Pros with no helmets

hiphopopotamus

hiphopopotamus

Active member
after watching alot of this years movies i have noticed that almost all the pros dont wear helmets. it makes me mad because they have so much talent that could be wasted with a bad fall. it is also iresponsible from them because kids look up to them. i know they are unconfortable and not stylish but come on its your head. and you cant fix your head
 
yeah well its funny if u just noticed...but I understand what ur sayin cause I look at Mountain biking and the pros always wear helmets...I think snow and ice hurts just as much as rock and dirt
 
after watching alot of people on the highway i have noticed that almost all the drivers dont wear helmets. it makes me mad because they have so much life in front of them that could be wasted with a bad car crash. it is also iresponsible from them because kids look up to them. i know they are unconfortable and not stylish but come on its your head. and you cant fix your head.

You do realize that you stand a greater chance getting a severe head injury from a car accident than you do from skiing right? That's why race car drivers wear helmets when they race and are driving outside of their comfort zone. Most pro skiers also wear helmets when they get out of their comfort zone (Comps, big mt lines etc.).

So in a sense, a pro skiing around without a helmet is being about as stupid and irresponsible as people driving on the highway without a helmet.
 
i think that we could find a scientific study that people who wear helmets while participating in snowsports are smarter and more likely to retain their intellect in years to come
 
what I think is retarded is that no roller bladers rock helmets. I learned recently that sponsors what buy their footage if they are wearing helmets. that is fucked up.
 
The car analogy was fucking terrible.

The reason helmets are mandated is because of the rollcages.

They are inches from your head and even small impacts will cause the skull to collide with the cage.
 
What are you talking about? They only wear helmets for comps. because they require them. Most are inside their comfort zone while riding in comps. because they're doing tricks they know they can stomp. As said above me, the car analogy was terrible. Watch an urban rail segment where you are most prone for head injury, they hardly wear helmets.

You fail at life.
 
i agree, kids look up to the pros, and ive heard so many kids complain when their parents want them to wear helmets becuase their favorite skiiers dont where them. the only time i dont wear mine is when im teaching beginner lessons on really warm days...other than that, its glued to my head
 
Are you trying to say that there is only a danger of getting a head injury if you drive a race car? Check the stats on the most common cause of death from car accidents on public highways.

I've had friends die from head injuries in regular passenger cars (without roll cages). Both of them were hardcore skiers too. Had they been wearing a helmet in their respective car accidents, they might still be alive today.

Most people in the course of their lives will know people who suffer severe head injury in car accidents.

I'm not saying this to try and imply that you should wear a helmet in a car, rather to put some perspective on the people who say that anyone skiing without a helmet is "stupid".

Yes, skiing without a helmet does put you at lesser risk of a severe head injury. Skiing with a pillow on your chest would lessen your chance of a ruptured aorta. Skiing with a spine guard lessens your chance of back injury. All the same could be said for driving your car. And the stats show that even the most hardcore skier stands a greater risk of being seriously injured on the drive to the hill, than when they are skiing.

Nothing against wearing helmets skiing, I wear one sometimes... I'm just sick of the "holier than thou" lectures from little kids about how stupid anyone skiing without a helmet is....when if they really thought about it they would realize that everyone in life takes similar risks on a regular basis.

 
Eric H is just one example I can think of but im sure there are many. When he throwing switch double backs off a huge kicker over hardpacked snow, no helmet. but when he is ripping a insane pow line in fluffy light snow (granted there are rocks and shit too), full-on hardcore full face. I've always wondered if the reason for that difference might have had to do with the distance of the shots. Big mountain lines are shot from a heli where you can rarely see whats on the athlete's head where as park shots (even with a heli) are much more upclose and personal.
 
I just wanted to turn this conversation over now. Anyone else here thinks skiers wear a lot more often the helmet that they used to? and compared to snowboard, skiers wear the helmet all the time! I didn'T make the count, but in yeah dude, as an example, we have andreas hatveait, pete olenick, mike henituk, sammy carlson, Craig Cocker, jp auclair that always have a helmet. And these are the ones I just thinked about while typing. I think there was a great improvement in that wa, mostly on urban rails.
 
Many riders do wear helmets and some don't. It's just personal preference. I mean it can help if you want to be a role model but it's up to the skier. It's their choice. They may not even see the role model thing. I personally like wearing a helmet.
 
Well actually, you said, - "They only wear helmets for comps. because they require them."

So his post was a pretty good job of refuting that statement, suck it up buttercup...

Again, different people have different comfort zones. Bushfield and JP don't wear helmets in the park, however they do wear serious full faces when they rip gnarly lines.

