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Anyone who’s been out in the Alps over the last five, or even three,
years cannot failed to have noticed the increase in the number of
people wearing helmets.
You don’t wear a helmet?!?
Only a few seasons ago, it was only hard-core skiers in Chamonix
that wore helmets, but now helmets are not quite ubiquitous, but
certainly widely worn across all resorts.
This is backed up by sales figures. Peter Radford from MyCoal, which
imports Sun helmets into the UK, told Natives that worldwide helmet
sales have increased by up to 200% in the last two years.
  
Sun Helmets - Flame, Skull, Peace & Love
High profile accidents
such as the death of Sonny Bono have also stimulated sales, but
there is a sense across the board that safety considerations are
being taken more seriously, with sales of transceivers equally on
the rise.
How helmets work
Many people believe that the most important purpose of a helmet
is to protect them against cracking their skulls open. But just
as important is the helmet’s ability to minimize trauma to the brain
inside the skull.
Concussion and injury often comes from the brain (which is in motion)
coming to an instantaneous halt against the inside of the skull
(humans can only handle about 300g’s without severe injury)
When looking at helmets, don’t just consider the hardness of the
outer shell, but make sure you check the inner liner – which will
absorb most of any impact energy through compression or destruction.
The outer shell helps to spread impact energy over a larger portion
of the helmet.
How do I know if I have hit hard enough to need a new helmet?
Bear in mind that once the liner has been compressed in an accident
(which may not be visible), the helmet has served its purpose and
should be destroyed and replaced. It has given its life to protect
yours!
After a fall check for any of the classic signs of a head injury
– dizziness, nausea, ringing ears, loss of balance, consciousness
or memory, headache, confusion, or vision disturbance.
Get your hands on a lid
 Sun
Helmets are a sponsor of this winter’s Workers
Challenge Race Series in the Alps. To get your own helmet now
and take advantage of a 10% discount call Peter from Mycoal on 023
8021 1068 quoting "Natives discount".
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