So there are end-of-season deals out there and no one in my house has had a new helmet for a couple of seasons. Well my husband might have bought one last year. I am a nurse and have seen the damage a head injury can cause. Even the commutative damage from repeated "minor" injuries can change your life. I also watched The Crash Reel (about snowboarder Kevin Pierce) and will never forget that! I bought my slopestyle-competing snowboarder a new helmet the next day after seeing that! I also plan to upgrade us to MIPS ones as we replace them. No one has a had a big crash on their current helmet and I would replace for sure after that. I just wonder about the small bumps both from little falls and dropping them. Mine recently fell out of the car and onto hard pavement when I opened the door. My kids attach theirs to their backpacks and then they hit walls and what not when they turn around to talk to each other on their way out the door. One of my daughter's coaches said you also have to take into account damage from the sun's UV rays breaking down the plastic. We get a lot of sun here during the winter. He says he attended an advanced coaches training where they said every season! He is also working with athletes who are flying many feet in the air and not casual riders. I am trying to be budget-conscious but also feel like you can't put a price on your brain! What do you divas think?
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How often do you get new helmets?
- Thread starter EAVL
- Start date
Gloria
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I have no expertise on replacing helmets without visible damage. But to add more curiosity along the same line... I fell pretty hard a couple weeks ago. In the past I have replaced when cracked or dented. This helmet has a circular pattern of raised dots throughout which have consequently flattened out where my head hit. I'm wondering if they are there to show when the helmet has been compromised or just there to keep the lining more secure. Anyone know?
Not sure on the dots. I had a crash a couple of years ago and hit the front of my head and when I was in the ski patrol hut they were squeezing my helmet this way and that and doing different things (I couldn't tell you what. I was freaking out that I almost died!) and said it looked ok. I do know if the foam is pulling away from the shell it is time to replace. That is what my daughter's looked like when I checked it after watching The Crash Reel. That is the extent of my knowledge.
I just replaced mine after hitting the side of it in a fall. It wasn't a very hard fall, but felt like a glancing blow to the temporal area (yes, I'm a nurse too) when I guess I sort of bounced off the snow. It had a little denting and it was five years old. They're on sale at Backcountry.com, and I'm sure other places too.
marzNC
Angel Diva
Get the impression is that 3-5 years is the most typical recommendations for replacing a helmet that has not been involved in a significant impact. Worth keeping in mind if a helmet is being handed down to between children.
https://www.outsideonline.com/1784631/how-often-should-i-replace-my-helmet
From 2011
https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?threads/how-often-should-you-replace-ski-helmets.12567/
https://www.outsideonline.com/1784631/how-often-should-i-replace-my-helmet
From 2011
https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?threads/how-often-should-you-replace-ski-helmets.12567/
So I got what I think is the most expensive Smith helmet . It has great venting options so you just slide open the vents ( my old helmet you had to take off and pull off vent covers). I paid I think around $200 for it. I know you can get a MIPS helmet for much less, though. I say MIPS as a word, but really don't know if that's right
alison wong
Angel Diva
Still shopping for a helmet. My current helmet is in 6th season. I want to know, is it worth to pay the extra $$ for a MIPS helmet? I am a cautious aspiring intermediate and don't ski fast or do anything aggressive. With that said, is getting a MIPS helmet necessary?
It wasn't that much more, so I figured it couldn't hurt. It would probably be better for me to have MIPS in my cycling helmet. I do lots of road cycling and think (but am not sure) there's much more potential for head injury in that sport.
This topic has always interested me but typically with regards to bike helmets as we are biking family in the summer and I have a long history with road bikes. I found a few articles related to this awhile back. I found they probably made the issues more muddy for me than helped. LOL But I'll post them for you as in the very least, it is food for though. These articles are in relation to bike helmets, but I suspect the MIPS info and the info on UV degradation and such would carry over to ski helmets.
I think probably the most interesting tid bit out of all of these articles for me, is that you head has MIPS built in. Helmets don't stay statically stuck to the head like they may in helmet crash tests. Hair, sweat, hair products, etc. cause the helmet to slip on the head. I don't anyone who has a helmet they can't move on their head. And that sliding on the outside of the helmet appears to have effects similar to the inner caging on MIPS. So some helmet manufacturers are coming out with outer liners that slide. And one thing about skiing is that, if you land on the snow, your helmet is going to have some slide action. Can't say the same for just smashing into a tree...but I would think there would be less grip to snow crashes than there would be pavement (bike) crashes?
https://www.helmets.org/mips.htm
https://www.bhsi.org/replace.htm
https://www.bhsi.org/up1505a.htm
If anyone has any thoughts, would love to hear them.
I think probably the most interesting tid bit out of all of these articles for me, is that you head has MIPS built in. Helmets don't stay statically stuck to the head like they may in helmet crash tests. Hair, sweat, hair products, etc. cause the helmet to slip on the head. I don't anyone who has a helmet they can't move on their head. And that sliding on the outside of the helmet appears to have effects similar to the inner caging on MIPS. So some helmet manufacturers are coming out with outer liners that slide. And one thing about skiing is that, if you land on the snow, your helmet is going to have some slide action. Can't say the same for just smashing into a tree...but I would think there would be less grip to snow crashes than there would be pavement (bike) crashes?
https://www.helmets.org/mips.htm
https://www.bhsi.org/replace.htm
https://www.bhsi.org/up1505a.htm
If anyone has any thoughts, would love to hear them.
santacruz skier
Angel Diva
I'm getting MIPS for my next helmet. It certainly can't hurt, can it?
MIPS is an acronym and I don't remember what it stands for. It is an additional thing inside the helmet that can absorb rotational forces. It used to be like a $200 difference but it is now a $10-20 difference in ski and bike helmets.
that's what I thought!
mustski
Angel Diva
Multi-Directional Impact Protection. It's supposed to add extra protection for the brain. The idea being that the brain moves around inside our skull and if the helmet is firmly planted (i.e.: a 2nd skull) it won't prevent concussions. MIPS helmets have an interior shell that moves within the helmet and, therefore, is believed to reduce concussions. As everybody else said, it can't hurt. But does anybody really have a helmet that doesn't move at all on impact?
That is exactly one of the points in the first article I posted.
