Helmet when bouldering

Jeremy B. wrote:

In fact, few if any hardshells are still on the market.

I bought (and lost) a popular Petzl hardshell helmet last year, but I just looked around and it's no longer on sale anywhere. This must be a new development.

ViperScale . wrote:

Rather die than live my life uncomfortable.

If you are looking to take your kid outside I would start with top rope. It would be cheaper to buy a rope and a couple draws to setup than to buy 2 pads you would need to protect bouldering unless you have friends with more pads.

Living with traumatic brain injury sounds like a pretty uncomfortable way to live...

David Kerkeslager wrote:

I bought (and lost) a popular Petzl hardshell helmet last year, but I just looked around and it's no longer on sale anywhere. This must be a new development.

Or a language shift.  What people these days call hardshell is often what that BMC pdf calls a hybrid; the last recreational hardshell I know of was the Ecrin Roc, discontinued a half-decade back.

The hybrids are not the hardshells of old; their protection now comes from the crushing of foam and not from a textile webbing cradle.

B Owens wrote:

Living with traumatic brain injury sounds like a pretty uncomfortable way to live...

prolonged social ridicule also produces brain injury ;)

Jeremy B. wrote:

Or a language shift.  What people these days call hardshell is often what that BMC pdf calls a hybrid; the last recreational hardshell I know of was the Ecrin Roc, discontinued a half-decade back.

The hybrids are not the hardshells of old; their protection now comes from the crushing of foam and not from a textile webbing cradle.

The Petzl helmet I had did not have any foam. The cradle had a plastic "frame" in it but was mostly webbing.

I think it was an older version of the Petzl Elios, but I'm not sure. It's also possible the place I bought it from just had a very old helmet in stock.

David Kerkeslager wrote:

The Petzl helmet I had did not have any foam. The cradle had a plastic "frame" in it but was mostly webbing.

I think it was an older version of the Petzl Elios, but I'm not sure. It's also possible the place I bought it from just had a very old helmet in stock.

In their industrial line-up Petzl does have traditional hardshells (e.g. their Vertex models), so that is also possible.

Nyte Knight wrote:

She. And it would be outdoors. We boulder and top rope in a gym without one but the entire floor is covered in padding.

We are looking to start outdoor bouldering since the equipment costs are lower than outdoor lead or top roping. But eventually move into that as confidence increases. 

Any suggestions on helmets that also protect side and back impacts? Would think if you’d miss the pad on a fall, that’s where you’d hit instead of the top

I'm a dad of kids in that same age bracket and am ON them about wearing helmets skateboarding, on bikes, and when outdoor climbing with ropes. But really honestly, I don't see any substantial safety gain in wearing a helmet bouldering. As others have said, climbing helmets primarily protect us from falling rocks and gear, which generally aren't a concern bouldering. They also protect us when in a rope fall our heads get slammed sideways into a rock wall. Also not a concern bouldering. Truth is that most bouldering is vertical to overhanging and the falls are straight down onto the ground. That's why we have bouldering pads. If there were something on the ground so hard and pointy that I felt like I needed my helmet I just wouldn't boulder there. Because my helmet wouldn't protect the rest of my body from that hazard, anyway. 

AndrewArroz wrote:

I'm a dad of kids in that same age bracket and am ON them about wearing helmets skateboarding, on bikes, and when outdoor climbing with ropes. But really honestly, I don't see any substantial safety gain in wearing a helmet bouldering. As others have said, climbing helmets primarily protect us from falling rocks and gear, which generally aren't a concern bouldering. They also protect us when in a rope fall our heads get slammed sideways into a rock wall. Also not a concern bouldering. Truth is that most bouldering is vertical to overhanging and the falls are straight down onto the ground. That's why we have bouldering pads. If there were something on the ground so hard and pointy that I felt like I needed my helmet I just wouldn't boulder there. Because my helmet wouldn't protect the rest of my body from that hazard, anyway. 

I feel like maybe you don't boulder very often because a lot of your arguments are just not really true. Bouldering is inherently dangerous, and I'm surprised we don't see more head injuries. I know I've been lucky in the past like when a seemingly bomber hold broke and I flew backward 6 feet and landed with my head inches away from a block I would never have dreamed I could hit. 

