TO HELMENT OR NOT TO HELMENT..... THAT IS THE QUESTION!!!!!

I generally wear a helmet.  I don't see any down side and the helmet keeps my scalp from sunburning.

I have a da brim dabrim.com/html/products/cl… on my helmet so it doubles as a hat but is cooler because the helmet is vented.

For me it's really route dependent, if i'm pushing my grade and i'm on gear sure helmet is fine, any amount of thrutch, if it's an overhanging sport route or the climbing is easy i wont bother with one they're just not worth the headache, in the UK risk of rockfall is so rare the rockfall argument is never justified unless it's at one of the few crags in the entirety of the UK that posses danger of rock fall.

You  never know when your leg will get in front of the rope on a desperate move just before you peel off

Considering I'm a clutz even on approaches through boulder fields I keep the brain bucket on pretty much 90% of the time I'm climbing outdoors. 

Tyler Metheney wrote:

An this is the main reason I wear one. It hasn't happened but I can't pretend with myself that I'm too skilled for it to happen.

Even watching pros actually - you do sometimes see a leg behind a rope...

I try very hard to always wear one, every now then I don't if i'm top roping at a well traveled crag and feel comfortable with it. I wish I was better about the "first thing on when you get to the cliff, last thing off when you leave" thing. If you don't wear one, thats on you i suppose.

I have wondered, if BD and Petzl and Mammut required there athletes to wear helmets as part of their contract or when promoting their brands (photo shoots, etc.) then how much would helmet use go up? How often have you seen someone wearing one on the BD home page?

Do you feel lucky? If so dont wear it its nice sometimes. Do you feel unlucky? Wear it. Its also nice to think, when your run out af, atleast im wearing a helmet. It makes commiting to very exposing moves a little easier, what could possible go wrong your wearing a helmet?

Did bridwell use a helmet?? Hell no fuck that shit.. unlessyour scared. We out for adventure, and real adventure isnt safe.

When roped climbing outside, when belaying, when hanging out at a crag, at all those times I wear a helmet.  Trad, sport, top-route, single-pitch, multi-pitch -- helmet.  I don't wear a helmet when climbing in the gym, or on the rare occasions when I'm bouldering.

Also, when I'm doing route development -- scouting, cleaning, bolting, etc -- I wear a helmet.

Kevin Shoemaker wrote:

Did bridwell use a helmet?? Hell no fuck that shit.. unlessyour scared. We out for adventure, and real adventure isnt safe.

Also, helmets sucked back then - heavy, uncomfortable, hot...

  I always wear a helmet when climbing, in part, due to the theory of risk homeostasis.  

Jim Turner wrote:

Have you ever watched a friend turn into a quivering, convulsing, unconscious bowl of jello right in front of your eyes?  One minute your laughing and having fun, the next minute it’s lights out and your lives are forever changed.

Seeing my friend deck from 70 ft up 12 miles back in the mountains, and seeing him convulse and foam at the mouth, only 2 hours later able to hike, speak and remember what had happened that day...

I will wear a helment every fuckin time I climb for the rest of my life.

My friend took a 35 foot bellyflop style groundfall and walked away with a few scratches and a broken toe. But because he wasn't wearing a helmet, I thought he was dead. If something unexpected happens, I'd rather rely on safety than luck. So I immediately bought a helmet after that and always wear it. Plus there's just lots of choss where I climb. 

Live to play another day my friends. 

I've never been hit in the head with anything but I sure have bonked my helmeted head into rock before. Glad I was wearing a helmet. 

Have you ever hit your head so hard you shit yourself? I wear a helmet at all crags, period. 

I always wear a helmet outside. Trying to get up the nerve to wear one indoor leading as well. The ol' rope behind the feet scenario... BMX helmets meet all the criteria...

I climbed for years without a helmet but as a surgeon for 30 years I’ve seen lots of head injuries and I know a head injury is something I (and I’m sure you) do not want. Bottom line there is no GOOD reason not to wear a helmet. 

Ken Duncan wrote:

I climbed for years without a helmet but as a surgeon for 30 years I’ve seen lots of head injuries and I know a head injury is something I (and I’m sure you) do not want. Bottom line there is no GOOD reason not to wear a helmet. 

yea my dad is a spine surgeon and he has terrified me with stories. 

None of the cool climbers wear helmets, just check out climbing or rock and ice...  But if you climb ice, then it's ok to wear a helmet...