are helmets pointless?

[callmewhuffo 0]

hey yall. some of you may have seen me on here lurking with silly whuffo questions from time to time lol. :) my hubby is the skydiver, and he doesn't normally wear a helmet. it kind of scares me, but at the same time in a sense, it seems useless. can you maybe point out to me the reasons you may wear one, what good they can do, and also reasons maybe you shouldn't?..if those exist. thanks!

btw: i start my riggers cert course in a month!

[btucker 0]

I think that is a good question. Most, but not all, skydiving helmets are to protect you from minor bumps and scratches during freefall. They provide little or no protection from a real hit.

Alot of skydiving accidents result from landing "mishaps", so on average a good helmet would be of some practical value: Reducing or eliminating head injury if a mishap does occur.


Pros [ assume good helmet ]: Help you stop getting knocked out in freefall. Help save you brain if you screw up your landing. Help save your brain if someone else screws up your landing by hitting you!

Con: Some full face helmet's hinder your vision and they do mist up if your not careful. Harder to see handles, harder to judge for a good landing. They all seem to reduce your hearing too. Cost factor: A good full face helmet is around $AUS500 - about 17 jumps. If your short of ca$h it might be safer (on average) to spend that money on other safety equipment: AAD, newer canopy (i.e. F111 and does not flare), canopy control course...


Very much a personal decision in my books. Me; I never jump without a good helmet, brain injury really scares me and I am lucky enough to have the money for the helmet.



Good luck with your course - I bet hubby won't play up if your packing! The urban myth is that the rigger wife of a cheating husband installs a sign on the bottom skin of his reserve saying "I thought about it!"

Blues Benno

Blue Dreams Benno

[fudd 0]

I sure was glad i had one when I banged my forehead in the plane during a 4-way exit.

If it wasn't for my helmet, my only chance would have been my cypres.
Helmets are mandatory in Norway.
I think the advantages of wearing one far outweights the disadvantages.
Would like to try some jumps without just for the feeling though.
Here are some pro's and cons. Feel free to add to the list, or comment on the one I have.
Some points are minor details and some are plain improbable. Judge for yourself.

Reasons for using helmets:
- Hitting the plane during exit.
- Frefall collitions
- Landing accidents
- Less noise.
- A place to keep your dytter.
- Keeps your head warm on cold days.

Reason to not wear a helmet:
- Impaired field of view. (although my Z1 full face gives my a better view than some of my googles.)
- "Wind in hair" feeling.
- Danger of helmet entangles with lines and risers.
- Some chin straps can hur you during a landing accident.
- Can be too hot on warm days

There are only 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

[gus 1]

Helmets are definately not pointless! I've been kicked in the head a few times, had at least one high speed collision and a botched night jump landing where my trusty Pro-Tec probably saved me from a serious injury. They're mandatory here in the UK too.

Gus

OutpatientsOnline.com

[SkydiveMonkey 0]

Wearing a lid has saved me a few times from being headbutted, and also kicked in the head going head down

____________________
Say no to subliminal messages

[pkasdorf 0]

Congratulations! I really would like my girlfriend to be my packer... As far as your question goes, helmets are definitely mandatory here in Uruguay and they sure help in all the circumstances already mentioned. They don't protect from the big hit but what does? They sure can save your life or prevent serious injury in smaller hits. The cons are by far not significant to outweigh the pros!!

HISPA # 18 POPS # 8757

[councilman24 36]

Full face helmets came about from better and faster freefall relative work manuvers where jumpers were kicking each other in the face.

