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Hats to protect your noggin!

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2003 4:55 am
by Brettal
Now, I have in my hand (figuratively, else how would I be typing?) a state tax return of $125. Coincidentally, the price of helmets at Grateful Heads is $124.99.

I happen to be in need of a helmet, as my current one is... er... we'll not go there (but it rhymes with "Sho' wreck"). The above coincidence is making me salivate, for obvious reasons.

Anyway, I also have a question, what with all these companies producing nice helmets: What should I go with? I mean, I know that, as one of the archived posts says, that I need to ask myself, "How much is my head worth?" Y'know, I like my head the way it is, so I'm willing to shell out the money if it means my noggin' doesn't get cracked on a rock. But I've never really looked into specific companies or gotten more than a general, "make sure it offers protection front and back of your head, and ears, and doesn't have holes for drainage since a well-designed helmet doesn't need them." From a quick glance at various websites, there's several that fit the bill. I traditionally have had difficulty finding headgear that fits easily (fat head, rest of me's skinny, go figure). So, any suggestions?

Helments

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2003 2:18 pm
by Sir Adam
Greetings...

Grateful heads are good, personally I'd order one of the old "Resin Heads" designs through PS Composites-I've seen them hold up well in a crunch. Somewhere in the archives is a great post C1deli started talking about different helmets and what he's found....

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2003 3:45 pm
by Timzjatl
I really like my shred ready shaggy, it was the only composite helmet that fit my fat melon right. It doesn't cover the ears, but has decent rear coverage, and has taken a few hard hits with me not feeling them. Definitley go out and try some on if you have a big noggin, I found that most helmets were too short in the front to back aspect for my head, and a little wide side to side. My Shaggy is just right... FYI, the shaggy is supposedly made for big headed and big haired people.
Tim

brain buckets

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2003 12:54 am
by Mike W.
I have been thinking of a composite helmet for a while. But, about a month ago I took a real hard hit to the back of the head (witnesses report the boat stopped moving downstream & went UP). I had a headache for a couple of days & only a very slight scratch on my helmet. It's a Bell with some type of plastic shell.

The sticker inside says that it "meets prEN 1385: 1996 standard. Bell Sports. Helmet for canoeing & whitewater sports".

I bought it from NRS. I can not find info on Bell's web-site or anywhere else on the helmet now.

It must have looked like a hard hit, because one of the guys I was paddling with told me a week later that he had bought one off e-bay. I need to tell him that it is a CANOEING helmet & that he should not kayak with it. Yeah, I keep telling them that I have enough stuff on hand to convert another boat!

Whatever you get, be sure to try it on with & without whatever liner you use in cold weather.

Just my $.02,
Mike W.

Helmet Blurb

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2003 9:52 pm
by C1Deli
For C1, with lots of rolling (i assume, unless you are a superstar!) and face down rolling at that, i would always recommend a really good helmet and a facemask too.

Here is an article wot i wrote recently:

If you have a ten dollar head wear a ten dollar helmet (Evil Knievel)

Having done a lot of reading, and looking at standards and design of motorbike, bicycle and military helmets (including bomb disposal!) I concluded that any helmet worth wearing on whitewater -- especially if you capsize a lot (hey, don't we all! :)) - should have these characteristics:

My standard:

Kevlar/vinylester or carbon/kevlar composite shell, at least 3mm preferably 5-9 mm thick

15 mm stiff foam liner -- this is what absorbs the impact so must not be too soft -- it you can push your finger through to the shell then it is way too soft. Should be very firm, and EPP (expanded polyprop) or minicel.

Ear coverage -- don't want'em ripped off, after all. I like my ears the way they are.

3 or four way straps

Straps joined to helmet are widely spaced and prevent slipping helmet -- vital to keep your hat on, and not slipped so exposing eg. forehead to rocks.

Bright colour -- natural carbon or black or dark blue or white-helmeted swimmers are nigh on invisible ...

Faceguard -- paddlers actually incur more face injuries than they do head injuries ...

No drain holes -- not ideal as they can weaken the shell a little and are not needed in a properly-fitting helmet.

Liner foam comes right down to edge of helmet as that's where many of the hits are taken.


