after that.


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## ThunderChunky (Oct 1, 2011)

Was easier than headphones and the protection against cutting my head open was a plus.


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## Leo (Nov 24, 2009)

Well, I actually always wanted one. I searched high and low for one that fit and couldn't find any. I have a huge head, but its size is in the width. XXL helmets were comfortably fitting width-wise, but were too long leaving a ton of room in the front and back.

So I gave up and just rode. Couple seasons in and I hit the back of my head hard off a failed jump. I was dizzy and nauseated the rest of the day. I only had a mild concussion thankfully. Needless to say, I found a helmet that fit soon after. Never looked back. I feel naked without it now and can't imagine riding like that.

But I don't go all gung-ho because I have a helmet (and impact shorts). It's just an extra step I take because it doesn't hurt anything to wear one. Besides, it's really useful in the trees... damn branches.


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## MelC (Mar 6, 2012)

Had to wear one for my first lesson and it was a revelation. The warmest most comfortable doesn't move about on my head ever. If only it was socially acceptable for very day use. Plus protects against head injuries.


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## Lstarrasl (Mar 26, 2010)




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## Leo (Nov 24, 2009)

Lstarrasl said:


>


I can't imagine going that fast. I'm already shitting my pants at around 50...


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## Oldman (Mar 7, 2012)

When I first strapped a deck to me feet, hurtling down a frozen hill lined with trees. Seemed like a smart thing to do.


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## KansasNoob (Feb 24, 2013)

I started wearing a helmet because I started snowboarding.....


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## vltsai (Jan 20, 2011)

I got started in brain damage characterization and diagnosis back in college as a cool research topic (we had access to very high resolution PET and MRI scanners) and a lot of what we studied was trauma in athletes (including but not limited to NFL and NHL players). You see the result of repeated trauma and it becomes *very* tangible. Up until then I had been riding without a helmet and never had any bad hits, but I knew that due to my time spent cycling (BMX) and boarding, it was more of a "when", versus an "if."

I was going up to Bear for some spring park laps one weekend. The night before I had a feeling, and went to Sport Chalet. Picked up a cool-looking Red Mutiny II in blue (kinda like a Dodger helmet) and that was that. The next day, I was over-rotating on a jump, ended up landing bad, hit my head *hard* and came out of it without a concussion. Fractured my wrist though, but compared to a TBI, I was pretty stoked about how it ended.

Live and learn and buy helmets galore.


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## Lstarrasl (Mar 26, 2010)

Leo said:


> I can't imagine going that fast. I'm already shitting my pants at around 50...


Come on Leo, hit me up the next time you are out west and we'll go fast.

Sunny days help.


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## boarderaholic (Aug 13, 2007)

Habit. I wore a helmet for bicycling around the city so figured why not for snowboarding. Not to mention it's way warmer than a hat. I've smoked my head a few times wearing a helmet, both snowboarding and longboarding and lived to tell the tale, sort of. Without it though, there's a fairly good chance I'd be dead by now.


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## areveruz (Jul 10, 2012)

Lstarrasl said:


>


what app is that?

And I got mine after I smashed my face on a box and then was too scared to do anything afterward. I wore it for a year and have since stopped wearing it again.


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## stickz (Feb 6, 2013)

Lstarrasl said:


>


I feel the need, the need for speed. Oooowwww.

I wear one because I have a kid if I didn't I would not wear a helmet. I only wore one when skating over 45mph.


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## MarshallV82 (Apr 6, 2011)

I bought it for riding through thick trees for the most part, It's awesome not having to worry about tiny branches stealing my hat and shit. 
Also to mount the go-pro on. I kinda like wearing it now with the tunes, it's cozy. I use it 70% of the time. 

Have you guys really had that many head injuries from snowboarding?
I've had one from Mountain Biking, snowboarding I've had mostly ribs/elbows/wrist and knee injuries. 

