All you have to do is search these boards if you really need to find out why. Every year sadly we have this discussion usually as an off shoot thread started due to a fatality on the slopes caused by head trauma.
It is not based on what kind of skier you are it is the fact that just like in cars, you can be doing everything right and still have an accident. It is after all a sport based on sliding down ice. How far are we ever from losing control?

Wear a helmet. They are comfortable, warm, affordable and the right thing to do.

Please. I don't want to hear about any unecessary sadness.

Another thing just occured to me after looking at my tagline. Helmets are required in all local hockey leagues, whether ice or roller. Face shields or cages are optional. I'll never step onto the ice without a full bird cage in front of my face, even if it's a friendly game at a rented rink. That decision has saved me from the facial stitch count in my lifetime (not zero, unfortunately.) But I skate with several players who just use the half shield in front of their eyes. They're happy with their decision and I'm happy with mine. But I wouldn't trade and they probably wouldn't either.

.. well ... a totally unbaised opinion. I teach a computer course for docs. I often ask what they think of brain buckets. A specialist in head trauma and face/head reconstructive surgery stated that he thinks helmets are a negative factor in most ski accidents because of the additional spinal loading of the protection and the " I feel invincible" factor according to Dr. R.Weeks. As of now I do not feel that hemets are a positive factor in the majority of ski-related trauma based on direct input from the skiing medical community. Take my comments at face value. This is what I have heard. I also find in intersting that virtually *none* of my skiing docs ski with a brain-bucket. Draw your own conclusions.

Well, time for my annual sentimental pro-helmet story:

5 years ago I had a friend, a sophomore in high school. She was fairly smart, active in a lot of clubs, your typical good student. On a Ski Club trip with the school to Timberline we caught a few chairs up with her in the morning and one time, just so happened to be the last time, she was mocking us for wearing helmets. She got off the lift, pointed her skis down Thunderstruck, and even though she was a good skier, lost control on the corner.

I was coming over the crest of the trail as she fell and slid, at a high velocity, head-first into the trees. I was one of the first people on the scene. It was horrific. Blood everywhere, probably some brains too. We went to get Ski Patrol, in tears, not knowing if she was alive or not.

She broke EVERY bone in her face and skull and was CONCIOUS, albeit dazed, when they took her off the mountain to the waiting helicopter. She spent the next two months laid-up in a Maryland hospital, undergoing tremendous reonstructive surgery.

Life went on for her, she graduated in 2 years, somehow managing to keep-up with her work that semester of 10th grade. She went to college, I don't remember where, but it was a heck of a lot better than WVU. Then it happened.

One night she came down with viral meningitis, went to the campus health station and 4 hours later she was dead. Why? Because the plates, screws, wires, etc associated with the post-accident surgery, tore her meninges to shreds and she basically bled to death hand-in-hand with tons of subdural hematomas.

Where the punch really comes in is that the Ski Patrol, doctors, EMTs, and insurance agents determined if she'd been wearing a helmet she would've suffered a moderate, non life-threatening concussion at best. I've been wearing a helmet religiously since then, esp. after I landed on my head in Timberline's park and smashed the helmet, not my head.

On biking boards anytime someone brings up helmet use in a thread it is an all-out invitation for a flame war. The topic really draws the trolls out. Lots of senseless discussions about how many more head trauma incidents occur in bathtubs than cycling (or skiing); therefore, why don't we wear helmets in the shower? blah, blah, blah.... It comes down to a personal choice, and personal freedom. As a person who religiously wears a helmet when cycling, I do not have a conflict not wearing one skiing. Honestly it was setting an example for my little girl that made the decision to buy a helmet this year easy for me.

I cannot see how the helmet though is going to make me take bigger risks than I am comfortable with now. Personally, my self-defense mechanisms tend to be as averse to broken bones and twisted ligaments as head injuries. What I mean is that I can't see consciously or subconsciously weighing a decision to ski a glade or not based on whether I'm wearing a helmet or not. I'll drop in if I think I can ski it - period. I care about compound fractures, separated shoulders, blown knees, and other season-ending potentialities as well. But again it's all very personal.

