Song of Helmets for My Son

Sometimes I shudder to think we only used to wear helmets when ice climbing. Until my main rock, ice and alpine partner was the first to have kids, we did not generally wear a brain bucket on rock, unless we were climbing something really chossy. I know that I had the venerable old Joe Brown, which seemed like it weighed pounds, and probably did. Even though I moved onto the HB carbon versions, they were still hot and left at home 9 months of the year. When my partner had his first son, we had been musing about beginning to wear them on rock, and some of the lighter more comfortable and well-ventilated ones came on the market. I like to think it was then that I laid it down and said we were just going to wear helmets all the time and not think about it anymore. And we did. I think with the exception of one moderate mixed climb where I forgot my helmet, see sheepish grin below, I have not climbed a pitch without a helmet in almost 20 years, and barely notice them anymore. I do have a regular partner who does not rock climb with a helmet, but he does wear one in the winter, and he's a bit of an independent actor.

These Petzl helmets (Meteor and more recently Sirocco) are my recent choices for climbing, with the Sirocco being in constant rotation for rock, ice and ski mountaineering. However, they are not MIPS, which I wear for downhill alpine skiing, and which both Black Diamond and Mammut have. I like the idea of a MIPS helmet for ski mountaineering. I also think they look cool😉

https://skimo.co/helmets has the best selection including some very light ones from CAMP and other Euro manufacturers. There are also dual-certified helmets for both climbing and skiing. Ones to look at include the Scott Couloir, Ski Trab Race, Kong Kosmos, and the Salomon MTN Lab – aka the ‘shroom which I own. This means they are certified as both mountaineering and skiing helmets, and well suited to both impacts from falling items and falling skiers. I think that’s a good idea myself.

Then there are the aesthetics of the helmet choice. I think the Ski Trab looks very cool. I mean, black and red may not be that cool in the heat, but it’s cool looking. If you can live with white, the Kong has some interesting ventilation design, which is important to me as I overheat otherwise.

https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Helmets

https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/product/capitan-helmet-mips/?colorid=11319&utm_source=cordial&utm_source=cordial&utm_medium=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20220505-helmets-non-pro&lrx=&mcID=1118%3A62714fec59320e5ccf679949%3Aot%3A5f46ca99735e313f17e3b97f%3A1

https://www.mammut.com/us/en/category/5875/helmets?filtersOpen=true