I really don't think falling at high speeds is that bad unless you slam your body into a object that don't move, then PPE really don't help much. You just tumble around until you can dig an edge in or get back on track. I worry more about Boxes and rails.

And Oh boy.. Another one of these threads.


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## Lstarrasl (Mar 26, 2010)

areveruz said:


> what app is that?
> 
> And I got mine after I smashed my face on a box and then was too scared to do anything afterward. I wore it for a year and have since stopped wearing it again.


Ski Tracks


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## Leo (Nov 24, 2009)

Lstarrasl said:


> Come on Leo, hit me up the next time you are out west and we'll go fast.
> 
> Sunny days help.


I think you have a point there though. A lot of my fear probably comes from:

1) Man-made crap under me while going 50

2) Dodging plenty of meat on the way down

3) Short length of run which means I have less time to pick up more speed and also less time to slow back down

I might hit over 50 out west and not even realize it on a wide open, uncrowded run with good snow and blue skies.


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## cav0011 (Jan 4, 2009)

I started wearing one the day I realized I wouldnt be happy just cruising groomers.... Although there is something to be said about being more reckless when you have protection. I have hit my head at least 3 times per season really hard with my helmet on but zero times when I didnt have it.


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## Sudden_Death (Mar 23, 2011)

Speed or air never really bugged me, it was a run near the end of the season where I was just screwing around and caught an edge landing a side hit. I went down on my back and my head landed hard but soft snow. When I got up and looked I saw that my head missed slamming into a metal pipe that ran to the snow guns and a rock the size of a beachball by about six inches.


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## cav0011 (Jan 4, 2009)

Leo said:


> I think you have a point there though. A lot of my fear probably comes from:
> 
> 1) Man-made crap under me while going 50
> 
> ...


You probably do, I never measure my speed but I was at snow basin last year with this friend of mine that was playing with that app, I always assumed i was going like 35-45 mph but i was much faster then my friend and they were going over 60. People hit speeds on their boards i don't think they have any idea they are going frequently.


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## andrewdod (Mar 24, 2013)

i play football, and i can speak for concussions they suck... ive had 5... i dont wear a helmet when i ride... but its really only been a money issue... this summer im definately going to go to the local shop to try some on. Most likely ill buy one especially since ive had so many concussions already...


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## nataku (Apr 21, 2011)

I started learning without a helmet but took a big slam onto hard pack with the back of my head that gave me a mild concussion, dizziness and headache that forced me to stop riding the rest of the day. Having a helmet now is just more comfortable that I can continue to push myself a little for steeper runs, more difficult terrain, and higher speed and still have a little bit of protection.


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## Bones (Feb 24, 2008)

Sudden_Death said:


> I went down on my back and my head landed hard but soft snow. When I got up and looked I saw that my head missed slamming into a metal pipe that ran to the snow guns and a rock the size of a beachball by about six inches.


Similar for me. 

I took one of those awkward falls as a beginner that beginners take. Pulled myself off to the side to let the fog clear up and my buddy asked me if I'd hit the rock. Showed me the mark left by my head in the snow...about an inch away from a rock just peaking thru the crust. That got my attention.

Now, I wonder why I didn't wear one before: they're warm, comfortable, light and my goggles don't fog when I push them up.


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## t21 (Dec 29, 2010)

TREE BRANCHES! it was the first reason why i wore helmet. when i use to skiboard, i love going trough tree runs and i basically kept doing it while snowboarding. I had a few the head slams when crashing but the branches hurts more.


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## Board Gadget (Oct 30, 2012)

I am an insurance investigator. I have been investigating accidents my entire adult life. That is 22 years and over 45,000 hours of death, dismemberment and pure mayhem. I have seen people get their ponytails stuck in large machinery and had the back of their skull cap ripped off. A woman who had a steering wheel slammed in her mouth in a head on collision and ended up looking like the Joker from Batman. A construction worker that fell four stories onto a piece of rebar, the rebar entered his body between his legs and stopped at his heart. Not one of those people ever woke up and thought they were going to have an accident that day. Okay, maybe one or two did:blink: The point is they call them accidents because they happen unexpectedly. 

