Neck part of full face helmets

[Jonsmann 0]

Am I the only one who think full face helmets are too open at the back of the head?
The hard part of my Oxygen A3 could be extended about 2 inches further toward the neck, without restricting head movements.

The back of the head is quite sensitive, it would be nice with more protection there.

- Jacques

[AndyMan 7]

Yeah, but I think you'd find you'd lose a lot of movement in the neck. Specifically, I think it'd be pretty much imposible to look up and see your canopy.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[Shark 0]

I wear a Z1 and it gives a little more cover. In the winter I wear a balaclava underneath my helmet which also offers complete neck coverage.

[kallend 1,679]

I'm not a medical doctor, nor do I play one on TV. However, I *believe* that the reason the back of the neck on helmets is cutaway is to prevent neck injuries if the head is knocked backwards by an impact.

[TomAiello 25]

I'm so with you.

I have used several different motorcross and ski helmets on parachute jumps (mostly with very hard openings). In my experience, the "can't look at the canopy" business is not true. I've never had trouble with the extra weight either.

The best helmets I've seen are the ones used by skiers or skeleton (that's the headfirst sled event) riders. They're low drag, full face, and offer much better protection than skydiving helmets.

I also like the motocross helmets I've used, except that they tend to create weird drag at terminal, and also have too many snag point for my personal comfort.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[fool 0]

In my unproffesional brain, the reason the helmets are so high on the neck is so people will have ease of looking up in the arched position. The height of the helmet plus the gear on your back would make it very difficult to receive an impact on the back of your neck, therefore, why bother. This also explains why freefly helmets generally have better neck protection, as freeflyers have more exposed surface.

S.E.X. party #1

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "f*#k, what a ride".

[ernokaikkonen 0]

>HGowever, I *believe* that the reason the back of the neck on
>helmets is cutaway is to prevent neck injuries if the head is knocked
> backwards by an impact.

There was a discussion on this topic on rec.dot a while back.

Erno

[Jonsmann 0]

In the arched position I can look straight up, with protecs, mindwarps and my Oxygen A3. Still the hard part (on the A3) could be extended at the very least 1 inch!
You are right that the neck is somewhat protected, between the rig and the helmet. However, when an exit funnels you will often not be in a good arched position.
In my time I have been kicked in the head, beaten in the face by elbows and been taken out in formations. Trust me a high speed arm or leg can easily hit at the back of the head!
My worst experience was an elbow hit in the face during exit. Everything went black for a second (I think) after that I was a bit surprised to taste blood in freefall!

- Jacques

[billvon 2,473]

>The back of the head is quite sensitive, it would be nice with more
>protection there.

It has been shown that if you extend the coverage of the helmet too low, the lip of the helmet acts as a lever and puts the C1/C2 vertebrae at greater risk for injury - and that's the worst possible place to have a spinal cord injury. Helmets, for the most part, protect against impacts from flat, large objects, like roads, the ground, cars and airplane doors. These objects have a hard time fitting in the gap between the lower occipital part of the helmet and your back.

RW does add smaller objects that may impact you (other feet, elbows etc) and so there may be some benefit in adding greater coverage - provided it does not extend significantly below the bottom of the occiput, so the lever thing is not an issue. My FP-1 comes within an inch or so of that limit, so I wouldn't want mine extended any.

If you are really worried, the best possible protection is a combination of a helmet and back protector, like the type used in paragliding. It is generally flexible enough to not cause injury due to lever effect, but large and stiff enough to spread out the impact and reduce its severity.