Helmets

[fungi3001 0]

i was wondeing how useful a helmet really is. apart from keeping your head warm i cant see how one will help if your falling from 10,000+ at over 120 mph into the floor - your head will be mashed up pretty bad either way, wont it?

[CrazyIvan 0]

After opening, the risers might slam your head, also, air collisions, when landing, when you PLF or some other weird landing.

__________________________________________
Blue Skies and May the Force be with you.

[tosca 0]

I think my helmet is good in at least three situations

*collisions with other jumpers in the air. This has happened more than once, often right after exit if things don´t go as it is planned, or a hard dock, or just get a foot in the head or something like that.

*hitting my head into something in the airplane on a fast exit. I.e. if one run out of a airplane with a small door, or climbing outside the airplane and fall

*bad landings.

[CDRINF 1]

Ever been kicked in the head on exit or while doing RW?

CDR

[trigger 0]

I know someone who experienced a CYPRES save after they were knocked unconcious in freefall.She was wearing a frapp hat at the time and maybe a hard helmet would have helped in this situation.

.CHOP WOOD COLLECT WATER.

[fungi3001 0]

thanks, i understand now

[riggerrob 643]

Helmets help keep you awake long enough to pull handles.
Helmets reduce riser slap and they protect your noggin during PLFs.

[garyharbird 0]

My mums boyfriend nearly lost his ear after a riser almost ripped it off on opening.
The doctors were able to stich it back up, and he was ok.
So yes I think helmets are a good idea

Gary Harbird

[Stacy 0]

I wear a full face RELIGIOUSLY now after being thwacked in the nose with an open face freefly helmet and breaking my nose. that was definitely not fun. ya just don't know what is going to happen up in that big sky....

[grega 0]

Seriousness off:

we did a test once what is stronger. we threw a cotton hat out of 10th floor of our flat, and and a factory diver. The hat was a ok and i picked it up and put it on my head, but the oxygen helmet,... no comment.
so i guess cotton hats are stronger
and they are warmer too.

Seriousness on:

Oh wait i don't know what serous means

"George just lucky i guess!"

[Dumpster 0]

I've been kicked n the face pretty good a couple times doing RW (enough to spin me-)- I was wearing my full-face Z-1. If were an open face. or no helmet, I probably would have suffered some damage. I still have a Pro-Tec, but haven't used it in over a year.

Easy Does It

[nacmacfeegle 0]

If you dont wear a helmet in the UK, they won't let you on the plane. So in that respect they are useful if you wanna skydive.

--------------------

He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. Thomas Jefferson

[alain 0]

way better if you want to ear your audible

[Jethers203 0]

Dude,
Us americans don't have as hard of heads as you Brits. Just kidding.

Why wouldn't you want that little extra bit of safety, not for protecting you from bouncing, but in the air.
Have you ever been in a freefall collision? What would of happened if it was on your head? Added to this, HP landings can get pretty nasty. I only have one head, that I use to think with anyway, and I want to protect it. It is my best feature!!!!!

[fundgh 0]

It makes agreat place to stow your goggles and audible on the plane ride!

...FUN FOR ALL!

[rickfri59 0]

Quote

* Bad Landings*

Yea, I'd hate my face and head to be as scratched up as my visor and the sides of my helmet. Done a couple of high speed PLF's (feet, face, head, and sllllide in). Fortunately vertical speed wasn't the issue. Ah well, I won't jump without.

[JoHawley 0]

I agree completely. A couple of jumps ago I landed hard on a runway. I don't remember much about it, but from the state of my full face and the duration of my concussion, I was very happy to have been jumping with a helmet. Here in Belgium they are fairly relaxed on the rules for helmets, but as a Brit, I never jump without one and given that the amount of paint lost on my helmet is probably only a fraction of the skin I would have lost from the back of my head, I don't think I'll be jumping wihout one any time soon.
It's not cool to have holes in your head...

[wmw999 2,441]

Quote

amount of paint lost on my helmet is probably only a fraction of the skin I would have lost from the back of my head,

Back long before AAD's were common on anyone besides students I hit the door of a DC3 in an exit lineup hard enough to crack my helmet. Doesn't take much after that to convince you.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Faber 0]

Quote

*collisions with other jumpers in the air. This has happened more than once, often right after exit if things don´t go as it is planned, or a hard dock, or just get a foot in the head or something like that.

*hitting my head into something in the airplane on a fast exit. I.e. if one run out of a airplane with a small door, or climbing outside the airplane and fall

*bad landings

You forgot "the place were your camera is"unless you use really good Gaffa

Stay safe
Stefan Faber

[sundance 1]

There seems to be a lot posted here on the subject of helmets already but for some good reasons I felt compelled to add my 2 cents. My good reasons have nothing to do with my experience in the sport (I only have 80 jumps and an A license), but rather with my experience in head protection. In my previous life I worked for Bell Sports (as in Helmets) as VP/GM of the Auto Racing Helmet Division and also for a time in same position for Private Branded Bike Helmets. In the auto racing side of the business, you are dealing with some of the highest energy impacts on this planet and what Bell has learned and built into all helmets for every sport comes from their experience in that extreme.