It's ok though, you don't fail at life, only this argument....try striking again somewhere else
 
so to hit a 100 ft gap at like 60mph takes a lot of balls. an individual with that kind of don't give a fick mindset probably doesn't think too much about the reprecussions of thier actions.

personally i wear ahelmet if its really icy or i think i will prob hit my head trying a new trick. i hate them though and as a consequence got 2 concussions last year. kids just have to realize that sometimes looking a little bit less cool might be worth making it till your 21. but if its not worth it that's cool too at least you can die with confidence that you left a steezy corpse
 
my helmet is definitely comfy, a lot warmer than a hat and doesn't look bad...it hardly ever leaves my head when im skiing
 
I wear a helmet because i don't like concussions and because someone I know died of brain hemoraging after hitting their head on an icy slope.

As for pros wearing helmets? well if they are on their own time it is totaly up to them. But when they are being featured in movies that kids are watching they should wear em.
 
If I hadn't worn a helmet on a few select occasions, I probably wouldn't be around to write on this forum. Helmets are just something thats so small, yet that can make a huge difference, I wouldnt compare it to wearing a helmet in a car, I'd compare it to wearing your seatbelt in the car.
 
Exactly, I agree with that a hundred percent. If you don't feel it necessary to wear a helmet, then you haven't had your life saved by one.
 
OK, I'll slow it down for ya.... let's take it one point at a time.

Point 1 - All skiing involves some risk of a serious head injury.

Point 2 - Driving or riding in a car also involves risk of a serious head injury (it's a fact, not an opinion).

Point 3- Society determines it to be ok to drive without a helmet unless you are taking extra chances, such as racing, rallycar, stuntwork, etc. While these activities increase the danger factor, there is still the inherent risk of head injury anytime you are in a moving car.

Point 4 - Some pros treat skiing the same way as car drivers, by not wearing helmets for "daily driving" activities like park or resorts, but putting them on for what they feel to be more serious dangerous situations. Eg; the JP and Bushfield scenario - no helmet at the resort but a serious helmet in the bc.

Point 5 - There is nothing wrong with wearing a helmet at ALL times when skiing, it is safer that way. The exact same is true for being in a car, you would be safer if you always wore a helmet. STATISTICALLY it actually makes more sense to wear a helmet in the car because your chance of head injury is higher in a car than on the hill, no matter how rad you are.

Point 6 - I just enjoy pointing out the hypocrisy of a society that takes an accepted risk of driving without a helmet, while at the same time loudly condemning anyone who chooses to take a similar risk while skiing. A mandatory helmet law for cars would cause a massive uproar even though it WOULD save lives, because they could NEVER sell the public on it, people don't want their fancy hairdos messed up and they would never stand for it. Instead, society chooses to downplay that danger and focus helmet awareness on smaller demographics (like users of ski resorts) that are easier to persuade and to control.

Now if you want to debate that (like a gentleman), please sir, be my guest.

And again, I do wear a helmet when I'm pushing it on skis (but not for daily driving)

 
thats wierd i watched yeah dude and noticed the oppisate most people are wearing helmets sammys even wears his in his urban segmant
 
remember back before 1996 when no one outside of extreme comp skiers wore helmets. i do. and i think a few of those fools even survived. i also remember when kids used to ride bikes around the neighborhood without helmets. i heard some of them crashed hard but managed to escape with their lives. wear a helmet if you want, but shut the fuck up with the preaching unless you're living in a bubble. plenty of life is dangerous. good luck out there...
 
just thinking, the point about wearing helmets in cars: sure, in cars helmets would reduce the risk of head injuries, but i dont think it could be compared to skiing.

In cars you have seatbelts, airbags, abs brakes etc stock in almost every new car.

in skiing we have bindings that release so you dont crank your knee everytime you fall.

Im having trouble wording this.

For sure, people can do whatever they want as far as helmets. Obviously, they offer more protection, I have no doubt that i have been saved from many serious concussions thanks to my helmet. Some people wont wear helmets and never get injured. Some will wear helmets and still get serious injuries. Shit happens, and alternativly, somtimes shit does not happen, and we're all fine.

As for the part about role models, look at the audiences who are watching skiing movies.

a. newschooler who already skis and probably wont decide whether to wear a helmet or not based on what a pro is doing

b. a little kid who is probably going to be forced to wear his helmet anyway by either his parents or a ski instructor.

So ya, in the long run, it doesnt make a difference whether or not pros wear helmets in the public eye.

And I wear a helmet everytime i ride, just out of habit.

I hope that made sense
 
Sure they are. I wear one most of the time. I think people should wear them and they do more harm than good(I had that argument). It's terrible to hear about your friend and I can only hope he recovers.

