Wear helmets, ye kids especially

Becca Joy Steinbrecherwrote:

I get it, people don't wear helmets a lot while sport climbing. I don't agree with this for children though. You know, their bones are softer and all. This is spurred by a recent film showing the climber as a kid quite a lot in home videos leading sport climbs doing hard moves around ~7 years old or so. I don't like to see it. Hopefully we can get better at wearing helmets all around. High favor to MIPS helmets. I'm probably sensitive to this because I took a lead fall this year and my helmet saved my life. I always wear a helmet for trad or sport projecting/try hard go's or even less effortful go's. Don't even get me started on films with trad leaders sans helmet ahhhh. Not a good look, guys. Skinny heads without helmets on look weird

Do you wear a helmet while bouldering? Why or why not?

It's important that we have this argument every 2 years, because a lot of minds get changed. Not.

Tradibanwrote:

Do you wear a helmet while bouldering? Why or why not?

Shit you not I met a guy bouldering in a helmet this winter. 

Skyler Scruggswrote:

Shit you not I met a guy bouldering in a helmet this winter. 

That's crazy! Imagine wanting to protect your skull while bouldering. Insane. As if a bad fall could possibly happen.

imagine installing a special seat in your car to protect kids in accidents! the expense! the erosion of our freedoms to inflict pain on the next generation!  overreach!!!

Skyler Scruggswrote:

Shit you not I met a guy bouldering in a helmet this winter. 

https://youtu.be/lVN_hQPalBo?si=YVUV4RxoHf8dlBSb

Was it this guy?

Skyler Scruggswrote:

Shit you not I met a guy bouldering in a helmet this winter. 

7/10 times I wear a helmet bouldering. Though if I’m bouldering, something has already gone terribly wrong.

FrankPSwrote:

That's crazy! Imagine wanting to protect your skull while bouldering. Insane. As if a bad fall could possibly happen.

Did you guys make fun of kids at school wearing helmets? Why judge others for their own personal risk assessment? 

Wear a seatbelt because even though it’s rare to be useful, it protects that one uncontrolled scenario when it occurs when nothing else will.

Rockfall is probably the most uncontrolled aspect of rock climbing. Ive seen enough holds break and launch near me at sport crags while belaying. 

I wear a helmet even while soloing for this very reason.

Joseph W. Duttonwrote:

Very interesting concept. I’d be curious to see any studies with data to back that up. I wouldn’t guess any helmet manufacturer would be interested in a study like that because although mips has been shown to be a helpful innovation in some circumstances what it definitely is, is a marketing tool that helps sell more expensive helmets. 

https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/kask-wg11-rotational-energy-impact-test-and-mips/

I just want people to wear helmets and some helmets that use Mips are cost prohibitive compared to helmets without mips. There is no disadvantage of using mips,  but is there really a tangible benefit?

Helmets are so lightweight and comfortable these days, there’s only two reasons not to wear one: (1) you think helmets look dorky, or (2) you are old and refuse to change your habits. Neither is a very good reason, in my opinion. But you do you.

If you’re making money of the sport via photos or video, I think you have a responsibility to model safe practices, which most of the time, means wearing a helmet.

thomas elliswrote:

Did you guys make fun of kids at school wearing helmets? Why judge others for their own personal risk assessment? 

I believe you missed Frank’s sarcasm

Would you tell someone at the crag they are being unsafe and irresponsible if they ran out a trad climb more than you would feel comfortable doing? Or if they skipped a bolt on a sport climb that you would feel unsafe doing? If not why is that different than telling others they need to be wearing a helmet? Curious where the line on imposing your own risk tolerance on others gets drawn. I’m not advocating for climbing without a helmet, just trying to apply this thought broadly. I also understand this thread started about children wearing helmets but it’s clearly drifted. 

Freedom is making an informed decision (foolish or wise) as long as the first order consequences are limited to you. Children, by virtue of being soft brained little morons (god love em) are incapable of making informed decisions especially when evaluating risk. Make the little fuckers wear helmets until their brains are developed enough to undermine themselves, the way the good lord intended. 

My thought is if you don’t wear a helmet, don’t expect anyone to hold your skull together if you’re involved in a freak accident.

