STEVE LEE REVIEWS – This Week, Helmets
Steve Lee rocking the Poc at Mt McKay in October 2010. Image:: Chris Hocking
Equipment Reviews | Steve Lee
He’s Australia’s most decorated alpine ski racer, a man of tremendous snow knowledge and know-how. He is Steve Lee and this is Steve Lee Reviews, a weekly guide to all the ski equipment paraphernalia and how to find what’s best for you.
Not so long ago if you had a helmet on while skiing you were almost frowned upon. Then a few famous people died, namely Sonny Bono, Entertainer turned politician and one of the Kennedy clan and the helmet revolution was born. When racing Downhill and SuperG I of course wore a helmet, as was required by the governing body FIS (and common sense), however back then it was only mandatory for the speed events, now days its both mandatory and standard kit for all ski racing events.
While mostly positive, there are still a few con’s about wearing helmets, however it’s usually concerning the wearer, not the product. It can affect your hearing slightly, not a great thing on a crowded slope to compromise such a critical sense, but with the modern soft ear helmets it’s not much different to wearing a beanie. It can also lead to a false sense of security, as in Oh yeah, I can take this on as I am protected by my helmet. From all studies, this is a very bad idea.
Overall, wearing a helmet will protect you more than not wearing one, especially for minor incidents of concussion and laceration, and even more so for children, who are more susceptible by and large to head injuries. However the overriding evidence is if you are out of control and going too fast and have a major impact, nothing but damn good luck will help you escape major injury or worse case scenario, death.
I liked this paragraph from Ski Injury . “So, whilst helmets may help reduce the incidence of minor and moderate head injuries and lacerations they may be less able to protect the foolhardy skier who pushes his or her limits and who (inadvertently) ends up wrapping themselves around a tree at typical skiing speeds. To give a stark example, biomechanics have demonstrated that in order to protect the head against a direct impact blow at 30 mph, with currently available materials, a helmet would need to be at least 18cm thick, 50cm wide and weigh 5kg+. Hhhmm….stylish. Radar data collected from ski areas suggests most intermediate skiers regularly travel at much higher speeds than this…..”
In closing, while there is some talk of making helmets mandatory, I can’t see this happening soon, after all, we should be able to exercise some personal choice in life still. I personally don’t wear a helmet when I free ski, but I do when I work out on my Back Country tours. Also there are so many helmet options and styles, it would not do the category justice to test only a few, and from what I see, most people look for style first, safety second, and I’m not going to head down the style Rd. So rather than give you my opinion I will offer links to the brands that are in the Chillfactor buyers guide this year, being POC, Red, Giro and Smith so you can do some research and make up your own mind.
I will say, it’s well worth reading the ski-injury.com link above, it offers a really comprehensive appraisal on helmets and the whole debate of should I or shouldn’t I, which is still very much on going.
POC – my helmet choice.
Smith Optics – Alex “chumpy” Pullin’s helmet choice.
Giro – Daron Rahlves helmet choice.
Red – Shaun White’s helmet choice.
Available at: Most retail outlets.
