Michael Schumacher in coma

[Frank06]

I've never seen a full-face ski helmet.  Last year a little girl (friend of my niece) was very seriously injured in a ski accident even wearing a  helmet.  She hit her face...

[Milwaukee Midget]

This is from the SATM F2040 abstract -

"This specification defines performance requirements for helmets used in nonmotorized recreational snow sports. The hot, cold, and wet helmets shall be subjected to the dynamic strength retention test. The ambient helmet shall be subjected to the positional stability (roll-off) test. Anvils to be used for impact tests in this specification are described as follows: flat anvil, hemispherical anvil, and edge anvil. All impacting shall be performed in accordance with the specified requirements."

Now the key phrase here - the one that causes me concern - is "nonmotorized recreational snow sports".

Here's a page from REI's wesite, showing a half dozen helmets - they sell others, if you want to dig -

http://www.rei.com/gear/feature/search/Google_Ski/Snow%20Helmet?s_kwcid=sD1FPEx1S_dc|pcrid|35600733605|pkw|ski%20helmets|pmt|e|google|main&gclid=CIyuq_2d3bsCFSISMwodEBkAdA&version=V6

How fast can one get going on a pair of skis?  According to an NPR report, David Courrier hit speeds of 93 MPH during the Winter Olympics in Sapporo in 1972, although that's not typical of speeds on the entire down-hill course - more toward the top.

Let's assume the average recreational skier travels between 15 and 20 mph.

I don't know the weights of the anvils they use to test these things, but I observe that these helmets clearly leave a lot of your head exposed, and that even with a more substantial DOT approved motorcycle helmet, a 20 mph crash can cause head injuries.

So if these are the types of helmets that ski123 is talking about, I would tend to believe that they don't save lives or prevent injuries.  I don't see where they provide much protection at all.

And if there is a push among resort owners to see their guests wearing helmets, then it does make sense that more people will be injured with helmets than not.

Chris (Loud Fart - getting older)

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Okay -- enough of this helmet discussion here on the thread about a fellow racer that's injured.  As of about a minute from now I'm going to start a thread on helmets pro and con.  I've got my opinions and might state them over there.  I'll come back and amend this post with a link to the helmet one -- as soon as I get it set up.

It's over in the Safety topic:  http://www.landracing.com/forum/index.php/topic,13485.0.html  Go have a look and get the discussion started.  Thank you.