Brainbucket or no brainbucket?

Not sure if this has already been discussed and I'm a bit afraid where this might lead, but who here wears a helmet while climbing? Who doesn't? Of more interest, why?

I'm just curious since it seems the majority don't, but in full disclosure I'm a chronic helmet-wearer and maybe this discussion will win some folks over to this side!

To each his/her own, but whether I'm at the sharp end of a long trad route or toproping or even belaying at a small crag, I've never felt comfortable without a helmet. Things happen.

And I've always wondered why some of our best climbers (in all disciplines) don't wear helmets. Yeah, I know they're good and gotta look cool for the sponsors, but they're also the ones pushing the limits, taking the big whippers, on the rocks the most, going into uncharted territory.

Enlighten me please!

I wear a helmet when I know the area has loose rock(I hate rock fall). I normally wear a helmet when ice/trad/multi-pitch climbing. I hardly wear a helmet when sport climbing.

The reasons differ; it is self explanatory when there is loose rock in the area. I wear a helmet on trad in case a piece of rock falls off, a piece or two of pro pops out(thus having a weird fall), and/or if my partner drops a piece of gear. I feel safe not wearing a helmet on sport climbs, this reason I can't explain, i just feel safe and confident.

Now, for those who push the trad climbing door, I cannot understand why they do not wear a helmet. I suggest you do whatever makes you feel comfortable. I'd rather you feel safe and secure in your helmet (which helps give you a level head when climbing) then to not wear one. Who cares what people will say, and screw them if they do look at you weird, it is your life and you only have 1 shot at it.

I wear a helmet if I think there's a decent possibility of rockfall.

any trad, multipitch yes, sport only when im going to rappel, or if its ledgy. def when its slab, im very glad i had one on last sunday, took a low angle fall and it could've been pretty bad.

if im just following or toproping, forget about it.
but yeah if the situation is going to lead to a possibly dangerous fall, i'll have the helmet on.

I'm a helmet on everything type guy.

In the group of people I climb with, a helmet is standard equipment. But I'm mainly a trad climber.

Evan

I wear a helmet whenever something might fall on me, or whenever I'm in a position where an unexpected fall could generate enough force to crack my skull.

The only climbs worth doing require a helmet.

All-around-bad-ass Kelly Cordes wrote an entertaining blog post about getting bit by the rock on an overhanging sport whipper:

kellycordes.wordpress.com/

Back in the 80's almost no one did, even w/ trad. Since then there has been a constant upswing of people using them. It would be anybody's guess, but no doubt numerous lives have been saved due to the increased awareness, which clearly puts non-users in the chance-taking side of the equation.
That said, I have a giant melon and any helmet I wear sits really high up; so put me in the stupid category.
As for sport climbing, hang out at Wienie Way at Penetente some weekend and watch people fall off the crux and rap the back of their head on the wall. A good friend of mine flipped backwards on a different route there and got a good bonk too, since then he's been an avid helmet guy.

I wear one for ice or multi pitch or when in an institutional setting but for cragging I rarely do.

I wear a helmet when I'm ice climbing every time. When I climb trad I sometimes wear one depending on the area and what I'm doing. I don't think I've ever worn a helmet sport climbing.

This has been beaten to death on many forums. Each side ends up taking their own sides based on the level of risk acceptance/aversion that everyone experiences.

My attitude is its more important on what goes on between the ears as compared to what goes over it. I've seen people who where walking clusterf#%^ and putting a helmet on their head isn't going to do them any good. Remember, hitting the ground above 25ft, the risk of death increases exponentially, and its not only head injuries but also things like aortic dissections (if you rapidly decelerate or stop when the contraction of the heart has completely filled the aorta, the mass of the blood in rapid develeration rips it from the heart).

Myself, I predominately climb trad and ice and rarely sport climb. When I ice climb I always do since shist is always coming down. When I trad climb, (ok, I have to say I am an absolute #$$hole) I mostly climb fairly hard stuff (this year I haven't climbed anything easier then 5.10c and 75% of the climbs have been 5.12 or harder, which tends to be steeper with less ledges on them) and the falls are clean. If I was climbing something where I could be flipped on, was ledgey and such, then I'd consider it.

Is there a reason not to wear a helmet. With modern helmets not really but I just don't like to wear them (except ice climbing, and then they keep my head that much warmer).

I always wear one when ice or alpine climbing. I wear one when trad climbing or when sport climbing somewhere w/higher than normal rockfall potential (as long as I don't forget to bring it in either of those cases).