However, I don't think making a thread over pros and helmets is necessary, and I don't think anyone in the ski world has the right to tell another skier they HAVE to wear one.

You can't govern stupidity.
 
Pro's arent gods, and I would be more than angry if their decisions represented the entire ski community. I dont fucking care what they do or who is so influenced by how cool they are that they ditch their helmet this year - if you ski, you should wear a helmet, end of story.
 
this is true.. pros can do what they want with their heads.. i just think its fuckin crazy and ballsy that they dont wear helmets.. i mean, they're the ones doing the craziest most dangerous shit...
 
But there is no point in making a thread trying to get them to do so, or even have a conversation about it. It's a waste of time.

It's not what other people do, it's what YOU do.
 
me? well yea your right.. i didnt start this thread though.. but i mean why shouldnt he have started it.. thats what ns is for, being very obnoxious about your opinions.. especially opinions relating to skiing.
 
That's true, but it doesn't change the fact that head injuries are one of the most common injuries, and the most common cause of death, in car accidents.

No matter how you look at it, the stats prove that you are as much at risk of head injury in a car, as when you ski.

Nobody can open their mind and understand the car analogy because it's just not "normal" to wear a helmet in a car. And people accept what is normal, sometimes without looking at the whole picture. Lots of kids on here have been wearing helmets since they started skiing, so the idea of going skiing without one seems crazy. They automatically assume that they should call out anyone who skis without a helmet.

Some of us grew up skiing without helmets, in a time when nobody wore them. So for us, a lecture about wearing helmets to go skiing seems about as ridiculous as it would be to get lectured about putting on a helmet in a car. If you break it down, both examples are equally safety consious ideas, however the ski hill one is becoming common, so it simply seems like a lot more reasonable thing to expect.

It's a matter of safety, sure. But it's also a matter of brainwashing, bandwagoning, and societal pressures. 15 years ago people would have laughed at you for wearing a helmet for everyday skiing. The risk of cracking your head open on a tree or lift tower or rock hasn't changed, it's perceptions that have changed.

If societal pressures got people to start wearing helmets while driving, after a while everybody would claim that it was stupid to drive without one. They could certainly make the same type of statements that skiers make now about how they "got in a crash and their helmet saved their life", "know people who have died from head injuries", etc.

Most kids on here probably started wearing a helmet not because of their own safety concerns, but because of societal pressure in the form of their parents making them wear helmets when they learned to ski.

Why I bother with this subject, I'm not sure. I'm not trying to discourage helmet use at all, just trying to encourage a little open mindedness... (and yeah I see the pun potential there).
 
they are warm and cozy,. but if you are a girl with long hair that situation can get annoying.. and i like my hat collection.. so its annoying that i never really wear them on the hill unless i'm taking a mellow cruise day.
 
Yea man I hear ya on this...I am a rollerblader and I rock the helmet (don't wanna get hurt for skiing) but I get shit for protecting myself??? It just doesn't make sense to me...
 
Hehehe, "DIE WITH CONFIDENCE AND LEAVE A STEEZY CORPSE"

Quick, someone get a copyright on that and start pumping out stickers!
 
i don't wear a helmet and no one can get me to change that. i know it's dangerous, but so is about 90% of everything else in life. if you know people who've been hurt because they weren't wearing a helmet, join the club- one of my closest friends in high school hit a tree WITH A HELMET ON and split his head open... you could literally see his brain. i know firsthand exactly how dangerous skiing is, but it doesn't bother me. i have my reasons for not wearing one, you have your reasons for wearing one, but don't try to convince me i'm "wrong". it's a matter of opinion and there is no "right" or "wrong" answer here. i'm sorry to anyone who knows someone who's died or been seriously injured due to a head injury while skiing, but don't call me "stupid", don't say i'm a moron, don't tell me i'm wrong... i'm withholding my feelings about helmets and how they look, feel, and actually work (mainly because i don't want to debate this since it's not worth debating), so there's no reason whatsoever to tell me that i'm automatically a complete retard for not wearing one. it's a personal choice, so leave it at that.
 
I think its great some skiers dont wear helmets. Basically, if you dont think you need one, then dont wear one. I personally need one. With skiers not wearing helmets, well, its basically doing God's work of natural selection. If they get a serious head injury, its their own fault for being ignorant of the risks of skiing.
 
you do know that there is metal around you, a seatbelt and airbags when you drive a car???

I'd liek to have nearly as much pretoection on skis without having to wear an helmet.

I wear and helmet all the time cause you never know when you might fall over and hit your head hard.
 
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