Aldi’s Annual Ski Kit Sale This Week

Dave Mac wrote:Four years ago I explained the difference between the standards.

Ski Helmet EN1077, Class A or B.

Cycling Helmet EN1078, considered by the BHRF to be inadequate.

You forget the flashing red light bit.

verbier_ski_bum wrote:I would be suspicious of a helmet that cost 15-20 pounds. Unless you want to wear a helmet for the sake of wearing one and not for what it does, go for some known reputable brands. It's not a fashion statement or any statement at all, it's a protection... I need a new helmet this season - in 6 or 7 years that I started wearing one I took three big tumbles where helmet did a very good job as I walked away from all three laughing (well, one ended up in a whip lash, but could have been a concussion), so probably time for it to retire. Not looking forward to spending $$, but it has to be done.

Some sense at last.

Will you be buying one with a flashing red light on the back, or do you also see that as needless/dangerous/a mistake?

Aldi ski helmets are made by a German company called Cratoni and normally retail for €99.95 http://test.cratoni.de/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=category&layout=cratoni&virtuemart_category_id=25&Itemid=823&lang=en Aldi are just bypassing the normal distribution channels and applying a smaller mark up than a sports shop would.

As there hasn't been a reduction in the number of severe head injuries suffered by skiers since helmets have been widely used it is likely that the current standard is inadequate. 250g is pretty high and 12mph is pretty slow, in the tests the helmets are dropped crown first onto a flat anvil which isn't a real life occurrence.

In 2014 a Swedish insurance company asked the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm to test 13 helmets in a more realistic manner. Unfortunately the full report is only available in Swedish http://www.folksam.se/polopoly_fs/1.121986!/Rapport_Folksams_skidhj%C3%A4lmtest_2014.pdf but there is a summary in English http://issuu.com/go_out/docs/folksam_test_results_in_english_10-

Might be worth a look if you're thinking of buying a new one.

Ski helmets are only designed to absorb a single impact, if you drop one on the ground whilst putting it on it's buggered. The recommended replacement interval is 3 – 5 years, the materials used to make them degrade over time.

Verbier SB ~ you usually add so much!
So if price is your determinator, and En1077 is the qualification, do you equate price to protection? I am sure this is not what you mean.

Swingbeep, thanks for that intrinsic contribution. I guess that EN 1077 should be viewed with equal suspicion as EN 1078 ~ and yet I don't hear a peep from the ski industry.

Yes, when the helmet has been dropped, in theory, it is goosed. But that is not the discussion. Swingbeep has already indicated that the same product can cost 5 times more, depending on source and gullibility. In fact the price magnifier can be much more.

Certainly some J2ski knowledge has moved on, because when I made the submission a few years back, the venerated skier from Switzerland didn't understand class A, class B.

Yes, there will be a greater surface area protection from class A, and it will cost more for that ~ I bought my D-i-L a Class A helmet, (mainly, but not entirely, because of the fit), but the drop test is no different.

I know it's a bit more expensive (and I'm not saying anything will be wrong with the Aldi helmet) but Costco are selling excellent quality Bolle helmets for £42.

Cheers, and happy skiing.

Tony_H wrote:

verbier_ski_bum wrote:I would be suspicious of a helmet that cost 15-20 pounds. Unless you want to wear a helmet for the sake of wearing one and not for what it does, go for some known reputable brands. It's not a fashion statement or any statement at all, it's a protection... I need a new helmet this season - in 6 or 7 years that I started wearing one I took three big tumbles where helmet did a very good job as I walked away from all three laughing (well, one ended up in a whip lash, but could have been a concussion), so probably time for it to retire. Not looking forward to spending $$, but it has to be done.

Some sense at last.

Will you be buying one with a flashing red light on the back, or do you also see that as needless/dangerous/a mistake?

Grow up.

*** LACK OF SENSE OF HUMOUR ALERT ***

My mistake :(