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.

As pointed out in previous posts on helmet threads here, I think that probably all helmets specifically made for skydiving have little or no value for impact protection. I found this very curious and still do. 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. Your head will simply bottom out immediately on most so called skydiving helmets...resulting in serious brain injuries or death.

I have read in these forums a lot about Protec helmets offering more impact protection. Well, perhaps a bit more, but not really much. The foam I see in most of them is feeble and too soft. It will bottom out quickly on a major impact but help in a minor one.

Helmets that are optimal for impact protection are designed to self destruct and thereby manage the energy and prevent as much energy from reaching the brain as possible.
EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) has proven over and over to be the best liner material to manage impact, but it also has to be molded at the correct density to provide optimum protection.

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.

I figure if I am going to wear a helmet at all, might as well get multiple benefits from it including, hearing protection, warmth, minor bump protection, major bump protection, large impact protection. True, some impacts are not survivable with any kind of protection. I saw this numerous times every year in the auto racing community, but I also saw alot of people walk away from accidents that surely would have killed them without the technology of modern helmetry.

Opinions and perspectives welcome. I'm still curious

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

[chuteless 1]

Ive collided heads in freefall, and with anything less than my Bell helmet, it would have hurt. There has been many times since though, when I jumped without one.

They used to say,
If you have a $10.00 head, wear a $10.00 helmet.

Bill Cole D-41

[samyueru 0]

During my A license progression in Australia, my instructor was under canopy about 200 feet below me. Just as he was landing, a very strong gust of wind collapsed his canopy and blew/dragged him over an embankment, where he hit the mock up of the airplane. His helmet DEFINATELY saved him some hardcore trauma.

That's the #1 reason I think I'll keep wearing a helmet....

-Alex

[skipro101 0]

Quote

There seems to be a lot posted here on the subject of helmets already but for some good reasons I felt compelled to add my 2 cents. My good reasons have nothing to do with my experience in the sport (I only have 80 jumps and an A license), but rather with my experience in head protection. In my previous life I worked for Bell Sports (as in Helmets) as VP/GM of the Auto Racing Helmet Division and also for a time in same position for Private Branded Bike Helmets. In the auto racing side of the business, you are dealing with some of the highest energy impacts on this planet and what Bell has learned and built into all helmets for every sport comes from their experience in that extreme.

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.

As pointed out in previous posts on helmet threads here, I think that probably all helmets specifically made for skydiving have little or no value for impact protection. I found this very curious and still do. 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. Your head will simply bottom out immediately on most so called skydiving helmets...resulting in serious brain injuries or death.

I have read in these forums a lot about Protec helmets offering more impact protection. Well, perhaps a bit more, but not really much. The foam I see in most of them is feeble and too soft. It will bottom out quickly on a major impact but help in a minor one.

Helmets that are optimal for impact protection are designed to self destruct and thereby manage the energy and prevent as much energy from reaching the brain as possible.
EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) has proven over and over to be the best liner material to manage impact, but it also has to be molded at the correct density to provide optimum protection.

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.

I figure if I am going to wear a helmet at all, might as well get multiple benefits from it including, hearing protection, warmth, minor bump protection, major bump protection, large impact protection. True, some impacts are not survivable with any kind of protection. I saw this numerous times every year in the auto racing community, but I also saw alot of people walk away from accidents that surely would have killed them without the technology of modern helmetry.

Opinions and perspectives welcome. I'm still curious

Wow! Im so glad you are on here! I was seriously thinking about writing a letter to BELL and other helmet manufacters to introduce them to the need of a good skydiving helmet.

Im a new jumper and im extremely irritated at skydiving helmets. Expensive, cheaply made, no serious impact protection, and visors that dont work/etc etc.

WHY arent there any helmets from BELL and other big name manufc. ???

Perhaps you could get the ball rolling at Bell?

[Tonto 1]

Quote

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 raced Superbikes before I started skydiving. In that sport, I used a Bell Star helmet. My conclusions were the same as yours. I've not used a helmet for over 3800 dives now. I still have my ears. (I think a good body position during deployment is good protection from riser strikes) I don't bash my head into the doorframe when I leave the plane (or my car, or house, for that matter.)

Tim challenged me to an experiment, but I declined. I feel it's better not to put your head someplace it will be mashed, rather than wear a helmet and see it is survives the mashing.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[relyon 0]

Quote

... I feel it's better not to put your head someplace it will be mashed, rather than wear a helmet and see it is survives the mashing.

The two aren't mutually exclusive. I feel it's even better to put your head where it won't be mashed and wear a helmet.

Bob