Expensive…But Worth It?

[Jaynelson]

Head injuries were studied hard after the Dale Earnhardt incident. What was found was that impacts to the head were rarely fatal. Guys got concussed but VERY rarely killed from impact and we are talking 160G impacts that had guys heads bouncing off roll bars. Like likerpig said its the neck that is the weak link. The most dangerous thing I do in the mountains is rip down the icy trail to the backcountry at 80mph or ride in avy zones. I was supe impressed with the new Motorfist helmet and it's only $250 full retail. I use a Arai which is a little over $500. I want good protection but fit, weight, and ventilation are my deciding factors. So much of where I ride is 5-15mph sideways across the hill. I'd really just like to where a snowboard helmet but I don't want my teeth knocked out on the bars.

On that note, if someone had 750 total to shell, i would split that up between a helmet and a neck brace (Leatt type thing). I think that would be more protection than just the helmet regardless how good it is.

 

[Blown Motor]

I would never pay $750.00 for a helmet, and I don't own an avy pack either and probably never will. Sure, you can say I'm cheap, or give me the old line about how much money is invested in truck, trailer, sleds, coat, boots, ect etc etc, what's a little more $$$ for your safety? But where do you draw the line?? Snowmobiling, along with many other things we do carry certain risks, always will. Yes you can minimize those risks, but again at what cost. I can remember the days when snowmobiling gear was boots, coat, gloves, bibs, helmet, and facemask. That was it. We didn't have beacons, shovels, probes for years!! The word avalance was rarely even mentioned, but now we have beacons for everyone, and at least one shovel per rider (2 in some cases, 1 in sled, 1 in back pack) and a couple sets of probes. Snowmobiling has gotten increasingly expensive enough over the years with all the usual costs associated with it, let alone adding on outfitting a family of riders with $1000.00 avy packs, and $750.00 brain buckets. Safety is great, and good on them that can afford these things, but they are not in my budget. Maybe some day we will all just ride around on our sleds in a heated shock absorbing bubble that floats on top of the snow.

I get where you are coming from for sure, there seems to be a never ending purchase process in this sport. But I will also say that we kind of set ourselves up for this, we constantly want a better performing, faster, lighter, more powerful sled to take us further into possible harm, and deeper into the backcountry. If i was riding around in my field day after day I wouldn't be purchasing this stuff either, but the fact is 99% of the time we ride where you are not going to get a helicopter, and you are hours and hours in freezing temps because we get ourselves into those situations. The days of the El Tigre are gone, and it has just become part of the sport to accessorize yourself to stay the safest you can.