When the NHL first mandated helmets, they grandfathered players who were in the league before the new rule was in place. Most of these players still chose to use helmets. Guy Lafleur, the great winger from the Montreal Canadiens played for a while wearing the helmet, but abandoned it later. His reasoning was that wearing the helmet made him more conscious of the risk of injury and hence caused him to play more cautiously. Like I said, it's all very personal.

I'm going to chime in on the Pro Helmet side. I like others never used a helmet then "made" the kids wear one. Yes, I got the dad if I have to wear one why don't you. Around the same time I was getting ready to take a "guy" trip out west. Went up to the local ski shop (Pro-Fit) and purchased a Giro 9. I've never regreted it since. They are so comfortable, and if you get a little warm just remove the vent plugs and you'll get cool air.

But, as with a few other threads I have a quick story. My wife finally went out and purchased a helmet for herself we usually ski TLine which has fewer people on the slopes. But, we also ski Whitetail a lot and everyone knows how busy that can get. The very next trip to Whitetail she was skiing Exhibition and a boarder wiped her out. She has a nice cut on the side of the helmet from the boarders edge. That helmet saved us a trip to the hospital or worse.

Finally, helmets don't itch!!!!!

JohnL -lol you always come up with a laugh!

I have heard so many persuasive arguments on both sides it makes me crazy! I just think if you want to wear a helmet then do it if you don't the just don't for whatever your reasons. My motorcycle helmet definetly saved me in '91 when I crashed my Honda Hurricane and 50+ miles and hour the crack in it was scary. I just had a friend last week hit a tree going maybe 20-30 mph on a green trail because something (probably snowmaking) "grabbed" on his board as he attempted to go around a beginner and threw him speeding backwards into the trees. He protected his head and hit the tree with his body and actually bounced off of the tree and flew 5-6 feet before stopping. He did have to have his spleen removed and has a partially collaspsed lung. He was wearing a helmet. So in this case the helmet was not a factor, neither positive or negative.

My only point is in certain accidents a helmet is a great help in avoiding injury, and in some it is not. I talked with a nurse that flies with the University of Utah Hospital trauma helicopter and (he *was* wearing a helmet) said most of the deaths (about 2 per year at The Canyons) are from tree incidents. 50% are head trauma, 50% body. The head ones are from people falling down and sliding head-first into trees. The other 50% are from skiing/riding in trees and hitting them with the body.

ps the doc I taught today had a helmet!

OK... throw stones at me... I have five helmets. I keep different wardrobes at home and at Snowshoe and wanted to color-coordinate them with the ski jackets. I am in the search with helmets with iPod attachments now

As I ski in both Vermont, Maine and Snowshoe regardless of the temperature, I have found that helmets provide much better insulation than hats. At 10 below, my head and ears are toasty warm in a helmet. Not so with a ski hat.

The trick is to find a helmet that will allow a balaclava in case of extreme weather while still fitting snugly.

Lou Lou Lou
Tell ya what i'll do
If we ever meet at the shoe
I'll wear grey
If you'll wear blue

wear u bin i've missed u .

I got a ski helmet two or so yrs ago now -- because I wear bicycle helmets when biking. I got a bicycle helmet because not only does virtually everyone wear the dang things these days but I used to race (and suck at it, so no lancy armstrong for me) -- but I believe you HAD to... the rules or somesuch.
Now I have been bike riding a long time. So it stands to reason that shoving a lid on my head is near second nature to me. And in all those year, I have made use of my bike helmet all of ONE time while riding, which involved a fairly low speed crash caused by my front wheel catching the rear wheel of a rider in front of me in a small "pack". The end result was a nearly instantaneous slam into the road on my side, followed quickly by my head hitting the pavement hard as if at the end of whip...CRACK! Cracked the helmet right down the middle too. I really felt that but was ok, no headache, no doctor visit nothing... just serious ringing of the old bell, a severe all over body soreness that lasted a week & (of course!) a new helmet! Anyway -- in 12+ yrs of bike riding -- that's it. (although I did get hit by a car, that's another story and involves the helmet not at all.)

As for skiing, well one day I started to feel odd WITHOUT a helmet on. I grew up skiing years ago and helmets weren't even invented back then, so its not like i even wanted one or had any predisposition to own one, except for the bike riding. Well -- so the feeling crept in that something was a amiss, and so I high tailed it to the nearest ski shop where I bought a lid for me head. And now all is well. Still no accidents in which this has turned out to be useful. On the hand, I have no interest in having one of them either... also I ski the same, still suck overall. Helmets are warm though.

