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So what do you feel offers better impact protection (open face). I have heard these two options are better than any skydiving helmets. Or feel free to add what you jump.

Coco

P.S I'm taking our advice Brittany, I'm getting a helmet!

I use a helmet made by Scientific Research (SR) for whitewater rafting/kayaking It's light and comfortable.

I have a Protec, I think it´s for Snowboarding, it's called the Ace and it offers better protection than the Skydiving helmets plus it has nice paddings in the ears that also help in cold weather.

Gabo

if you're going to wear a helmet for protection, you might as well have a full face helmet

Tom A jumps a full face these days after a friend of his needed facial reconstruction surgery from an incident

full face downhill mountainbike helmets are the way to go, they are light (especially if you get a carbon shell), absorb a load of impact (they have an expanded foam inner to do that) and will protect your face and pretty smile too and the high end ones go for being real light, so they are relatively low profile and the one I have doesn't take away any of my peripheral vision.

I have a 661 Full Bravo Carbon, which I got from a web retailer shipped for $118. You won't find better protection for your money that can compare in terms of weight and minimal vision restriction.

I removed the peak/visor, which is something you would want to do as well.

I decided on that helmet based on several years of downhill mountainbiking a few hundred skydives and some basejumps.

cya
sam

Good ole Protec here. fits just right with a tuque on under it for these months

The Ace is the most basic Protec design and comes in half config also while still affording the same amount of rear protection (it just cuts off the ears). You can actually get a full and cut the ears off later if you like, make a template from another half Ace.

It's not one of your choices but Sky Helmets makes a helmet that a lot of the Germans BASE in and are made by a German BASE jumper.

Personally I just bastardized a perfectly good Skysystems helmet to accept a camera and went for broke.

what about mx helmets? are they too heavy or too expensive? I could swear I've seen video of some jumpers wearing them.

I'm gonna try bubble wrap body armor!!! Just like in dude where's my car!

Sorry it just popped in my head. Must have been the crack I smoked earlier.

"Cocaine's a hell of drug"

Coco

The 2005 version of the SixSixOne Full Bravo Carbon is available on closeout for USD 90.

normally i jump in only a tube sock.

condoms are for sailors.

I use Proteck snowboard and mountain biking helmets.
I use the open face but know i should use the full face once,but i WANT to feel that air at my face,who knows perhaps one day im gonne pay the price for my choice..

Yea I kinda feel the same way. I know it is smarter to have a full face but I like feeing the wind on my face. Kinda of a dumb reason to risk the extra protection but its better than jumping with nothing.

Coco

I think that many mountain biking and skiing/snowboarding helmets offer roughly the same protection. I don't think it's as easy as one broad category v. the other, as there will be better and worse helmets within each category.

Generally, the snowsport helmets include some kind of ear flaps (intended to keep your ears warm) that can make it hard to hear exit counts and such.

Yea good point. So pretty much it should just be known that any helmet involved with sports like biking (motor or non) or snowboarding/skate are going to work well because they are made for it. They know your gonna be smacking your head a lot!! Skydiving helmets are not! My oxygen even says it will not protect your head from injury. May just be a cover their ass deal but that carbon fiber isn't too thick!

Right! I saw that on a few of the helmets. Might be nice to have for a climb but I would definitely take them out when I jump. They are said to be easily removed so you could just stash the earflaps in a pocket.


Coco

which on most models easy can be removed as its only secured by 2 buttons,making it up to you to deside if you want them on or off

sorry i cant rember the name of my helmet(the same as Katie)

just make sure its a light helmet that still has a hard sheild and offers you some protection.

And as you say about most skydive helmets... theyre made to hold your dytter or camera the rest they aint offer much protection..

Protecs provide peleny of impact protection, but little puncture protection.
For puncture protection, you really need some sort of fiberglss or carbon fiber.

Yup!! I have a bone head and its holds my two dytters and my camera, thats about it!

Coco

Does anyone know of any large dealers that carry SixSixOne? Most of the bike shops around here only carry Bell, Giro, and Specialized. I'd like to try on the helmet to see if I like the fit before I'd order one off the internet.

Do you know how the SixSixOne sizes fit compared to any of the Bell fullface helmets?

yo,
I jump a snowboarding helmet, it is solid! and light. ....but not full face.
I recently had a friend lose 4 teeth , bust his nose and have other (maxilla possibly) damage, because of an object strike. I am now looking into Paragliding helmets, much sturdier than a skydiving helmet, they are light and don't have a face shield.
~J

Check this site for info about helmets testing prceedures and standards.
http://www.bhsi.org/

Full face is the way to go, I know a few people who probably wish they had one when they smacked the object.

Jason

Thanks for clueing me into Google.

I was looking more for insight as to whether anyone has seen SixSixOne in LARGE retailers that might have showrooms in most major US cities, since my Google search didn't bring anything like that up. By large I mean Sports Authority, REI, etc. The purpose of my question is to see one in real life to try it on.

But thanks anyway.

I went to look at helmets yesterday and got some interesting news. I went to Ski World to get a pro tech but the place didn't carry them. The guy I spoke too said they stopped carrying pro-tech becuase they were crappy helmets (which are primarily designed for skating even though they do make snowboard helmets) and didn't last. He said with skating you gonna hit your head but not as hard as if you making a huge jump or in a half pipe and you have a bad landing in snowboarding. He said there are better brands.

They carry Boeri and a few others. The guy said Boeri and Giro were the most quality brands and if I were loking for something to take a heavy impact I could look at these.

Any thoughts?

Coco

you should be able to find a bicycle shop in any large US city that will carry 661 products

look for the leading mountainbike shops in the area, especially those with a focus on downhill mountainbiking

they may have some pads and body armour that would interest you too

i were told the same,but here thyre twice as expencive.. and im not that much worth

Just wondering if the salesman gave you any specifics on testing methods or certifications that Boeri and Giro have gone through? Most bicycle and snowboard helmets pass cpsc standards but thats all. Some, like Bell helmets meet a slightly higher standard but not that much higher.
How heavy are the helmets you saw? What materials were used?
Maybe the shop you visited stopped carrying Protec because they didn't sell like the cool new looking more expensive helmets. Protecs don't look as cool but might offer the same protection... just a thought...salesmen try to sell what they have in stock, they don't want you to go to the next shop to get that cheaper Protec when they have you in their shop with money to spend.
Thanks
Jason

just looked up Giro and saw that they are a subsidiary of Bell, so they ARE a little more strict with certification.

Well he didn't talk about that but he did say that the pro-tec use a material that does not go back to its originial form after an impact. I forget I haven't ahd time to research it yet.

Coco

The new protecs have a new foam that does rebound to it's original form. Not sure the name of it though.

Jason

Yea I saw something on thier website about it. I'm not the type to jump into stuff so I'll take my time a research it and figure out what to buy. Just busy right now with school. 2 weeks and then I graduate (AS business still got a lot left though)

Coco

I would stay away from any helmet that uses polycarbonate or anything with the word poly in the padding. This stuff bounces to retain its form rather than breaking up from an impact (to absorb the shock). Would you want your head bouncing off a cliff wall? The new Pro-Tecs use polycarbonite construction (hard foam).

I use a Pryme Vario Helmet, it is intended for Snowboarding, and has removable Ear Covers (2 buttons each cover). I also jump with full body armor. I reccomend the RockGardn Flak Jacket, CYA Shorts, FATE Carbon Gloves (with index and middle fingers cut off at the middle knuckle), and the Landing Zone Knee/Shin Guards.

http://www.rockgardn.com