Helmets

[bsoder 0]

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Currently, I am wearing a Giro Snowboarding Helmet (built by Bell) with an EPS liner. It seems to work well, has a one hand quick release chin strap, great impact protection, fairly small profile (but not as small as real skydiving helmets with no impact protection), it's lightweight, and will fit an audible comfortably.

My wife and I both wear snowboarding helmets also, both ours are made by Boeri. How do you tell what the liner is made of? Also, I'd like to replace both our chin straps as they don't hold as well as I'd like, what buckle would you recommend I look at for one-handed use?

[happythoughts 0]

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When I first started skydiving it became quickly obvious to me that what most skydivers are wearing on their heads is as useless as a layer of monkey shit if they experience a significant impact.

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Mid air collisions, a collision with a tail, landing collisions with the ground or other objects are certainly situations where impact protection would be beneficial.

I have seen people hit rear stabilizers, other people, and the ground. I have personally been pushed into door frames. I have been kicked in the face during exits, turning points, and poor docks.

I have seen Protecs cracked from door frame strikes that would have killed the unprotected wearer. I watched a camera helmet disintegrate on impact.

Helmets are a good thing. The existing ones could improve, but they are beneficial as they are.

[Tonto 1]

I'm glad you feel that way, and I'm glad I don't.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[mjosparky 3]

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Helmets are a good thing. The existing ones could improve, but they are beneficial as they are.

You are right, helmets are a good thing. But what pass for a skydiving helmets are shit. You pay $300+ for something that gives little more protection that a toy helmet. I have a full face MC helmet that is Dot approved and Snell approved. It also cost me less than $200. While they may be better then nothing, skydivers seem to be trying to justify the fact that the industry is supplying us with overpriced helmets that are little more then a fashion statement.
Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[phoenixlpr 0]

You missed something. Skydiving helmets are fulfilled the requirments. So the problem is in out requirments not in the manufacturers side :)

[StevePhelps 0]

I support the right to do what you want -- I wear a helmet 99% of the time -- but if you don't want to wear one -- no one should make you.

BTW I do NOT wear a helmet when I ride my Harley.

[sundance 1]

Look at the liner and see if it resembles styrofoam. It is made of little expanded, fused beads of expaned polystyrene, vs some soft rebounding foam. If you crush a bit of it, it will not come back to shape.

What kind of buckle does your helmet have? Mine has a plastic quick release pinch buckle.

One of the surest signs that intelligent life exists in outer space is that none of it has tried to contact us.

[sundance 1]

I happen to agree with you. I am against excessive regulations myself. People should make their own choices in most matters. I too have ridden my motorcycle without a helmet at times just to feel the wind in my hair. My choice.

But, when we do choose to wear a helmet, I think it would be nice to have options that offer genuine impact protection.

One of the surest signs that intelligent life exists in outer space is that none of it has tried to contact us.

[mjosparky 3]

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You missed something. Skydiving helmets are fulfilled the requirments. So the problem is in out requirments not in the manufacturers side :)

Say that again, its not to clear.
Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[DutchSkyCam 0]

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When I first started skydiving it became quickly obvious to me that what most skydivers are wearing on their heads is as useless as a layer of monkey shit if they experience a significant impact. I understand that everyone wears helmets for different reasons in skydiving and opinions on this subject are akin to assholes, everyone has one.

Does anyone know why people started to jump with full face skydiving helmets? I do, it's because of high-speed rw formations and sometimes people got a foot in the face... It also helps with riser slabs or a bad PLF (Parachutist Landing on Face).
After the big teams started wearing them everyone started wearing them (beforehand everyone was either jumping bareheaded or with a wraphat)...

Why would you want to wear a motor cycle helmet or a helmet with similar high specs (name a situation)?

The only really catastrophic impact you can make in a skydive is a low turn, in that case the rest of your body will probably also be... (fill in the rest)... Or obviously a no-pull, but no helmet in the world can protect you from that.
OK, hitting the tail on exit (should never happen, but it has happened) requires a good helmet.

Since I am required to wear a helmet on swooping contests, I bought a nice helmet on my last wintersport, at least it has an independant(CE) certificate saying it is designed to protect the head from impact... (unlike skydiving helmets which have signs that say it MAY protect your head from impact)...

Edited to add:
The certified wintersport helmet was even cheaper than a Gath at the local skydiving shop and rectified some typos...

[argon 0]

Brain injuries can't be fixed. Will a helmet save you at 120mph no. But maybe in mid air collision it might keep you conscious enough to save your life. Last time I checked even those door frames are hard enough to rattle your cage.

***********
Freedom isn't free. Don't forget: Mother Earth is waiting for you--there is a debt you have to pay...... POPS #9329 Commercial Pilot,Instrument MEL

[dnewcomer 0]

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There seems to be a lot posted here on the subject of helmets already......I'm still curious

IMHO no helmet is going to prevent major head trauma in a high-speed collison (60-120 mph) with the ground, a fence, or another skydiver. That having been said, helmets DO afford some protection from head lacerations, ear injuries, etc. during minor bumps. I used to wear a helmet without ear coverings and had a few ear abrasions.