My four kids and I started snowboarding a year ago. I had to buy five helmets. My two teenage sons had a melt down. They were too cool for helmets. I made them wear the helmets. Almost every trip we take someone says, "I am so glad I had my helmet on today because...." 

I don't preach that everyone should be required to wear a helmet. Do what you want. But you are asking, so I am saying, "Why wouldn't you?" Snowboarding is an extreme sport. Give me a break. There is a mini hospital and people that pick you up on the hill when you are hurt:dizzy: When you go fishing ski patrol is not riding around in boats ready to take you to the marina if you become injured 

You are inviting an accident when you snowboard. The human head is just too heavy for the neck to hold it up even in mild crashes. That's why helmets were invented.


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## boarderaholic (Aug 13, 2007)

MarshallV82 said:


> I bought it for riding through thick trees for the most part, It's awesome not having to worry about tiny branches stealing my hat and shit.
> Also to mount the go-pro on. I kinda like wearing it now with the tunes, it's cozy. I use it 70% of the time.
> 
> Have you guys really had that many head injuries from snowboarding?
> ...


For myself, I've had one severe, and one mild concussion due to snowboarding. And one tbi due to longboarding. For myself, I'm a clumsy person and usually tend to do weird things which end up in injury. Wearing a helmet has saved my bacon more than once.


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## tokyo_dom (Jan 7, 2013)

I dont think i have ever actually hit my head snowboarding. Only ever once did i fall sideways and think, that might have hurt more if i didnt have this helmet on. But i wear my helmet every time i go out boarding.

I actually started wearing one after finding it for cheap at Costco, and it wasnt actually bad looking. But i already wanted a helmet, that was just a lucky coincidence.

It all started quite a few years back when one of my friends rented a helmet after he hit his head. He said it actually made him feel safe and gave him confidence. False sense of confidence maybe, but that comment lingered. Over confidence is usually safer than freaking out mid-jump (ok, *usually*), so i wear my helmet all the time

Plus it keeps my goggles in place if i fall. Yard sales dont exist when you have a helmet


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## bmaniga (Sep 26, 2012)

ThunderChunky said:


> Was easier than headphones and the protection against cutting my head open was a plus.


Yup reasons in order of importance.

1. built in audio is much easier to manage than headphones with gloves on.
2. When I do fall everything stays in place. As in i'm not hiking to grab goggles, beanie, etc...
3. Warmer than a beanie, and takes a lot to get it wet.
4. Safety


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

Donut weer wun! Half hitz mi hed many timz and still kant see kno sine of drain bramage!  :blink: :dizzy:


(...nuff said?)


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## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

A concussion ended my season early last year. I also work in a nursing home and see first hand the severity of Alzhiemers and dementia, even in young adults. All of our education seminars are beginning to stress the link between the two. At this point, riding without one isn't even an option. 

Plus it is much warmer than a beanie, and my shit isn't yardsaling every time I get sent over backwards.


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## BoardWalk (Mar 22, 2011)

Cause I look effin good with one.


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## sheepstealer (Aug 19, 2009)

@Lstarrasl - jeeze, 75 mph? What type of board are you riding/what was the pitch like? AlpineReplay logged me at 60 mph once in Big Sky but I was hauling, I don't think I could have gone any faster and I was tucking HARD. 

I wear a bucket b/c of my dad. He took a day off to go ski with his friends when I was really young and came back with a huge concussion. He went over a swale too fast and just cartwheeled, wasn't wearing a helmet. It was the first - and I'm pretty sure the only - time I've seen him cry. After that, all the kiddos got helmets the very next weekend.


