helmet

[Skyrose7 0]

What do you guys think of using helmets that aren't skydiving helmets (e.g. skiing). Is it safe?
The mind is like a parachute--it works better when it is open. JUMP.

[Remster 24]

Skydiving helmets arent "that safe" to start of with. They are not made to, say, motorcycle testing standards. That being said, I wouldnt want to jump a heavy very bulky motorcycle one....
See it has protection from minor hits, elbows and knees in RW...
Dont expect a skydiving helmet to save your skull from fracture or your brain from severe brusing. It may, but dont count on it. Its really there to protect from bumps and bruises. (disclosure, I jump a Z1, love it, saved my chin a bunch of times on tailgates exits)
Some of the ski ones I've seen have hooks for googles, which may be deadly if you cant remove them.
They probably wont have any room for the audible (allthough some skydiving helmets dont either).
The gath helmet, for exemple, was initially made for surfing (I think anyways).
Then there's the bass fishing helmets.....
Remster
Muff 914

[MarkM 0]

Also, some skydiving helmets are designed so they won't restrict being able to look fully upwards. A motorcycle helmet isn't made with this in mind, you simply need peripheal vision on a bike.

[Skyrose7 0]

thanks. I just noticed a huge price difference in the type of helmet I buy. Of course, skydiving one being the more expensive.
The mind is like a parachute--it works better when it is open. JUMP.

[Aviatrr 0]

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Then there's the bass fishing helmets.....

Well, they're not for just bass fishing.......they're for EXTREME BASS FISHING!
Mike

[billvon 2,379]

>What do you guys think of using helmets that aren't skydiving helmets (e.g. skiing). Is it safe?
Well, here are some considerations:
1. Helmets used for skydiving usually aren't great helmets. Gath helmets, for example, are awful in terms of shock absorption. They are somewhat better than nothing, and are definitely good at protecting your head from scrapes and cuts, but are nothing near to DOT-approved helmets. (Note that Gath helmets aren't even intended for skydiving.) If you're looking for a good helmet, Protecs are both cheap and good protection.
2. Watch total weight. Really bad openings rotate your body very rapidly, and if you add too much mass to your head, you increase the risk of neck injury. (It can also make it hard to fly your body if you put too much weight on your head.) Also watch external snag points. A riser or line should not be able to snag on any part of the helmet.
3. If you have a faceplate, make sure you can either open it or ditch the helmet quickly if it fogs up. I know of two broken femurs from people not being able to see to land. Obviously anti-fog helps.
4. In terms of options, motorcycle and bicycle helmets seem to make bad skydiving helmets, whereas Protecs are pretty good. Most designed for skydiving helmets (like the FP1, Z1 etc) are ok. Frap hats are good at keeping your hair and dytter in place, but not much else.
-bill von

[TEB6363 0]

I have a ProTec to wear in the summer and protect against bumps and minor hits. Mostly from the door or the hand rail. I wear a leather frap hat in the winter to keep my ears warm because there is no need to get sick during the winter months. I just think that head protection is for the convenience. The Cypress is for the real problems.

[StevieBoy 0]

Is the Protec a good helmet when starting to sit fly, i have one but was gonna buy a gath ????????
"Skydiving's a source, it'll change your life, swear to God"

[rendezvous 0]

I'm starting out with sit flying too, wear a protec and haven't had a problem even with getting thrown around all over the place.

[TEB6363 0]

I have the 1/2 Protec and it will not wrap around the back of your head as much as the Gath and will feel like it is "lifting up" a little. If you are going for sit/freeflying, you will probably want the full Protec. The Gath is a little more aerodynamic; however, it is more than twice the price.

[LawnDart21 0]

The only words of caution I have for helmets is this: The one common denominator I have noticed on most skydiving helmets (full face helmets excluded of course) is that they have a single point release on them. Whether it's a chin strap or a ratchet chin cup, skydiving helemts are designed to be "easy off". If you are going to go outside of the sport and use, say a snowboard helmet (which I've seen used and used with good results), I would just use that guideline. Ask yourself "Can I get this helmet off quickly in an emergency?" If you can answer yes, it's probably a decent helmet. Keep in mind too, especially for camera helmets, that if your suspension lines get tangled inyour helmet, the lines will be tugging backwards as the canopy tries to deploy, creating a huge amount of stress on the release point of the helmet. The chin strap that unsnaps easily without any pressure will be harder to remove if there is upward pressure from the helmet trying to follow the lines off your back. Just my .02 Hope it helps!
"I live to EFS"
Tom

[nacmacfeegle 0]

"Frap hats are good at keeping your hair and dytter in place, but not much else."
They make a nice leather bag to keep your alti in

• Quote

[billvon 2,379]

>The only words of caution I have for helmets is this: The one common denominator I have noticed on most skydiving helmets
>(full face helmets excluded of course) is that they have a single point release on them.
Good point. On a slightly different topic - if someone is seriously injured and they're wearing a helmet, do not try to pull their helmets off! The motion used to remove most helmets is very hard on an unstable C-spine. The one exception is lack of breathing, in which case the consequences of not taking their helmets off to establish an airway and start CPR (i.e. certain death) is more severe than the consequence of tugging at their helmets to get it off (i.e. paralysis.) In our trauma kit we have a cable saw that might be able to saw through just the chin part of a full-face, but honestly I have no idea how effective that might be or how bad that slight back-and-forth motion might be to an unstable spine.
-bill von

[billvon 2,379]

>I just think that head protection is for the convenience. The Cypress is for the real problems.
Sorry, but such statements make me fear for the future of skydiving. The cypres is an absolute last-ditch backup, and to think that you don't need a helmet because you have a cypres is like thinking it's safe to drive drunk because you have an airbag.
If you don't need head protection because of how you fly/what you do, great. If you do need it (and most skydivers do) there are a lot of good options available. A cypres is not any kind of a subsititute.
-bill von

[Skyrose7 0]

o.k., so I bought a skiing helmet because it was only $50 (after christmans sale). It is not too heavy, and actually has room for an audible. Is this ok?
The mind is like a parachute--it works better when it is open. JUMP.

