Re: [alan] Injury in San Diego

[freakydiver 0]

"I guess it is safe to say that one helmet is pretty much as good as the other."

IMHO not at all. Look at most (if not all) skydiving helmets. They are nothing more than a 16th of an inch of pressed carbon fiber or similar material. I don't think I've seen a skydiving helmet with the shock absorbing material (the styrofoam) that you see in bike, motorcycle, and ski/snowboard helmets. That styrofoam is there for a reason, it dissipates energy created on collision. In fact, most helmets are throw away - you use them once, i.e. you hit something, you are supossed to throw them out and get a new one.

"...or for that matter why we don't just wear motorcyle helmets?"

This question has actually been asked quite a bit in the past. There are many reasons. Size obviously being the largest driving force. Motorcycle helmets are bulky by nature. I personally think there is a huge driving force for skydiving helmet producers to make something light and cool looking as that is what people are looking for. There are like 10 different types of "freefly" helmets out there to appeal to the average jumper looking for something that looks good. Granted - they do do their job, they keep the audible, the can have a camera attached to them, etc... They certainly don't do much in the head saving department though because they just flat out don't have the shock absorbtion you'd see in helmets meant to save lives.

I find it odd that you watch these motorcross riders that jump their bikes 50 feet in the air and they wear mad gear and beefy helmets, but here we are as swoopers hurtling ourselves towards the ground at VERY high speeds with not much more than a few layers of carbon fiber between our noggins and the earth.

"Now I wonder whether we just want stronger helmets or ones that are designed to crack and dissipate energy within a certain range of levels. I wonder what those energy levels would be?"

Great question! Maybe most swoopers wouldn't be interested in a bigger beefier helmet and would much rather just be good swoopers. I'd bet that would be the argument you'd hear alot - and by all means, there is a ton of truth there. But why not have a helmet that protects just in case one bad swoop occurs.

I really think skydiving helmet producers could and should come up with some sort of halfway agreement between lightweight and cool looking and actual protection.

Perhaps I need to move this over to the appropriate forum.

P.S. Thx nightengale...

Edited:

Wait - I'm dumb as shit here - I just thought of the only skydiving helmet that actually is a protective device IMHO - the ProTec. Ask yourself - why don't people wear protecs? They are bigger, bulkier, and just flat out not cool looking. But fact of the matter is, if you make a mistake and your head hits the ground, wouldn't you rather have the protec and its shock absorbing/dissipating charecteristics?

-- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

[mjosparky 4]

Good helmet or bad helmet, full face or open face, when your head comes to a sudden stop from high speeds, 100 mph+, your brain keeps going and slams into your skull. It is just one form of deceleration injury. The brain is damaged by the rough interior surface of the skull and this damage can cause swelling. At some point this damage is not survivable. Unlike race cars we do not have crush zones to reduce the impact force. When flying high performance canopies we must always keep in mind, "Speed Kills".
Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[GravityGirl 0]

Quote

"...or for that matter why we don't just wear motorcyle helmets?"

This question has actually been asked quite a bit in the past. There are many reasons. Size obviously being the largest driving force. Motorcycle helmets are bulky by nature. I personally think there is a huge driving force for skydiving helmet producers to make something light and cool looking as that is what people are looking for.

Cool looking? There is a reason that goes well beyond COOL LOOKING for a low profile helmet!

#1 - Is your peripheral vision. This is a unique sport. One where potential impact comes from any direction. Another skydiver. Another canopy. We HAVE to maintain our peripheral vision.

#2 - Drag. Go make a skydive with a motorcyle helmet on. Let me know if it stays on in a sit fly. How does it feel under your chin.

I know the biggest obstacle we deal with in skydiving is the earth, but it is not the only one that will kill you. Collision with another skydiver or aircraft. Canopy collision....

The perfect helmet does not exist. But good helmets do. Low profile with optimal peripheral vision, minimal drag, quick release chin strap and as much skull protection as possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace and Blue Skies!
Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

[koala 0]

Wait - I'm dumb as shit here - I just thought of the only skydiving helmet that actually is a protective device IMHO - the ProTec. Ask yourself - why don't people wear protecs? They are bigger, bulkier, and just flat out not cool looking. But fact of the matter is, if you make a mistake and your head hits the ground, wouldn't you rather have the protec and its shock absorbing/dissipating charecteristics?***

Uhmmm... my boyfriend made a low turn under a stiletto 120 and he was wearing a protec (he usually wears a full face helmet, but that was a "fun jump"). When he impacted the ground his chin strap broke (the thing that didn't resist was the plastic peace you use to close the strap, i don't know how is it called in english) and his helmet flew away... He broke his femour (some pieces...), the great part of the bones in his face and had a head trauma (fortunately with no consequences).
It's difficult to say if the protec was a positive or negative factor: probably it absorbed part of the impact anyway before breaking, but wearing a full face helmet would have prevented all the hurts in his face...
Anyway... no helmet at all and he would be dead... but I don't think protecs are better than other helmets...