There's another thread on here somewhere where one of the primary concerns seemed to be how you'd transport the helmet to the crag and how easily some of the lightweight offerings could be damaged in the bottom of a rucksack for instance.
FWIW, I have the original version of the Sirocco (the hideous orange one which someone dubbed Ronald McPenis), which I bought in 2013, and I haven't managed to damage it in my rucksack yet.
I can't recomend the Black Diamond Vapour enough!
Looking now it seems that Absolute Snow have em for £79 if S/M fits yer head and you like red...
https://www.absolute-snow.co.uk/black-diamond-vapor-alpine-rock-climbing-helmet?v=253129&fc=GBP/?keyword=&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiIOmBhDjARIsAP6YhSUi7JkyiKoNSu8U3LOwG2SIZTAwDJdVu6jAuIhKx2zgP2_30nX5g_UaAqCsEALw_wcB
I’ve got a helmet holder thing that attaches your helmet to the outside of your rucksack. Stops it getting battered in there and frees up space.
FWIW, I have the original version of the Sirocco
It looks like it's made of polystyrene and will crumble if you look at it funny, but that is not the case.
Anyone with any strong views or personal recommendations between those I've picked out or want to throw a new contender into the mix?
Another vote for Petzl Sirocco. I have one and it is the first helmet I've had that I could consider using when sport climbing.
I do not use a helmet when doing single pitch routes on solid rock and have never seen any reason to.
Bought the MIPS version for my son just in case it might actually be in some way safer. Just as comfortable, and I don't notice the few extra grams - no idea if it's really worth the extra cost.
I do not use a helmet when doing single pitch routes on solid rock and have never seen any reason to.
My best friend fell clipping the second bolt at around seven metres in the Frankenjura with the first bolt at about four metres. Landed on my shoulder with his body pretty much horizontal, and gave the rock a good smack with his helmet while doing so.
Had a look at the MIPS version of the BD Vision while in the shop the other day. My thought was it looked a bit 'sweaty' if that makes sense. big yellow film that lines the inside of the helmet. :shrug:
Get something you like or you wont use it.
:agree:Get something you like or you wont use it.If picking something you like more (even if it's for a "superficial" reason like thinking it looks cooler) makes you more likely to wear it, then it's worth it.
Crazy to think how much harder I'd redpoint if I didn't wear a helmet that weighed 0.3% of my bodyweight (before considering rope drag, clothes, harness, whether I've had a pre-climb piss/shit).
Edit: might as well complete the sermon.NSFW same shit I've written on here 100 times before:
I do not use a helmet when doing single pitch routes on solid rock and have never seen any reason to.Totally agree with Will on this. I’ve witnessed a guy flip upside down and split his head open high up on a steep Margalef 8b. The solidity of the rock was irrelevant in that fall, it was just misfortune. I’ve personally flipped upside down after pinging off unexpectedly by the 2nd bolt and if I wasn’t wearing a helmet I’d be dead or badly brain damaged. The helmet was split in two and I had concussion for days after.
On the positive side, I never fall badly at the second draw because I have preclipped the rope into whichever is the highest draw I can reach extended on my tippy toes with my 7 m long stick clip.
On the positive side, I never fall badly at the second draw because I have preclipped the rope into whichever is the highest draw I can reach extended on my tippy toes with my 7 m long stick clip.
Indeed , possibly the biggest safety move you make in sport climbing is using your stick clip. I have no interest in hitting the ground while.sport climbing , helmet or no helmet, it's hard!
Don't want to argue too much against the case for helmets - given how light they are now it feels there is a good argument for them, despite the fact that I don't bother.
However I don't feel hyperbole about risking life / brain damage is warranted either. The fact is very few people die sport climbing (I can't think of any recent UK ones) and serious accidents involving ground falls could involve many injuries where helmets are irrelevant. Obviously Toby's accident was significant, but still rare enough to be noteworthy years later and (if my understanding is correct) while wearing a helmet probably would have helped , stick clipping the first bolt would have helped even more, something I've been doing on that route for 20 years+.
Probably wearing a helmet would reduce my injury risk slightly while sport climbing but then again so might wearing one while walking home after a heavy night on the town (though that risk has been mitigated by getting old and boring).
If only Mina had thought to clipstick the draw above the Rainshadow crux before falling off :boohoo:
Ian, all the examples I mentioned are from the last few years. To only count deaths ignores the long list of other grim stuff that can befall you.
Last winter I fell off at the 3rd bolt of a bolted mixed route and my crampon point went into my belayer's head. He wasn't wearing his helmet. The metal spike through the head seems not to have affected his personality at all...Yeah, mixed and ice? Helmet is a no brainer, or you end up with no brain.
Cheap BD Vapours..
https://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Climbing/Rock-Trad-Climbing/Helmets/Black-Diamond-Vapor-Helmet?mc_cid=18a240e36e&mc_eid=5985717261