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In more detail:

1. Shell
The terms used by manufacturers are confusing -- 'kevlar / resin / vinylester / carbon / 7 layers / glass / etc, and I suspect they refer to a wide range of composites and hence a wide range of strengths. The same with the plastics like PE, ABS and PC which would be highly variable in their strengths, depending on formulation.

In general, the shell should not flex a great deal if you squeeze it in your hands. This generally means a composite with kevlar in it, at least 3mm preferably 5-9 mm thick

2. Foam Liner
At least 15 mm of stiff foam liner -- this is what absorbs ths impact so must not be too soft -- if you can push your finger into the foam all the way to the shell, then the foam is basically useless. It will absorb a small hit, the most of the energy incurred in a big hit will get transferred straight to your head. Get a helmet that has a STIFF foam lining. You will feel some of the smaller hits more, but will have much more protection for the big hits -- the ones that can render you unconscious and of course it is these that lead to fatalities.

EPP (Expanded polypropylene) is the foam of choice for muli-hit helmets, although EPS (expanded polystyrene) as used in motorcycle and bicycle helmets gives the most impact asorbtion -- it just needs to be replaced after a hard hit.

One thing I have not yet seen is multilayer foam? Surely a three layer makeup with super dense on the outside leading to softer on the inside would cope with a range of hits. You really feel the small impacts with the hard foam helmets, withthe payoff that you won't be knocked unconcious when you hit a big one. But why not have the best of both worlds and have an extra layer of soft foam for the small knocks too?

3. Straps and Fit
Helmets slip all the time. Adjustable 3 or 4 way straps are a requirement. Heads are funny-shpaed things and you must test and add little bits of foam until you get a good fit. If the helmet slips back while you are in a holem exposing your forehead to rocks, then that is bad news!

4. Facemasks
I would argue that a facemask is essential for both playboating and certainly for creeking. Facemasks are unpopular, but anecdotally it seems that the face takes more hits than any other part of the head. People are hit in the face by their own and other people's paddles. They also expose their face to the riverbed when laying on the back desk in a capsize position -- the increasing popular 'back deck roll' which is often very fast, making up for the increased face exposure, but which does not always work first time ...

There is concern amongst boaters that facemasks might snag on branches etc, causing neck injury. The face mask should not have too large a gap in the mesh to avoid this.

I also looked at polycarbonate transparent face masks used in industry, but they seem a bit flimsy. The ones use for bomb disposal might be thick enough. However, there are considerable issues with fogging and water droplets reducing visibility which would be unacceptable.

5. Occipital locks
These are all the rage now: lidds.com, prijon.com and shredyready.com all have a band under the back fo the helmet that can be cranked tight with a dial.

6. Colour
Should be bright. Natural carbon or black or white-helmeted swimmers are nigh on invisible, making rescue much harder. I hear that in Canada pfds (bouyancy aids) have to be a bright colour.

Yet there are many dark coloured helmets on the market right now.

7. EPS as shell would be replaced anyway
Prijon are a manufacturer who use EPS in their kayak helmets. I imagine that they feel the impact absorbtion is excellent, and that a kevlar shell would need to be replaced anyway after a hard hit, so why compromise by using multi-impact foam?
http://www.prijon.com/Katalog_D/DEUTSCH ... asserhelme

8. Full coverage
Helmets with ear coverage make up make sense for both playboaters and creekers. However, there is an enromously strong fashion trend away from full coverage. But as I said, there is a large group of paddlers (playboaters) who paddle most of the time on artificial white water courses, weirs, or selected stretches of river that have few rock obstacles and which they know extremely well, so maybe they can choose for themselves ....

9. Rustproof metals
Surely no-one would make a helmet that would get rusty parts? Worth checking for anyway.

10. Inflation
I would love to see inflatable outfitting, as per some of the football helmets. Fit is so vital.

11. Drain holes
I don't see why a properly close fitting helmet would need drain holes. And they must weaken the shell. They also let heat out which can be an important safety problem when you consider hypothermia is a common risk for paddlers in cold weather.

