Helmets!

Jason Medeiros wrote:

get a new jacket. i have 3 jackets that allow me to wear the hood w the
giro nine.9: marmot thunderlight, burton ak, and arcteryx softshell hoodie.
there is no need to ditch the helmet on cold days. heck, my helmet is
warmer than any hat/hood combo.

Do you wear an XXL helmet? My jacket hood is supposedly designed for
helmets, too.

Yes, I have a big fat melon.

Neil

Neil Gendzwill wrote:

Yes, I have a big fat melon.

Replying to myself to add that my solution was to buy a lightweight
fleece balaclava that fits under the helmet - this solves the main
problem of keeping my neck warm.

Spend another $300 just so I can have a hood? No thanks.


Neil

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 13:09:25 -0600, D wrote:

Champ wrote:
That's cos yanks are weenies :-)


snip "bad things can happen"

Sp, why don't you wear a helmet every day of your life? Actually, I'm
amazed you even dare to leave the house, what with it being so
dangerous out there.
--
Champ

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 11:28:35 -0700, "Jason Medeiros"
wrote:

Me and Iain, both British, didn't have helmets. Of
the rest (all American, as far as I could tell), around 90% wore
helmets. Maybe those guys *really* rip, but I couldn't see their
justification, myself.
--

huh?
are you saying you don't see the justification for a helmet? are you
kidding?

Well, I will admit to being slightly contentious :-) However, I'm
fairly sure that I will never wear a helmet while snowboarding.

have you ever taken a big hit to your head?

On a snowboard? Mebbe once, when I was something off a beginner, and
went down hard from the heel side.

have you ever been run into by
another rider/skier?

No. I pay a lot of attention to who is around me on the slopes

do you ride in the trees? do you launch air off cat
tracks, cliffs and elsewhere?

Yes, yes and yes

i find it extremely difficult to believe that you cannot fathom
justification for wearing a helmet when riding. am i missing something?

Probably. As I stated when this thread started on
rec.skiing.resorts.europe, part of the whole pleasure for me is being
in the mountain environment. One factor in my point of view is that I
don't want anything unecessary to get between me and that environment.
Secondly, I'm very aware of my risk compensation behaviour - make me
safer, and I will behave more dangerously. [And everyone does this,
whether they are aware of it or not.] So, when riding in trees, for
example, I ride at a speed and with a degree of control that is
appropriate.

Plenty of times, I look at a drop or something, and thing "nah".
That's taking responsibility, and is far better than just sticking a
helmet on my head.

--
Champ

Champ wrote:
Sp, why don't you wear a helmet every day of your life?


You know nothing about me or my occupation. Perhaps I do. Helmets are
used in several occupations: police, sports, construction, etc. The risk
of a head injury on a ski hill is far greater than sitting at a desk in
an office. If you are an adult you are free to choose your level of
risk. If you don't want to wear a helmet then don't.

Dean

"Neil Gendzwill" wrote in message ...
Replying to myself to add that my solution was to buy a lightweight
fleece balaclava that fits under the helmet - this solves the main
problem of keeping my neck warm.

I wear a face mask if it's really cold. For climbing or cycling, I'll wear
a fleece liner under my helmet in cold weather, but my snowboarding
helmet is warm enough that I've never had to.

Spend another $300 just so I can have a hood? No thanks.

Belay parka hoods are designed to fit over helmets. MEC used to have an
inexpensive belay parka--Polarguard 3D IIRC. Dunno if they still do.

"Champ" wrote in message
have you ever taken a big hit to your head?

On a snowboard? Mebbe once, when I was something off a beginner, and
went down hard from the heel side.

have you ever been run into by
another rider/skier?

No. I pay a lot of attention to who is around me on the slopes

do you ride in the trees? do you launch air off cat
tracks, cliffs and elsewhere?

Yes, yes and yes

i find it extremely difficult to believe that you cannot fathom
justification for wearing a helmet when riding. am i missing something?

Probably. As I stated when this thread started on
rec.skiing.resorts.europe, part of the whole pleasure for me is being
in the mountain environment. One factor in my point of view is that I
don't want anything unecessary to get between me and that environment.
Secondly, I'm very aware of my risk compensation behaviour - make me
safer, and I will behave more dangerously. [And everyone does this,
whether they are aware of it or not.] So, when riding in trees, for
example, I ride at a speed and with a degree of control that is
appropriate.

Plenty of times, I look at a drop or something, and thing "nah".
That's taking responsibility, and is far better than just sticking a
helmet on my head.

Personally, I don't even notice i have on a helmet instead of a hat. It
certainly doesn't make me ride more dangerously. I am convinced that it
reduces the whiplash of my neck when someone clips my board heelside without
warning and I land on my back. I assume this is because the helmet keeps my
head from going so far back before snow contact. The additional protection
is just iceing on the cake.

Bob

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 16:35:30 -0800, "Bob"
wrote:

"Champ" wrote in message

Secondly, I'm very aware of my risk compensation behaviour - make me
safer, and I will behave more dangerously. [And everyone does this,
whether they are aware of it or not.]

Personally, I don't even notice i have on a helmet instead of a hat. It
certainly doesn't make me ride more dangerously.

How do you know this?
--
Champ

do you launch air off cat
tracks, cliffs and elsewhere?
I must have missed those cliff launches Champ. Where was that..?

On 11 Jan 2005 04:24:02 -0800, wrote:

do you launch air off cat
tracks, cliffs and elsewhere?

I must have missed those cliff launches Champ. Where was that..?

hah! Look, I followed you over one of the ickle drops at Kirkwood.
And you should have seen the chute-with-a-big-rock-in-the-middle that
Iain led us down and we had to jump off on the way from the top of
chair 4 opposite Eagle Bowl (forget the name of the ridge, but the
route is listed as something like "One man chute" on the trail map).

But, yeah, you got me :-)
--
Champ