Helmet - Hard vs Soft Side

[LKLA]

Wondering if soft hard side helmets such as the POC Skull Orbic or Briko Volcano are equally or better suited than soft side helmets such as the Smith Quantam, Sweet Protection Trooper, POC Fornix for "recreational" or "all mountain" skiing?

While hard side helmets seem better suited for certain types of skiing such as racing where you can slam into a race gate (all ski racers seem to wear hard side helmets), it is not as clear - at least to me - if that “advantage” or “added level of safety” is also true in a recreational skiing environment, including glade/tree skiing.

 

[NZRob]

I would have thought a logical assumption is that a hard shell side is going to provide more protection than a soft side, assuming there are requisite levels of foam and absorbent material in those hard shell sides.

 

[Jilly]

Racers are required to wear the "hard ear" helmets. They start here at the club level!

 

[dbostedo]

So just to clarify... what's "soft" about these? These are hard, ABS plastic shells, with padding, rather than just hard polystyrene, on the inside. Right?

 

[LKLA]

So just to clarify... what's "soft" about these? These are hard, ABS plastic shells, with padding, rather than just hard polystyrene, on the inside. Right?

Soft

Hard

 

[Jilly]

In the shops they are called, soft ears, hard ears....easier for the kids to understand. As far as I know, all racers of any age have to have hard ears in order to race in Canada.

 

[dbostedo]

Oh... so shouldn't the first post say "... HARD side helmets like the POC Skull Orbic..."?

Is that what confused me?

 

[LKLA]

Oh... so shouldn't the first post say "... HARD side helmets like the POC Skull Orbic..."?

Is that what confused me?

YES!!! It should say hard side. Both - POC Skull Orbit and Briko Volcano - are example of "hard side" helmets.

 

[jzmtl]

Hard ear helmet is probably a lot warmer on -30 wind chill days, my next helmet will probably be one for that reason.

 

[DanoT]

Hard ear helmet is probably a lot warmer on -30 wind chill days, my next helmet will probably be one for that reason.

Helmets are getting lighter and as a result may not be as warm. For the -30 wind chill days, I find that a Merino wool liner works for me.

 

[Primoz]

For racing, hard shells are obligatory for anything but slalom. For slalom soft ears helmets are allowed. For recreational skiing there's no such rules so everything (including cap, or in Italy just sun glasses and nicely done hairs ) is allowed. Now what's safer... definitely hard shells are safer, but question is, do you really need that. Crashing at 100+km/h, like racers do is one thing, but most recreational skiers won't ski this fast, so I'm pretty sure soft ears helmets are safe enough for that. Another thing is comfort. I certainly like hard shells better when it gets cold, but for some people hard shells can be a bit tight around the ears so maybe not as comfortable. Personally I use hardshell (Poc Skull orbic comp) for on piste skiing, and soft ears (Poc Fornix) for backcountry, as it's lighter and easier/smaller to pack for skinning up.

 

[hbear]

To add, usually more venting and other options on soft ear helmets as FIS rules are very restrictive on design features (e.g. no active vents or holes allowed, no ratchet adjustments, etc.)

 

[markojp]

To add, usually more venting and other options on soft ear helmets as FIS rules are very restrictive on design features (e.g. no active vents or holes allowed, no ratchet adjustments, etc.)

Except for SL

 

[hbear]

Yes SL is a different beast. Our kids like to have 2 helmets, 1) not needing to worry about putting the chin guard on and off, 2) Soft ear being more comfortable and with better venting, 3) why not have mom and buy buy yet another piece of racing equipment!

 

[BGreen]

1) not needing to worry about putting the chin guard on and off

"Does anyone have extra screws? I dropped one and I can't find it." -- said everyone at least once.

 

[DoryBreaux]

Hard ear helmets bother me because 1) I think they look ridiculous unless you're in a race suit and 2) they hamper my hearing. Hence why I'll never go near one. The exception would be the POC made with the open hard ear. I think its been discontinued and I cant remember the name.

 

[hbear]

I think it is/was the Orbic SL or Orbic “backcountry” or something like that.

 

[skix]

I've got an FIS stamped hard helmet made by Shred and a soft-sided Smith Variance MIPS helmet. Although I apparently look ridiculous in the Shred it's more comfortable on me than the Smith. I also have no doubt the Shred provides more protection for my head than the Smith. Only problem (other than cosmetic) is it has no vents so runs warm.

I wore the Smith for a season but without the chin strap. First problem was the strap is very cheaply made with a guide that looks to be made out of a strip of vinyl. Although the helmet fit my head I couldn't get the strap adjusted so it didn't either choke me or allow the helmet to slip off. I thought it was still worth wearing as it would protect me from a first impact but no doubt would go flying off immediately and wouldn't help me after that. Lesson learned. Make sure the strap works for you too when choosing a helmet.

 

[ScotsSkier]

Hard shell race helmet all the time, no issues with hearing with my POCs or Sweet. Even for slalom I have tried the soft ear slalom helmets and didn’t like them so have another hard shell with chingiard for slalom. Way too much of a hassle to take chingiard on and off!

 

[SShore]

I'm thinking of switching to an all soft helmet. I was talking to a cowboy hat fitter at the rodeo this summer. He was saying on of the big benefits to cowboys wearing cowboy hats is the stiff brim is a very very good shock dissipator. He said that some testing had shown it to be just as effective as the hard helmets that hunter/jumpers wear. So I guess this guy knows what's what when it comes to skiing headwear.