12. Head Injury Statistics
There have been relatively few deaths attributed to head injury (about 5% of all whitewater deaths according to my analysis of AWA records 1975 - 2000). However, all kayakers take head knocks, and I wonder how much a slight knock that does not leave a noticeable mark on either helmet or user has contributed to cases of bad judgement or a lack of alertness which in turn led to an accident that was classed as something other than a head injury. Perhaps the term 'Head impact-attributable accidents' would be better.

13. Example helmets
Finally, here are what I think are the best helmets on the market right now. However, this opinion is based purely on specs as these helmets are not all found in the UK:

EPP Foam Liner:
Lidds: Nato http://www.lidds.com/nato.html
Shred Ready: Full Mental Jacket http://www.shredready.com/fullmentaljacket.asp
Sweet: Rooster http://www.sweet.no

Minicel Foam Liner:
Grateful Heads: Edge/Hard Hit/Drop Zone http://www.gratefulheads.com/hlmt-features.htm
PS Composites: Alpaca or Monitor http://www.customkayak.com/html/accessories.html

EPS Liner:
Prijon: Protector would also qualify if user paints it a bright colour. Note that this helmet has an EPS (polystyrene) liner, which means it will have the best impact absorbtion of all, but will need to be replaced after a hard hit. http://www.prijon.com/Katalog_D/DEUTSCH ... asserhelme

Plastic helmets with EPP:
Sport Helmets: Cascade Full Cut http://www.sporthelmets.com/sporthelmets/WITS.htm
Prijon: Surf 2002 http://www.prijon.com/Katalog_D/DEUTSCH ... asserhelme


14. Further reading

This article is a decent introduction:

http://www.paddlermagazine.com/issues/2 ... _123.shtml

And David Weber has done an excellent review of Lidds' helmets which also covers some good basics:

http://boatertalk.com/article.php?id=76

15. Conclusion

After all this though, what do I wear now? I have stopped wearing my Protec Classic, which has very soft foam and a very soft and flexible plastic shell. Instead I have the Prijon Surf 2002 (£35) which is a stiffer plastic and which has the same liner system as the top of the line Protector (£95), and I have added a black Palm polo facemask (£15) which I modified to use three attachement points as recommended by Wilko below. However, as I stated above, the important thing it to find what is right for you. I would be looking at the Sweet Rooster and the Protector and the Full Mental Jacket if my head was smaller and a different shape. Figure it for yourself and make sure you have a good helmet!

Because you've only got one brain ...



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Wilko on Facemasks
What I learned about adding a faceguard is that it's important to stay away from the edge of the helmet when you make any holes in it. I prefer melting for plastic helmets, as that lessens the chance of the edge of the holes starting a crack. I have also drilled holes in a couple of Wildwater helmets and then put a small soldering iron through each of the holes shortly to make the edges smoother.

When you drill holes through a composite helmets, I recommend using the pre-drilled holes for the helmet straps when possible, adding a little resin to the edges of the drilled holes to prevent the fibres around the hole to soak up water. Go for the stainless steel rings, bolts and nuts, and don't forget to file off the sharp edges of extending thread and nuts. It's rather easy to lose some skin off your fingers when you brush past the sharp extended edge of a steel bolt. I always use steel rings (are they called "washers" in English?) to spread the force of the pull on a bolt over a larger surface area of the helmet.

I dislike the faceguards with big openings (like one rail down over the nose and one from ear to ear), because they still leave a lot of the face open to injury. Also, the risk of snagging becomes somewhat bigger than with the smaller size hole wire frame guards. I prefer the darker faceguards (black plastic covering) over the lighter ones (chrome, stainless steel or white plastic covering), as they reflect the sun so much less, thereby being almost unnoticable when wearing them.

I always had issues with the older models of faceguard available requiring the holes to be drilled rather close to one another. Recently I bought a new model which has only three holes, one in the middle and one on each side of the faceguard. It looks just as sturdy, but is easier to attach to a helmet with a small visor. I attached one of those to my girlfriend's Wildwater helmet.

I've added "canoe polo" style wire frame faceguards to a number of helmets (Prijon Korsica, Romer ?, Wildwater, Prijon (older model), Grateful Heads Dropzone), and failed to do so with some other helmets. I look for helmets without drainage holes, but besides the strength issues which Edwin already addressed, I also think that because of the holes, less inside area is covered with foam, so that more of the inpact force is transferred to a smaller area of foam on the head. More importantly, I dislike a cold head. The holes not only let the warmth of my head escape more easily, it also lets in too much cold water.