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## david_z (Dec 14, 2009)

Back when I started nobody wore a helmet and I never thought twice about it. I took my first trip out west in January 2004 and noticed a lot of people wearing helmets at the time -- I think the number has about doubled in the last 10 years. Anyway, seeing everyone else wearing one made me think and compare it to mountain biking, where I've always worn a helmet (and never thought twice about it, ironically). Same sort of thing: high speed, in between trees, jumps, other people not paying attention, etc. Just seemed like a smart idea once I really thought about it.

Worn one most every day since. Sometimes I don't wear it if we're like, hitting a box or something in someone's backyard. But on the slopes I always do.


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## Snow Hound (Jul 21, 2012)

I've worn one since my second trip having whacked my head a few times on my first. I generally don't crash much and don't hit my head even when I do but still I wouldn't feel right not wearing it.

You hardly ever see them in films though. X games yes. Freeride World Tour yes, but films no?


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## Soul06 (Dec 18, 2010)

When I first started riding, fell, slammed my head into the hard packed icy trail so hard that I left a crater about about 3" deep. Goggles flew one way. Hat another. For a few seconds I was disoriented and later had a semi-bad headache.
Thank God it wasn't more serious. Helmet ever since.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

How many times do I have to say it?!? THE SKI APPS ARE NOT ACCURATE! Comparing your top speeds is useless that way...

For the helmet issue, I was against them for years. Thought I was "too good" to need a helmet. Then my buddy and I collided (we were on each others blind sides) and *I FORGOT HOW TO TALK*. Took me about three weeks to be able to formulate full sentences again.

I could hear things in my mind, but I'd go to speak and it wouldn't come out, I couldn't make the thoughts come out. It was so frustrating!

Now I've been wearing one for the last 5 years or so, and it's warmer, more comfortable (no itchy forehead from the goggle-toque line), adjustable (open/close vents as necessary).


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## KIRKRIDER (Mar 18, 2008)

The Deacon said:


> High velocity and the fact that I have children that I'd like to remember when I get old.



That.

The message you have entered is too short. Please lengthen your message to at least 10 characters.


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## tj_ras (Feb 13, 2011)

Fractured my eye orbital back in the day skateboarding, nice 3 inch crack in my skull, an 1/8" longer and i would have lost my entire eyeball. So i feel like i used my one "get out of jail free card" for head trauma and would rather not flirt with fractured skulls again. Im reminded everyday of how lucky i got, one eye opens wider then the other due to all the calcium built up where my face broke my fall. 

Side note: as tramatic as it sounds fractureing my skull was the least painfull fracture ive had. Number one spot belongs to my heel, shattered that bad boy into pieces.


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## Clayton Bigsby (Oct 23, 2012)

Originally, because I had this little person calling me "daddy", but since then (14 years) I like to ride with it more so to keep my goggles from flying off of my head and getting lost in the knee deep powder.


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## Board Gadget (Oct 30, 2012)

Sudden_Death said:


> Speed or air never really bugged me, it was a run near the end of the season where I was just screwing around and caught an edge landing a side hit. I went down on my back and my head landed hard but soft snow. When I got up and looked I saw that my head missed slamming into a metal pipe that ran to the snow guns and a rock the size of a beachball by about six inches.


This one is bad enough to make me wear a helmet 24/7 Gnarly!!


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## KIRKRIDER (Mar 18, 2008)

Last time I was riding in the woods a broken pointy branch I didn't see smacked me right on my helmet front, above the goggles. Without helm I would have a nice deep scar there now. Nothankyou.


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## brownSnow (Jan 7, 2009)

i don't have too many brain cells left, figured i might as well save what's left :laugh: 

some of you might remember this from SNL back in the day. Gary Busey helmet protector protector :laugh:


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## Board Gadget (Oct 30, 2012)

The Deacon said:


> High velocity and the fact that I have children that I'd like to remember when I get old.


That too Deacon:dizzy:


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

No thing that personally happened to me. Had friend bit his head on a rock in early season conditions and get all concussed. His day was done. Saw several other people lose their day due to some light head injury that with a helmet it would have been "haha don't do that again" otherwise. I just don't want to lose out on riding. Sure a helmet might also save you from more serious injury too. I also now ride uncontrolled terrain and there is no ski patrol there to mark off dangers that might just be under the snow. A little extra protection for my noodle isn't a bad thing in case of a tumble in rocks. 