[AndyMan 7]

How heavy is it? Do you have an ounce scale?
Both my Velocity and Z-1 weigh in at 1 pound .6 ounces, or 650 grams. You don't want it to be much heavier - you can have severe neck injuries on a hard opening.
How does the helmet constrict your vision? To what extent does it reduce your pereferial version?
Is there anything that would snag risers or lines?
Is there only one buckle or snap involved in removing it?
Could you ditch the helmet easily if it does snag the lines?
_Am

[Kelly 0]

Teb,
helmets protect you for landings too..
2 weeks ago i had a hard landing (turbulance, landing xwind, me being an asshole) and i did a hard PLF to the left.
when my body hit so did my head, very hard. I was wearing an Nvertigo helmet and i really think it saved my ass. i hit pretty hard, in fact, i later discovered that the hit had smeared some of the lettering on the helmet.. just took part of the letters and moved them a few centimeters over, scraped some competely off..
later that night i was feeling woozy. From my EMS experience, studies and basic knowlege i think that i suffered a mild concussion. I can only imagine what type of situation id be in if it werent for the fact i was wearing a helmet...
My little corner of the web.

[skymedic 0]

Very good Bill.....Dont take the helmet off...let us pro's handle that.....LOL....
marc
"...a mind stretched with new idea's will never regain its shape"

[Kelly 0]

Removing helmets is a serious buisness.. leave it to the trained proffesionals unless the ABC's are being effected from the helmet..
in EMT school we spent 6 hrs (2 classes) practicing how to remove helmets. in the book it was a 7 page discription. complete with step by step pics..
serious damage can occur when removing a helmet.. do what you think is best, if you dont know what to think, leave that disicion to somebody else..
My little corner of the web.

[Skyrose7 0]

I do think that the helmet I bought is pretty tough.. But, how can you test it in this shitty weather in Michigan??? So, the whuffos hit me on the head with it and I feel no pain. As far as weighing it, I have not gotten that far yet. It doesn't restrict my vision.
The mind is like a parachute--it works better when it is open. JUMP.

[lazerq3 0]

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So, the whuffos hit me on the head with it and I feel no pain

And they say your crazy for jumping out of a plane???
jason

[Skyrose7 0]

oops.. they don't hit me with it, they hit me on the head when it is on...Not that that makes much of a difference, they are still wierd.
The mind is like a parachute--it works better when it is open. JUMP.

[TEB6363 0]

Bill, There might be a mis-interpretation of what I was trying to say. I do wear a helmet in order to keep myself in the best health and hopefully conscious during FF. However, I see it as a convenience because I get tired of bumps on the head, fat lips, black eyes, and other things that are not life threatening.
The difference I was meaning to point out is that a hard enough impact to any helmet may leave you unconscious. In that case the cypress is nice to have (e.g., during the real problems).

[steve1 5]

Skyrose 7,
I recently bought a ski helmet to jump in. I think it would be every bit as good as a protec helmet, if not better. Just be sure to cut off any snag points in back (such as goggle loops etc.) I haven't had a chance to jump mine because I found a used Z-1 at Elsinore. I think I'll save the ski helmet for skiing. Everyone used to use motorcycle helmets in the olden days. I made over 300 jumps with one. The extra weight could be a factor. I remember having a few severe openings in the olden days, when my face actually hit my chest mounted reserve. Many days I would wake up with a stiff neck from jumping. Having too heavy of a helmet might have been a factor. I doubt if a ski helmet is heavy enough to cause serious neck injury, though. I know it's considered cool to jump without a helmet. I've banged my noggin too many times on hard landings, airplanes, and other jumpers, to think of jumping without one. I'm just a 400 jump wonder, but I've got friends with thousands of jumps who say the same thing. Some jumpers who know the dangers and jump without one. I've even some relatively new jumpers go without a helmet. (Not me!)

[sportjumper 0]

I decided when I first started jumping that it was more prudent to use a helmet. Ya just never can tell when it might be the difference between being really hurt or not, whether it's someone's foot to your head or a bad landing.I noticed that the "skydiving" helmets were pretty expensive. At the time, I was working up north (I'm from La.), and I was able to shop snow skiing helmets. I wound up w/one made by Boeri. It's open faced and has a pretty cool aerodynamic look (and ya know how CRUCIAL the "look" is to us!) It was only $90.00 I did have to saw off the loop in the back designed to hold goggles. So far I have really loved it. I've had a ton of positive comments on it. No dytter pocket, so I had to make one on the inside w/velcro, but that really wasn't a big deal.
Blue ones,
Gregg