A good friend of mine was killed by hitting her head on the door of a DC-3 and getting knocked out. Pre cypres days. Many of the impacts with the ground that result in injury are not necessarily fatal. They involve higher than normal impact speeds under an open parachute. But, they may result in a head injury as easily as bicycle, rollerblade, skate board, motorcylce, etc. accidents. Actually many "high quality" skydiving helmets offer less protection because they don't have crushable foam to absorb the impact force. Encourage him to buy an "in" helmet and wear it. But, this becomes an "I'll never get hurt" aguement issue. You might point out if he wears a helmet for any activities like those above he should wear one for skydiving.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[riggerrob 558]

If you count all the scratches and dents in my Pro-Tec, you will understand why I wear a helmet.
My leather Frap Hat has been collecting dust for the last decade.
Students have an annoying habit of slamming my head into the doorframe.
Also consider the seven stitches required to re-attach Steve's ear after a tandem riser slapped him.
As for helmets reducing hearing, Hah!
Some helmets actually increase wind noise by creating turbulence near your ears. That is why I wear full-ear helmets and ear plugs.
Can't wait until my boss returns from Eloy with my new Havok. Next question is seeing if it is compatible with tandem risers ???

[Tonto 1]

Pointless.

In a sport where speeds in freefall have reached 500kmph and speeds under canopy can be 100kmph, helmets are great for mounting audiable alti's and cameras.

Wearing one is a nice thought that may lessen serious injury, but we see lots of swoopers dying in good headgear.

Using them for protection is just stupid. Wear one if you wish, just don't use it.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[Blahr 0]

Quote

Pointless.

In a sport where speeds in freefall have reached 500kmph and speeds under canopy can be 100kmph, helmets are great for mounting audiable alti's and cameras.

Wearing one is a nice thought that may lessen serious injury, but we see lots of swoopers dying in good headgear.

Using them for protection is just stupid. Wear one if you wish, just don't use it.

t

This is a pretty silly point of view.

My pro-tec helmet can save my skull if I hit the door, another jumper, or the ground.
It may not be the most fashionable helmet there is but its definitely the strongest and will allow you to survive a HUGE blow to the head that would otherwise seriously injure or kill you.
I need a grand total of 0 jumps to know that this is true. Walking the earth for 40 years and working physical jobs, playing various sports, etc has taught me this clearly.

To say that they are pointless simply because you can still die while wearing one is just plain rediculous.
You can still die in a car accident while wearing your seatbelt. Do you believe that seatbelts are pointless?

I'm VERY surprised to see advice like this coming from an instructor with over 4000 jumps.

[mr2mk1g 10]

A helmet is like a foxhole or a flak vest. Its not gonna do squat against a direct hit, but will save your life from a shell fragment.

[nightjumps 1]

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=837722;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;

You decide.

[hookitt 0]

Quote

Pointless....

Wearing one is a nice thought that may lessen serious injury, but we see lots of swoopers dying in good headgear.

Using them for protection is just stupid. Wear one if you wish, just don't use it.

It's definately not stupid, nor is it pointless. My head has hit door frames, body parts, the ground, and probably more. I've used my helmut plenty.

2 Years ago I watched a girl smash her head onto the road during a bad landing and she was knocked silly. Her helmut split open instead of her skull.

Pointless? Stupid? The debate continues.

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[Nightingale 0]

I've put some pretty good marks in my helmet due to bad landings.

I've seen people wack their heads on the door, or on the bar over the door in the otter.

I've seen a guy in the gear shop asking about replacing a broken face mask on his full face helmet because someone kicked him in freefall. If he hadn't had the facemask, he'd have been kicked right in the face.

I've heard my AFF instructor tell about his accident when he hit his head on the tail of a plane while doing camera work. I saw a picture of the dent the helmet left in the tail of the plane. Had he made that dent with his head instead of his helmet, he freely acknowledges he'd be dead.


Those are my reasons for wearing a helmet. I'm sure there are many more.

[theskydiveguy 0]

My helmet makes me look like a bad-ass...

Not like this

WHAT!!!! All the other good responses were taken

~Jeff
Monkey Brother #1
http://www.monkeybrothers.ca

[skybrat68 0]

I have a friend that's still alive today due to his helmet. He was wearing a full faced helmet with a camera on it that busted into a million pieces and I believe he hit hard enough to crack the exterior of the helmet.