The only reason we don't wear helmets is because it would diminish our experience. 

Rob Gordon wrote:

I feel like maybe you don't boulder very often because a lot of your arguments are just not really true. Bouldering is inherently dangerous, and I'm surprised we don't see more head injuries. I know I've been lucky in the past like when a seemingly bomber hold broke and I flew backward 6 feet and landed with my head inches away from a block I would never have dreamed I could hit. 

The only reason we don't wear helmets is because it would diminish our experience. 

You're reading me wrong. The reason I don't boulder often is actually because I think it's more dangerous and less rewarding for me than lead climbing with ropes. But my point is that the actual dangers of bouldering are primarily to your limbs and skeleton. Not to your brain. If that were the case, we would see an epidemic of head injuries and concussions from bouldering, just like we do from bike crashes or skateboarding accidents. Yet, we don't.

If the OP or her kid want to wear a helmet bouldering that's fine with me. I won't stop them. But I don't think it'll make them any safer.

I recommend something like this.

jjb3 wrote:

I recommend something like this.

this is awesome. Especially for when a hold comes off while I'm bouldering and I fall on a mama grizzly.

AndrewArroz wrote:

You're reading me wrong. The reason I don't boulder often is actually because I think it's more dangerous and less rewarding for me than lead climbing with ropes. But my point is that the actual dangers of bouldering are primarily to your limbs and skeleton. Not to your brain. If that were the case, we would see an epidemic of head injuries and concussions from bouldering, just like we do from bike crashes or skateboarding accidents. Yet, we don't.

If the OP or her kid want to wear a helmet bouldering that's fine with me. I won't stop them. But I don't think it'll make them any safer.

Fair enough. 

Slight tangent. I was one of the first people kitesurfing BITD, and this was when it was still the Wild West with safety systems not yet refined, and I was like, "You know guys, this shit is pretty dangerous. I think someone's gonna get hurt." Everyone thought I was being dramatic and a Debbie Downer, but sure enough a good friend and prominent guy in the industry ended-up getting killed. Coincidentally, he got pulled ashore headfirst into a pole without a helmet. 

I think we often turn a blind eye to how dangerous climbing really is because it's so mainstream and accessible these days. 

Jeremy B. wrote:

In their industrial line-up Petzl does have traditional hardshells (e.g. their Vertex models), so that is also possible.

Yeah, but I don't think the shop I bought it from would carry those models. They do have a history in my experience of selling discontinued gear for a while as long as it was discontinued for non-safety reasons (they still were selling Master Cams with the thumb loop a year ago the last time I was there, although they were almost out).

The shop is Tent and Trails in Manhattan. It's a great little shop, very knowledgeable staff and a much more extensive climbing selection than REI and they don't aggressively upsell you like the Paragon Sports (now that EMS is closed these are the only three brick and mortar stores I know of in NYC that sell climbing gear). I like that T&T are anti-finance-industry despite being in the middle of the Financial District--they give you a 10% discount if you pay cash.

Rob Gordon wrote:

Fair enough. 

Slight tangent. I was one of the first people kitesurfing BITD, and this was when it was still the Wild West with safety systems not yet refined, and I was like, "You know guys, this shit is pretty dangerous. I think someone's gonna get hurt." Everyone thought I was being dramatic and a Debbie Downer, but sure enough a good friend and prominent guy in the industry ended-up getting killed. Coincidentally, he got pulled ashore headfirst into a pole without a helmet. 

I think we often turn a blind eye to how dangerous climbing really is because it's so mainstream and accessible these days. 

I remember those days, too. I never got into kite surfing but a surfing buddy of mine got super into it and had a close encounter with a power line. I was up at Zeros on a windy day last summer and was amazed to see how much the gear for the sport has advanced, especially the kites.

Re. climbing being dangerous or not, those things can be pretty well defined by death and severe injury rates. I think climbing is one of those sports that actually seems more dangerous than it is because it's SCARY. It's like surfing. People think you're crazy to drop in on a 10 foot wave that seems like it could easily kill you. But, really, just not that dangerous.