Helmets are warmer than beanies too. So for a lot of people it means less layers. For others that run warm like linville just means you get to be all rad and ride in your gore-tex thong more often in winter.


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## hadmorefunthanu (Apr 5, 2013)

New poster here. Just got back from Mammoth. Didn't get hurt or anything.. but I broke a finger doing other sports. It's always in the back of my mind.. now I'm searching for a decent, good fitting helmet.


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

killclimbz said:


> Helmets are warmer than beanies too. So for a lot of people it means less layers.* For others that run warm like linville just means you get to be all rad and ride in your gore-tex thong more often in winter.*


:eusa_clap::eusa_clap::eusa_clap:

Seriously though heat factor alone I would really love to ditch the helm. Didn't smack it once since preseason, smacked my head HARD on friday doing stupid shit, happy to have it on.


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## cooldocbk (Mar 21, 2013)

in the beginning just because i was listening to my mother hah
now just because it makes sense.. why risk a dangerous injury


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## Beeb (Mar 13, 2012)

It was mandatory when I learned. I reckon mine looks stupid and I overheat in it, but I figure one unlucky mistake and you're a vegetable. I wear it no matter what!


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## ItchEtrigR (Jan 1, 2012)

I just feel safer with one on. I also bike to work with a helmet. Don't see a good reason not to have one on.


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## King_Pin_Rich (Mar 7, 2011)

Had an off commuting on my bike once and smashed my helmet up. Had it been my head...
I've never considered not wearing one. Yeah I agree they can be a bit stuffy on hot days but sods law thats when i'd have a big fall!


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## Epic (Apr 13, 2013)

I stopped giving a shit about being "cool". That and 7 concussions :dizzy:


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## Ken2234 (Feb 15, 2013)

After my 2nd degree concussion on my 2nd day of snowboarding.

I went out and bought one right away

I never understood the whole your uncool because you want to keep brain cells thing.

I also broke my Red Hi-fi helmet this year on ice. Who knows what would of happened if I wasn't wearing it. :dizzy:


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

When my kids were small I made them all wear helmets. It was only fair that I wore one too. Now my daughters are gone and in college.... My son is 13 and never leaves home without his helmet. He has forgot it twice and got the bus home to get it cause he won't ride without it. I like the audio in them also and it feels weird to not have my helmet on. 

I have had at least 3 hard high impact helmet smacks. One made me dizzy for the day even with a helmet. My niece, who I also raised, would be dead without it. She wiped out coming full speed down hood about 4 summers ago, she woke up in the hospital about an hour later with very little memory of what went down. She was lucky. She would either be brain damaged or dead today without her helmet..... She always was ditsy so I dunno if the brain damage would have helped or not.


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## DiggerXJ (Apr 4, 2013)

7 concussions from sports, bmx, and MX racing. I have a son that I do not want going through that, so I lead by example and have worn a helmet since day 1.


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## d2cycles (Feb 24, 2013)

Started snowboarding in 1987 and didn't start wearing a helmet until 2011.

My kids picked up the sport in 2011 and I made them wear helmets. So under the monkey see, monkey do principle...I now wear one too.

Knocked myself out on a park jump this year with a helmet on...nothing like snowboarding down a mountain dizzy, puking and not exactly sure where you are  Good times!


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## Lealzzyy (Feb 5, 2013)

Lstarrasl said:


>


holy shit. i don't even feel comfortable past 25.

Edit: I didn't wear mine this season, but the first season i started i got a mild concussion ontop of leukopenia (low white blood cells), which has all the effects of mono. Imagine mono with a concussion. The headaches were literally the worst pain of my life.

I felt so out of place wearing a beanie at mount snow when everyone else had a helmet on.