If you want the wind in your face feeling, take off the visor on a full faced helmet. The visor's the first thing to go anyway. I bought my full face helmet with no visor and have worn goggles underneath from the time I purchased it second hand. Best of both worlds I tell ya'.

[bch7773 0]

Quote

This is a pretty silly point of view.

My pro-tec helmet can save my skull if I hit the door, another jumper, or the ground.
It may not be the most fashionable helmet there is but its definitely the strongest and will allow you to survive a HUGE blow to the head that would otherwise seriously injure or kill you.
I need a grand total of 0 jumps to know that this is true. Walking the earth for 40 years and working physical jobs, playing various sports, etc has taught me this clearly.

To say that they are pointless simply because you can still die while wearing one is just plain rediculous.
You can still die in a car accident while wearing your seatbelt. Do you believe that seatbelts are pointless?

I'm VERY surprised to see advice like this coming from an instructor with over 4000 jumps.

I'm with you on this one. While a lot of people do wear their helmet for a audible mount, the helmet can save your life from collisions with the plane, other skydivers, and the ground.
That seatbelt analogy is pretty good.

MB 3528, RB 1182

[Remster 24]

Quote

Pointless

Pretty harsh Tonto...

Helmets can save you nuggin, but I wouldnt choose to wear one expecting it to save it (its a nice bonus the way I see it). It will save some broken noses or bloddy lips, and it may save you from more serious harm, but it shit realy hits the fan, it will do little.

We had acameraman at Eloy get hit by a diver and his Carbon helmet had a real nice circular crack in it where we figure he was hit by the diver's knee. In his case, the helmet probably did save him from a more serious situation (would it have cracked his skull? made hin uncounscious? who knows)

Remster

[betzilla 56]

I know a guy who had a particularly bad landing on a gravel road (I don't know why he landed on the road, and that's not the point anyway). He was wearing his brand new full-face helmet. When he got up and took his helmet off, he was shocked to see the front/side of it completely scratched up.

With his helmet on, he barely noticed he'd hit the ground with his face. If he hadn't been wearing it, there would have been serious damage to his face -- think big ugly scars.

Will a helmet protect you from impact with the ground at 120 mph? No. But it can help protect you from small mistakes -- the ones most skydivers make, but won't admit to.

[lopullterri 0]

One bad landing...pulling sod out of the front vents in my full face helmet. Many, many kicks to the face doing drill dives and four-way. I think mine has saved my teeth and prevented several black eyes and broken noses.

~"I am not afraid. I was born to do this"~

[skydogs 0]

They're good. Cause it hurts like hell when you try to mount a camera to your skull...

Keeps your goggles & audible on good too..

They're also somewhat helpfull when your'e in a sit and somebody [name withheld] flies headdown right over the top of you, get's sucked right into the burble for a saweeeet head 2 head freefly collision..

When you can see stars after that, it's easy to be convinced that it was a good day to wear a helmet..

[ChileRelleno 0]

Helmets are not pointless,
if every ding or scrape on my helmet was on my head...

ChileRelleno-Rodriguez Bro#414
Hellfish#511,MuffBro#3532,AnvilBro#9, D24868

[Kris 0]

Quote

Helmets are not pointless,
if every ding or scrape on my helmet was on my head...

Exactly. After my hard opening last year, and looking at the gouges my risers left on the side of my helmet, my sunglasses, and the laceration on my forehead...well, there is no doubt in my mind I would be missing an ear right now if it hadn't been for my Mindwarp.

Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and
Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

[kuwait_is_hell 0]

Not pointless. A helmet saved me from severe concussion last year in a bad landing. Still had mild concussion and the ground was rock-hard, baked by the sun. I landed outside the DZ due to severe line-twists and a bad spot. The field where I landed was full of rocks and trees (and cows).

In cycle racing in the UK helmets are mandatory and saved my neck in a high-speed pile-up in 2000. Cycling is a lot less risky than skydiving.

[base698 1]

If you go a few hundred jumps with a helmet then suddenly don't wear one you realize how loud freefall is. If anything a helmet might save your ears