How To Choose A Snowboarding Helmet - By: Jim Garza

Snowboarding is a great winter sport. In fact, with younger people, it's overtaken skiing in popularity. It can, however, also be a dangerous sport if necessary precautions are not taken. And for beginning snowboarders, who have yet to learn the safety basics of the sport, this is especially true.

The most common snowboarding injuries tend to be sprains - normally in the arms and wrists since beginners tend to break their falls with their hands. The most dangerous type of injury, however, by a huge margin is the risk of a concussion. Especially, among snowboarders who refuse to wear helmets.

A concussion is any kind of a traumatic injury to the brain triggered by a blow to the head and it is always something to be concerned about. In snowboarding, a concussion can easily occur via a collision with a skier or another snowboarder, a fall to the ground, or by hitting a tree. Signs of a concussion include feeling dizzy or disoriented, having an urge to throw up, or experiencing blurred vision. If you have any of these symptoms after a collision, you should seek immediate medical help.

If you are not wearing a helmet or other head protection, the head and the brain will absorb the full force of the blow. And the force can be so severe that it leads to possible long-term or even permanent injury to the brain. A helmet acts to diffuse the impact by taking the brunt of the impact itself, so instead of the energy being concentrated on one spot, it spreads over a larger area. Even with a hard blow where the helmet will not be able to absorb the full impact itself, it will most likely absorb enough of it to prevent you from suffering brain damage.

When choosing a helmet, don't necessarily go for the first one that you try on. Try a variety of different styles before deciding on one. In addition, experiment with helmets made by different companies. The helmets from one company may fit your head better than another one. And, try the helmet on with all the headgear that you normally wear, including goggles. The helmet should not be tight around your head - but it should be snug.

Also, look for a helmet that has the ASTM F2040 certification sticker. ASTM is a voluntary standards organization that sets standards for thousands of products and materials. The presence of a ASTM F2040 sticker certifies that the helmet meets the minimum performance specifications required to prevent or reduce the severity of injuries to the head while participating in extreme sports such as snowboarding and skiing.

ASTM International is one of the largest voluntary standards development organizations in the world-a trusted source for technical standards for materials, products, systems, and services.

There is a flip side to wearing helmets, however. Snowboarders who wear helmets typically tend to go faster than those without helmets, no doubt thinking themselves safe from injury. But the increased speed means than if they do have a collision, they are hitting at a greater force which in many cases is more than enough to offset the effect of wearing a helmet in the first place.

Bottom line - A bad concussion can end your snowboarding fun forever. A helmet cannot guarantee that you won't suffer a head injury, but it does reduce the odds significantly. Wearing a properly fitted helmet is a very small price to pay to increase the odds that you'll continue to have fun on the slopes in years to come.

About the Author

Jim Garza is the owner and webmaster of snowboardingmarketplace.com, a winter sports web site specializing in articles and information on learn to snowboard, roxy snowboard jacket, and snowboarding accessories.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Jim-Garza/22149

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