JohnL, what I am looking at now is the Spyder Special Edition, with 6-way stretch material that has the iPod BUILT IN into the ski jacket, and a panel on the sleeve with the controls. Ultimate gadget! That and a Bluetooth-equipped helmet. Very tempting purchase....

Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy... I used to wear blue
when I was in an airplane crew
But now that I'm a wiser fellow
I traded my outfit for Yellow
as my personality shows through
taking my life in stride
shopping everywhere with pride
helmets, outfits, gloves worldwide
restaurants, wines, articles of hide
retail therapy not denied
and that's how I can be so Mellow

ibotta ... Giro Fuse ... look around and sometimes you can find them on sale. I picked up mine about 2 months ago ... sale at REI, helmet was $40 off. The high-end Fuse is cool because it hase a splitter so that you can attach to your iPod -and- your cell phone. SigOther is trying to figure out how we can rig it to work with a FRS rather than a cell phone.

Spyder Special edition huh? The jacket alone is more than $2k! But cool!

I love technology but do we really need the cell phones on the slopes? Ipods ok when you have to ski alone (although I have yet to buy one)

I finally got a helmet in 2004 when I switched to shaped skis and suddenly started skiing faster and carving more agressively. It's not the terrain (usually groomers at Wintergreen) it's the speed that made me rethink the helmet issue. If I happen to be skiing casually with my wife, I normally stick with a regular hat.

By the way, many of the better helmets have adjustable vents. My Leedom does (sorry, can't remember the model). With the vents open, I haven't ever really gotten too hot. On cooler days, the helmet does a great job keeping my head warm.

Craig

Wifey bought me a Giro 9 for chrimbo. Really comfortable looking forward to wearing it. I might by the skullcandy rig with the built in earphones and splitter for FRS. Burton came out with an i-pod jacket similar to the Spyder one last year or the year before. Same deal, controls in the sleeve, they may even have had speakers built into the collar.

I too got my first helmet in the spring of 2004. Can't really imagine skiing without it. I don't think it makes me look like a hot shot, and I know I ski fast enough to incur major head trauma (even though I'm not that fast ... trees and other skiers are hard). I just find that it makes sense for me.

It's like a seatbelt ... if you don't wear it for yourself, wear it for those who care about you.

Jim - As unsightly and gangly that those brain buckets can make you look, you should re-consider. Well... not going to TJ Max to buy them because that just seems wrong.... but about picking up a helmet. One thing that many people overlook in this discussion is that helmets are plain warm. They keep you toasty, on those cold days.
Additionally, as any ski shop employee will tell you when you look at helmets, the helmet is not about you, it is about the 300 other people on the slopes with you. And I cannot stress this enough.. Because you are a Mid-Atlantic skier you should have one more than the people out west! You are skiing on narrow, short trails, with more people per square foot than any mountain out West. The fact that you have escaped some sort of yard sale with an out of control gaper to date is amazing, but only compounds the chances you will be seeing the little birdies dance about your head one day.
Let your skiing do your talking... don't worry about what your noggin looks like wrapped in the hard shell.
Oh yeah... buying gloves and perhaps even goggles at a TJ Max might be fine, but remember that places like TJ Max often buy leftovers/irregulars from other big chain stores. In the case of a helmet, they are designed to take one serious shelacking and then you should replace. When you buy from a ski shop you can pretty much be assured that these helmets are safe... from TJ Max you have no idea what you are getting. I am not saying that they are trying to be unsafe or unscrupulous, but they don't know any more about the helmets than you do (more than likely even less!). Would you buy car tires from McDonalds?

Maybe you Bono's might like to visit my bud in the Elkins Hospital. Helmets are only partially for you hitting something else. A huge part is for the time 2 snowboarders plowed into my bud at high speed...and he didn't have one ! In Jackson Hole I fall down....look around and see a guy in a pool of blood up the hill behind me. Witnesses said he was skliing out of control, no helmet, and ran in to ME. I didn't have a nick, scratch, or bruise. Don't know what he had ... didn't follow the sled down! You don't need a helmet to ski - but that also proves, you don't need any brains either.