Tony_H wrote:I think for nerdy, you misunderstand the word "cool".
Helmets are safety devices and are most definitely not cool. Hats are extremely fashionable.
For those who want to look like window lickers or who actually perform extreme enough skiing to warrant wearing one (ie unpatrolled off piste, base jumping, jibbing in the park etc ie where the risk of falling over is MASSIVELY increased) then I guess you have to find the "coolest" lid you can, which I think must be difficult, but all this nonsense talk about the risk has increased per se....come on?
I do believe we had this discussion last season, and its not going to change.
If you feel you need to wear a lid, feel free. If you ski to extremes, probably a good decision. But for us holiday skiers, please continue to feel free to choose what you want on your head (as long as its not those stupid things with bright pink hair built in....).
I do like the idea of children and beginners having to wear helmets however. I think you should be issues with a certificate of competency by an instructor, which enables you to have the honour of wearing a hat rather than a helmet. A bit like throwing away your L plates when driving.
I am sure the day will come when we are all forced to wear a helmet, just because the media over hype someones unfortunate death which they will no doubt pin on the fact the person was not wearing a helmet yet again, but I will choose not to until that time comes. I find my collection of hats not only keep my head warm when its particularly cold, but they also complete my extremely stylish look on the slopes.
With a lid on, that look would be diminished massively.
Each to his own.
I get it now (I haven't posted a lot here) you are a contrarian. I don't know about the "lids" on your side of the pond, but a lot of the ones over here look plenty cool in my assessment.