Do you wear a helmet?

Ever more popular, helmets seem a logical choice for kiddies (as their heads are closer to ground/other peoples skis,boards) but there seem to be pros and cons:

+ protect well against minor knocks and bumps
+ some protection in a big crash
+ keep yer head warm!

- reduce spatial/situational awareness

Given that head injuries are a (thankfully) rare occurrence and avoidance is better than cure - is the loss of awareness worth it? (i.e. are you more likely to injure yourself 'cos you didn't see it coming?)

There are, of course, different designs of helmet but anything that impedes vision or hearing at all can't be a good thing.

For excellent coverage of this and other ski-related safety and injury concerns see Ski-Injury.com.

So, anyone here wear one - does it impede you?

Giro G9.
Wouldn't go without it.
It's warm when I need warmth, and has enough vents to keep me cool as well.

I understand that in Italy from this season skiers up to the age of 14 are obliged by law to wear a helmet. I think you can usually rent a lid on the spot but it may be worth thinking of buying if you're heading for the Dolomites or Italian Alps with children. This morning I read an interesting review of Boeri ski helmets with some kind of "room to grow" feature - any of you J2ers had an experience with these? Also, on the subject of helmets and their relative benefits/drawbacks, it would be interesting to see some stats regarding head and non-head injuries per thousand skier/hours with and without helmets. Wonder if anyone has this kind of data - big insurance players perhaps. THe ski-injury.com site is very interesting, but limited to Scotland, which with all due respect, might not be very representative for a number of reasons.

Croc (?)... could you post a link to the article? Not come across a "room to grow" feature in a helmet, although it might be useful for the rest of my ski-gear (middle-age spread'n'all).

Most people I've spoke to seem to rate keeping their heads warm as a major positive.

Loss of hearing concerns me a bit. A couple of seasons ago I took one of my friends kids (he wearing a helmet) out for a ski. At one point I had to frantically catch up with him as he plainly couldn't hear me yelling at him to avoid a large / deep gully he was heading for...

Many of the designs do have "ear vents" of some kind though.

Dave - re the Boeri helmet here's the pointer
http://www.snowjournal.com/article631.html
When you hit the page run a search for "Boeri". The article also has some interesting things to say about new materials being used to used keep skiers/boarder warm dry and cosy. Somewhat strangely the Boeri home site seems to say nothing at all about the intriguing helmet mentioned above.
On the subject of room-to-grow I see Phenix have an offering for small skiers (http://www.vphenix.com/alpine/products/k/sukusuku/index)
but haven't thought shape-shifting middle-age skiers yet....
Returning to helmets - I also saw this site which looks interesting
http://www.natives.co.uk/equipment/helmets.htm
(Ok that's enough links ED.)
Best rgds
El Croco Loco

"It is better to be off-piste than the opposite."