Are Snowboarding Helmets Considered Uncool?

Posted by: PoolGrind | Sep 13, 09

For lots of reasons, safety and style have never really been able to get along. Go to any terrain park in the United States and you probably aren't going to see lots of snowboarders with brain buckets. It certainly isn't a funds issue since a good bit of these boarders are sporting the latest freestyle board and jamming out to an mp3 player that costs just as much, but they didn't drop fifty bucks to safeguard their skull. The figures don't fib about snowboarders and snowboarding helmets. Less than half of skiers and snowboarders even own a helmet. The number increases a little for children, just about two thirds of them have snowboarding helmets, likely bought by parents concerned more about their kid's safety than their own.

Anybody can offer you reasons why a helmet is or isn't a requirement on the mountain. For riders who do wear them, it may be based in a previous unpleasant incident. Concussions are not rare among riders. If you've had one before, you probably understand that the danger of serious brain injury doubles with every consecutive concussion you suffer. More than two and you're looking at a big risk for brain dysfunction later in life including memory loss and possible psychological dysfunction.

While no helmet can ever promise that it will save your life, it does offer your noggin a little extra defense that can go a long way. But what about riders who are not in favor of using helmets? While no one is proposing a ban on helmets; some riders certainly would never wear one. It could be due of a bad experience they had before like a heavy helmet resulting in neck pain. Others may have had cheap or improperly-fitting snowboarding helmets that were just annoying to have on. Some riders just think helmets look foolish. They'd rather wear a bandana or a wild hat. It may be personal partiality, but for lots of of these riders the only thing that will get them into a helmet is finding out the hard way why they are so recommended.

Some high profile deaths such as Sonny Bono or, all too freshly Natasha Richardson have brought to light that you can do yourself harm on the slopes in lots of different ways. Even the slighest injury can cause adequate harm in the brain to be lethal. Helmets are the best defense against these small bumps which are the most usual of injuries. Missing a rail in the park can leave you with a headache or dispatch you to the hospital. Even snow, which seems to be made for soft landings, can be misleadingly solid. Packed snow, hidden ice or a piece of terrain park equipment can halt your snowboarding very abruptly if you choose not to shield your noggin.

It's a never ending argument as to whether or not snowboarding helmets can ever be fashionable. But you have to ask yourself what is mainly of value to you. A helmet may be gawky at first and it may make your head hot or scratchy and, yes, you may get the dreaded point and laugh from your buddies. But riding in a helmet is just a way of protecting future years of snowboarding. Rather than gamble missing seasons from a head injury or worse, ending up with a potentially terminal head injury, consider purchasing a helmet. No amount of style criticism is worth not riding in a snowboarding helmet and perhaps putting your life in danger.

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