Helmets .... Is it a Brit thing.

Ian Wickham wrote:
I will be interested if you have seen many european's in helmets on your travels ???

I saw quite a few ESF instructors wearing a helmet last year in Serre Chevalier which suprised me.Not just the ones taking childrens' classes either.

Lizzie-B wrote:

Ian Wickham wrote:
I will be interested if you have seen many european's in helmets on your travels ???

I saw quite a few ESF instructors wearing a helmet last year in Serre Chevalier which suprised me.Not just the ones taking childrens' classes either.

Blimey.....As you know I ski France quite a bit and i have never seen any Instructors wear a helmet, mind you I have met one or two who are helmets
:thumbup:

I've seen quite a few Brits buying helmets in US resorts. In the US most advanced/expert skiers, and instructors wear helmets, so the unhelmeted tend to stand out as beginners, or not very serious about skiing. That creates some social pressure to helmet up (which is not a bad thing).

I ski fairly often with a group of Austrian, German and Bulgarian friends and colleagues, all of whom are far better skiers than me. They all wear helmets, but tell me they have only been doing so for the last 3 years or so as awareness has been raised. On the other hand, it is a mistake to think that wearing a helmet will necessarily prevent head injuries. I suppose, though, that without a helmet, the same bump would turn out to have more serious consequences. As regards "looking simple", well, I'd rather look simple than be knocked into actually being simple ! But that, as others have said, is my personal choice; other skiers have other points of vierw to which they are of course entitled.

But to return to the original question, no, it certainly is not just a Brit thing.

I really don't think it's a Brit thing. It has been mandatory for children towear helmets in most ski areas for many years now, once kids start wearing them they tend to carry on wearing them even when they no longer have to.
In Sweden it was rare to see a bobble anywhere except on x country skiers.
It's your choice but personally I am happy with the extra warmth.

I can confirm I am British, don't wear a helmet, and have just returned from a trip unscathed. I did however bang my head in the cupboard under the stairs whilst putting my stuff away.

Oh the irony...

The first people I saw wearing helmets were Scandinavian off-piste types. I bought one when I started working out here and skiing every day. I'd say it was an anglo-saxon thing; although the Italian middle-aged men (Berlusconis) who like to wear team racing ski gear also favour the visor helmet with microphone attachment.

Ski instructors here tend not to wear helmets so that they can hear better.

The past two or three years in Austria (not yet this year) I saw TV reports about a shocking increase in ski injury rates. Reasons are unclear (possibly: modern skis help unskilled skiers go fast, more artificial snow which is hard, busier pistes). Hence increased awareness and apparently increased risk. Some locals are fixed in their ways and will not wear helmets. Quite a lot have started wearing helmets. Compulsory helmets are not really on the immediate horizon in Austria IMO owing to the economic power of the ski industry, and the difficulty of enforcement.