PA DOT-approved motorcycle helmets provide much more protection but are bulky and not very practical for sport skydiving. I personally choose to wear my MC helmet when riding my Harley.

To wear or not to wear is an individual decision in skydiving and MC riding (most states). If you never wear a helmet while skydiving, sooner or later you are probably going to have at least a minor head injury that could have been avoided with protective head gear. It's the nature of the sport. But consider: You never see a rider in a professional motorcycle race without a helmet.....and they don't go much faster than skydivers.

Most people who choose to not wear head gear when asked about it say, "I don't want to wear a helmet. And I'll do as I damn well please."

OK.

Some individuals never let good judgement get in the way of their very large egos.

D--

[JKT 0]

Well, a helmet is compulsory here in the UK, and I'm glad - I keep bumping my head when I stand up in the plane

-----

Official 100 jump wonder

[Rdy2skydive 0]

I will never jump without a helmet. I've banged my head on the door of the plane during exits and I've also had a foot hit me in the head during a 6-way. Lets not mention the bad landing I had last Saturday where my concussion was very minor thanks to my helmet.

I use a Bonehead Mindwarp. I hate the way it looks but then again, I look better in a helmet than I do in a coffin.

[phoenixlpr 0]

Majority want fancy helmet...skydiving helmets are sold in small quantites. That could be the reason for high prices.

[spottydog 0]

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Majority want fancy helmet...skydiving helmets are sold in small quantites. That could be the reason for high prices.

The majority of skydiving helmets are definitely over priced and
offer very little impact protection. Style and fashion seem to
be the main consideration. If a company like Bell came out
with a product for skydiving that complied with DOT or Snell
standards I'd buy it.

[mjosparky 3]

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Majority want fancy helmet...skydiving helmets are sold in small quantites. That could be the reason for high prices.

You are right, skydiving helmets are made and sold in very small quantities. But fancy is not quite the word for some of the crapy workmanship I have seen on these helmets. Regardless of the quantities and considering the poor workmanship, $300 is still out of line. jmo
Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[loflyer 0]

or Freeflying,where people are coming at you pretty fast & impact happens. Helmets are also a good thing if you find your self having to do a PLF. I made about 100 jumps with a frap hat, no protection!
I know I got kicked in the face more times than i want to remember, I now wear a full face helmet!

[riggerrob 558]

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Majority want fancy helmet...skydiving helmets are sold in small quantities. That could be the reason for high prices.

The majority of skydiving helmets are definitely over priced and
offer very little impact protection. Style and fashion seem to
be the main consideration. If a company like Bell came out
with a product for skydiving that complied with DOT or Snell
standards I'd buy it.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Bell used to make an approved helmet that was fashionable for skydiving. My first skydiving helmet was an open-faced Bell Star. But that was back in the 1970s.
Since then skydiving style and fashion have changed dramatically.
I jumped a leather hat for a while. but discarded it after a PLF left bruises all the way up my left side, including the left side of my head. My leather hat has been gathering dust in my locker for the last decade.
Nowadays I wear a Pro-Tec when doing tandems or dropping IAD students, a Bonehead full-box when doing video and a Bonehead Havok when doing PFF.

Helmets are primarily designed to keep you awake long enough to open your own parachute.

[rickjump1 0]

I'm a leather hat hold out. This thread has pushed me over the edge. I will buy a helmet. I once had a fellow Harley rider tell me that helmets were just good for open caskets. Most of the time, I wear one.

Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

[hookitt 0]

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I once had a fellow Harley rider tell me that helmets were just good for open caskets.

Hah... when I rode a motorcycle, I crashed once. With out the helmut I had on, I would have been in a casket.

Helmets suck

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

[StevePhelps 0]

One look (at the scratches and knicks) at the top of my helmet tells you why I wear one 99% of the time.

[SkydivingNurse 0]

Speaking from a complete rookie point of view, my helmet (Z-1) keeps the wind off my face and lets me concentrate a little bit easier on what I'm doing.

[flyboy62000 0]

I wear a protec with over 500 jumps on it to hold my audible, put stickers on, and keep bumps off my head during minor knocks like taking a foot to the head or other minor bumps. It won't protect against anything more than that, but it's better than getting a lump on my noggin. I figure it was made for skateboarders, climbers, etc. and those guys take a lot more bumps than I do in the air.

Adam

Blue Skies,
Adam
I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things . . . — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

[freakflyer9999 1]

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One look (at the scratches and knicks) at the top of my helmet tells you why I wear one 99% of the time.

I used to keep a Band-Aid over the scratches my helmet received sliding across the runway at WFFC in 97. I really don't think I would be here if I hadn't had the helmet on.