Snowboarding Helmets and Accessories for 2011

You got your snowboard, boots and bindings and your ready to ride. What accessories do you need next. A snowboarding helmet is essential if you want to ride on a terrain park or freestyle where banging your head on any jib such as a rail, box or tree. But if your head hits the white stuff and it happens to be ice, serious head injuries can occur that may be life threatening. Just look back through the news archives to get the low down.

What to look for in a Snowboarding Helmet

The first thing is to ensure your helmet meets one of the internationally recognized snowboarding helmet standards.

Helmets come in various styles which you need to be aware of so you can pick the style most suitable for your needs. These are:

Full Shell – this covers more of the head to keep out the elements such as cold and wet. These helmets are recommended for those who do tricks and like to go at high speed. They can feel constrictive and may not ventilate enough in warmer conditions.

Short Shell – these offer a small shell that has more ventilation, is lighter and can be more comfortable to wear. They have removable liners and are a little more stylish for the fashion conscious.

Competition helmets are more high-tec with the use of advanced materials and can extend to cover the chin.

Comfort is essential if you are to wear it out on the slopes and not just leave it back in the bag. Comfort comes from choosing the right style and getting it correctly fitted. Many helmets have liners with adjustable padding to improve comfort but you still need to get the right basic size and shape for you head.,

A helmet needs to be snug but not over-tight. You need to select the right ventilation to ensure your head is comfortable and neither gets to hot or to cold and wet.

We will feature some of the best helmets available over the next few posts to help you keep safe and enjoy snowboarding to the max.