I can't recall ever having it and wishing I hadn't brought it along. But, there have been several times when I didn't have it and wished I did.

Crag Dweller wrote:I always wear one when ice or alpine climbing. I wear one when trad climbing or when sport climbing somewhere w/higher than normal rockfall potential (as long as I don't forget to bring it in either of those cases). I can't recall ever having it and wishing I hadn't brought it along. But, there have been several times when I didn't have it and wished I did.

Mike (a chronic helmet user) who had to take his helmet off (as shown below the overhang) since you end up plastering your head against the opposing wall, and the helmet prevented him from smearing against the wall so he ditched the helmet.

mountainproject.com/v/arizo…

I wear a helmet on routes that require a head jam. Is that like wearing tape?

Always wear it, for any climb outdoors.

While the helmets I've used definitely meet the requirements for protection from falling rock/ice, I wish they offered better coverage for the instances of me falling and banging my head on the rock. I know styrofoam helmets are meant to do this (better relative to the hard shell), but the coverage is still pretty sparse on the sides and back of the head when thinking about the inverted falls we sometimes take (or tumblers in the alpine terrain). Compare the coverage we have on climbing helmets to that of hardshell skate helmets or BMX helmets (i.e., ProTec and such). They have foam coverage on the sides and back (under a hardshell) that extends way farther than climbing helmets. Now skate helmets aren't designed for high impact forces, but BMX ones are, and for off-axis hits as well. I think their impact cert is pretty legit. Of course they don't have a penetration test anywhere close to what the CE and UIAA tests climbing helmets for, but I wonder how different their hardshell would behave in such a test relative to our hardshells.

Legs Magillicutty wrote:I wear a helmet on routes that require a head jam. Is that like wearing tape?

I actually specifically avoid helmets if I expect my head to contact the rock as a matter of course. That is, I have a pretty clear idea of where my head ends and find that having the helmet catch, jam, or otherwise interfere unexpectedly can contribute to a fall, as well as keeping me from getting into the best positions sometimes. My theory is that if wearing a helmet noticeably increases the odds that I fall, then the safety benefits of wearing one (outside of rock fall) are mitigated. If seat belts interfered with my ability to avoid crashes, I would similarly put that on balance with the safety gains. Even so, I wear a helmet constantly, with the one exception being my home area since there are so many offwidths there.

Legs Magillicutty wrote:I wear a helmet on routes that require a head jam. Is that like wearing tape?

Cheater!

Being an ice climber, I'm a helmet person most all the time. Got my old orange 'Joe Brown' helmet from the late 70's that held up until I bought a Rock Star' helmet about 10 years ago. Modern ones are soo light you just can't complain.

Erik W wrote:Always wear it, for any climb outdoors. While the helmets I've used definitely meet the requirements for protection from falling rock/ice, I wish they offered better coverage for the instances of me falling and banging my head on the rock. I know styrofoam helmets are meant to do this (better relative to the hard shell), but the coverage is still pretty sparse on the sides and back of the head when thinking about the inverted falls we sometimes take (or tumblers in the alpine terrain). Compare the coverage we have on climbing helmets to that of hardshell skate helmets or BMX helmets (i.e., ProTec and such). They have foam coverage on the sides and back (under a hardshell) that extends way farther than climbing helmets. Now skate helmets aren't designed for high impact forces, but BMX ones are, and for off-axis hits as well. I think their impact cert is pretty legit. Of course they don't have a penetration test anywhere close to what the CE and UIAA tests climbing helmets for, but I wonder how different their hardshell would behave in such a test relative to our hardshells.

This is one of the problems I always had. Even when I wore a helmet I didn't feel like it was protecting me because it sits so high on the top of my head and only covers the top of my head. Add to that the fact that it wobbled around, and it really sucked. The tighter I clicked it the higher it would sit on my head and the more it would wobble.

I realized that the in my opinion the ideal helmet is like a pro-tec helmet, which has a tight fit all around and on top of your head. I ended up getting a Grivel Salamander, which fits better and protects better IMO than the ones I had used in the past, the Petzl Elios and BD halfdome. I feel like I'm actually wearing a helmet instead of having a shell sit on the very top of my head.

I always wear a helmet.

Beth Rodden seems to be changing her mind about helmets:

petzl.com/us/outdoor/news-2…

Helmets are PPE, i.e. they are the best solution when the problem cannot otherwise be avoided or negated. I don't wear a helmet and I don't climb in places with loose rock when there are people around to dislodge it.