I've probably forgotten a lot of things I should mention with regard to faceguards, but it's getting late here...

Wilko

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GREAT INFORMATION-THANK YOU C1Deli!

Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2003 11:37 pm
by Sir Adam
Greetings...

Great stuff! Mind if I put it up under an "equipment" section here at Cboats? (assuming I get around to it before things start running :lol: ) I would give you credit for it, and link to your page if you'd like....

WOW!

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2003 12:29 am
by Brettal
C1Deli, took your old post, detailed it, fleshed it out... that was a great read. Made selection so much easier :)

Adam - You think it'd be better in the Equipment section of cboats.net, or in the FAQ? To follow previous patterns (a la paddles and such), you could add the links to specific helmet/manufacturers, while the explanation would go in the FAQ. Or I could redo the FAQ so it fits better on cboats.net and transfer the reformulated stuff onto whatever the server ends up being?

snug fit

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2003 4:11 am
by MotorCityOC-1
If a good, snug fit is essential to getting the most protection out of a helmet, then will it be neccesary to have two helmets- one for normal conditions, and one for cold weather paddling?

My current, better than nothing, Pro-tec plastic piece-o-crap will at least accomodate my toasty warm windstopper fleece hat, and still fit okay without it. When I shell out the bigger bucks for a decent lid, I'll probably size it without anything underneath. When the cold weather rolls around, it seems like I'll be stuck with a tight fitting, good quality helmet but a cold head.

Does anybody out there actually have two helmets FOR THIS REASON. Do you just cram your already snug helmet on over your neoprene skullcap/fleece hat/whatever? Is that even possible with a proper fitting composite helmet?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2003 10:45 am
by sbroam
Too minimize summer/winter fit problems, use as thin a head warmer as possible - I have a "fuzzy rubber" skull cap from Rapid Style, plenty warm and a lot thinner than my old fleece cap. Also, the old fleece one would soak up water on a capsize, which would then run down in my eyes for the next minute or two upon righting...

Two thumbs up for the Lidds Nato - good coverage for my oversized melon and I think it is working. I've dinked it a couple of times and my head is none the worse for wear.

Scott

Question on kids helmets...

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2003 5:33 pm
by PAC
Since the topic is helmets, and this is always an area of interest to me, does anyone have thoughts, ideas, etc. concerning head gear for children?
Last year I had the lad and lass in old Ace helmets (showing my age by having a couple of these around) when paddling class A and I. I used these to stress the importance of both the life jacket and helmet in paddling WW.
Now that we are moving on to II+ with the boy :) , I picked up a hockey helmet.
I looked at composites but the price and fit were prohibative. As you know composites are not cheap and getting one his size (he is 8) was not happening.
Not to mention he will growing out of a helmet in a year (based on ski helmet expereince). Kids are also notoriously hard on gear!
The youth sized hockey helmet is adjustable (4 screws that enable the front to move out) and provides good coverage - except in the face area (no sheild)?
Should I add a sheild (I like to lead but example but I do not have sheilds / masks :o on my helmets -WhiteWater, Slugger, and Protect)?
Thoughts and thanks! :D

Swim cap

Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2003 12:42 am
by Mike W.
I switched from a fleece noggin sock (which is great when dry) to a silicon swim cap this winter. The swim cap is much drier & is very thin which eliminates helmet fit problems. The problem with the swim cap is that it tends to ride up just enough to let water in my ears. Guess I need to get my ear plug back out. Now that the water is warm I can probably just stow the swim cap. YEEHAAA
Mike W.

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2003 1:08 am
by Guest
Grateful heads have interchangable liners (they aren't glued in, extra liners cost about $10), so it's possible to have a warm weather liner and a cold weather/skull cap liner. I've found that just wearing a fuzzy rubber skull cap doesn't change the fit enough to make having a second liner neccesary, but I've got friends who have two liners. I highly reccommend GH, and I'd say go for the extreme lay-up.

Jeremy