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General Climbing Discussion

Topic Date User

Helmets in an era of laissez-faire haute couture 29-Aug-2006 At 9:32:45 AM bluey

Message

On 28/08/2006 Ronny wrote:

>
>Bluey, You seem to be suggesting that there are only two possible reasons
>to wear/not wear a helmet - safety and fashion. You're saying that as
>it definitely increases safety, the only reason you wouldn't wear one is
>for fashion's sake. But there's more to it (which is what i think everyone
>is trying to say). There's the additional question of comfort and convenience.
> For everyone it comes down to the question in any particular situation
>"is the decreased comfort/convenience and possibly decreased fashion, worth
>the percieved increase in safety?".

I think you're right Ronny. I was beginning to realize as I kept banging on about fashion that there was probably more to it than that e.g. comfort, convenience, as you argue. I'm in a mood for self-revelation this morning, and I would like to admit, that I feel like a bit of a dag in my helmet (despite it's funky, sleek, redness) and was hoping everyone else would admit the same pretension. But overall, my preference is indeed for the safety aspect despite my concerns about how I look.

I did, however, think further about the hardcore super duper climbers and their lack of helmets - someone mentioned that they're not climbing chossy stuff. Not having climbed in their realm myself, I wondered if this is generally the case i.e. does climbing really hard grades generally guarantee safer rock?