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## Big Foot (Jan 15, 2013)

I've been snowboarding for 13 years and this year was the first year I started wearing a helmet. I always wear a helmet when mountain biking because I'm afraid of hitting my head off of a tree or rock. So when I thought about it, I'm snowboarding in the same general area that I mountain bike in. Which means there are the same rocks and trees for me to hit my head off of when snowboarding. Just made sense to start wearing one snowbaording too.


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## Some Guy (Mar 13, 2013)

When I started out, i wore one. I didn't even think twice about it. I've hit my head hard enough, even with the helmet to take my time down the slope and be done for the day.


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## charles_r_cox (Oct 30, 2012)

While I had been thinking about getting a helmet for about a year, what put me over the edge was wanting to film my rides. Contour, GoPro, or whatever the easiest way to fill will be a helmet cam. Looking back I think this is a lame reason to get a helmet, BUT I have never regretted getting my helmet. The first thing I noticed was it is way warmer than the best beanie I have ever ridden in. 

As for safety lets put it this way, my scariest crash this season was a crash where I hit my head on a rail, sat for 5 mins getting my head semi-right, snowboarded down to the resort bar so I could sit for another 45 mins before my vision finally cleared and returned to normal (yeah, everything was super blurry/double vision down the rest of the run), and the best part about this crash is that it was with a helmet on and my friends had to explain my crash because I couldn't remember it. 

I fully believe that had I not had a helmet that I would have been in a hospital or worse.


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## Flick Montana (Jul 9, 2007)

I got a concussion on an icy patch when I was starting out.

After I realized I was going to be boarding 2 days a week in the winter and spring and I took the time to consider the long-term effects of multiple concussions, it was a no-brainer.

I've taken some hits since then, but my noggin armor has always protected me.


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## honeycomb (Feb 6, 2011)

I got a mild concussion this year wearing my helmet, landed on my head on ice from a 15'-20' jump, would have been a serious concussion and probably knocked me out for a bit without one.

I started wearing one 2 years ago because I wanted to listen to music while I ride and I hate earbuds.


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## blunted_nose (Apr 26, 2012)

Its safe and when you buy one and get comfy with it, you forget its there. common, just wear it.


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## destroy (Dec 16, 2012)

When I was skiing a little back in the mid-late 90's and I wasn't even a teenager yet, I never wore one and didn't think much of it, if not negatively.

Since starting snowboarding - never rode without one. Early on one day I had just been thinking, "Gee... I haven't even needed my helmet at all yet!". Next time out, one of my first days, I was riding at a new-to-me resort down a groomer track, and my board just washed out from under me and *SLAM* I got thrown on my back and conked my head hard on some hardpack. Painful and coulda been worse. Was glad about that one.

Had a couple others that made me glad as well. One on my temple after a big side hit that injured my ribs for a couple months, and then a really bad faceplant when I was ripping along on Easter. Same kinda thing... early on in the day, except being much more skilled by then I was going quite fast in the sunshine and spring slush when somehow I just caught an edge and in an instant I conked my forehead hard. Was definitely dizzy, and I felt woozy and nauseated until I woke up the next morning. Had to make a 400km drive home after riding through it all day.

Take care of yr nogginz!


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## PiKiT (Nov 12, 2009)

1st time I went boarding oh so many years ago, I face planted and broke my nose.:dizzy:

a couple years later I was at a shop and tried on a helmet, and dam they are comfy and have built in speakers. Have wore one ever since.


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## MCPY (Nov 4, 2013)

I heard a lot of scary concussion stories from a friend. Prior to this year I had always just wore a hat and goggles over it. But after constantly getting snow in my face and freezing, I bought a helmet.


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## cozmo (Dec 12, 2012)

Rode for three years without a helmet, became a dad and bought one 
However the first year out I found my goggles didn't fit under the helmet rim and pressed down hard on my nose.
Next year I went to the shop with my helmet and got goggles that fit brilliantly.


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