I witnessed a big road cycling crash once in a large group ride. One guy wasn’t wearing a helmet and people had to hold his head while he laid there waiting for an ambulance. If he was wearing a helmet he probably wouldn’t have needed his head to be supported like that. It was disturbing to watch and looking back I think it was selfish of him to go out without a helmet when the rest of the group was wearing one.

I know climbing culture is a lot different, but my own opinion is just wear the helmet. Don’t make your partner hold your skull together and have to tell you to keep your eyes open and stay awake, if you got nailed by some rock fall but weren’t wearing your helmet because you wanted to look cool and save a little weight on your project.

Sometimes rocks fall. Looking like a dork is temporary but brain damage lasts forever. 

Jeremy Swrote:

My thought is if you don’t wear a helmet, don’t expect anyone to hold your skull together if you’re involved in a freak accident.

I witnessed a big road cycling crash once in a large group ride. One guy wasn’t wearing a helmet and people had to hold his head while he laid there waiting for an ambulance. If he was wearing a helmet he probably wouldn’t have needed his head to be supported like that. It was disturbing to watch and looking back I think it was selfish of him to go out without a helmet when the rest of the group was wearing one.

I know climbing culture is a lot different, but my own opinion is just wear the helmet. Don’t make your partner hold your skull together and have to tell you to keep your eyes open and stay awake, if you got nailed by some rock fall but weren’t wearing your helmet because you wanted to look cool and save a little weight on your project.

Sometimes rocks fall. Looking like a dork is temporary but brain damage lasts forever. 

I spent about 400 hours a year on mountain/road bikes for the last 10 or so years. Racing, training, riding. I couldn't imagine not wearing a helmet, especially in a group road ride. I've only seen the occasional person on the trails without a helmet and they're almost always wearing jeans...

Jeremy Swrote:

My thought is if you don’t wear a helmet, don’t expect anyone to hold your skull together if you’re involved in a freak accident.. 

Thank you yes! I’ve been in medicine for a decade and I always say if you come in overweight don’t expect me to care about your congestive heart failure or diabetes that’s on you. Same reason I refuse to treat smokers with lung issues or car accident victims who weren’t wearing seatbelts also. You made the choice to try to hit a gap on your bike today why on earth would I apply pressure to stop the bleed now??

Fortunately for the rest of us I don’t think anyone making that statement would be knowledgeable enough nor capable of “holding a skull together”. I will say though that the idea of Honnold or Brette Harrington or someone laying at the base of a route requiring help as you look at them with condescending disdain and shrug your shoulder saying “oh well should have worn a helmet” definitely adds credibility to your point. I’ve seen some bad takes here and have had a few myself but this one is really remarkable 

What are real reasons not to wear a helmet?

Tanner Jameswrote:

Thank you yes! I’ve been in medicine for a decade and I always say if you come in overweight don’t expect me to care about your congestive heart failure or diabetes that’s on you. Same reason I refuse to treat smokers with lung issues or car accident victims who weren’t wearing seatbelts also. You made the choice to try to hit a gap on your bike today why on earth would I apply pressure to stop the bleed now??

Fortunately for the rest of us I don’t think anyone making that statement would be knowledgeable enough nor capable of “holding a skull together”. I will say though that the idea of Honnold or Brette Harrington or someone laying at the base of a route requiring help as you look at them with condescending disdain and shrug your shoulder saying “oh well should have worn a helmet” definitely adds credibility to your point. I’ve seen some bad takes here and have had a few myself but this one is really remarkable 

It’s an exaggeration to make a point. Obviously people are going to lend a hand to someone who is injured, myself included. But when wearing a helmet could be the difference between getting your bell rung and calling it a day, vs getting knocked out/seriously injured/required help from people around you, why make that choice to not wear the helmet? Why be that guy? What is the benefit of not wearing the helmet? Is the send worth the risk of a lifelong brain injury?

I get that bouldering we all feel in better control, we’ve fallen many times bouldering, there’s no one above us potentially knocking stuff down. But when it comes to rope climbing, if you’ve climbed long enough you’ve seen stuff fall from above, sometimes big stuff. You can be the best climber in the world, and one random rock fall can change your life. I just don’t see the “benefits of not wearing a helmet” outweighing a head injury.  

Graham Thomaswrote:

What are real reasons not to wear a helmet?

"I'm not that worried about it" should suffice.