Starting Out
Head Case or No-Brainer? Do YOU Need a Helmet?
By Tamia Nelson
tamia@paddling.net
Look at the pictures in most boating catalogs and you won't see many
folks wearing helmets. Whitewater outfitters show them routinely in
their action shots, of course, but helmets are all but invisible on the
pages of other outdoor merchandisers' glossy come-ons. I've got one
such catalog in front of me as I write this. It offers a full range of
bicycle helmets, including one specifically designed for toddlers, but
there's not a helmet to be seen on the twenty pages of canoeing and
kayaking gear—despite the fact that several photos show paddlers
in surf.
That's too bad. While helmets are usually associated with whitewater
kayaking and rafting, they make sense anytime there's a chance your
head will hit something harder than itself. And helmets aren't just for
kayakers. Here's what the Safety Code of the American Whitewater
Affiliation has to say on the subject:
Wear a solid, correctly-fitted helmet when upsets are likely. This is
essential in kayaks or covered canoes, and recommended for open
canoeists using thigh straps and rafters running steep drops.
That's pretty sweeping, isn't it? "Wear a…helmet when upsets
are likely." Not on Golden Pond, perhaps, but certainly in
rapids—even easy rapids—and in surf. Anywhere you're likely
to be slammed on your head if you dump, in short.
But surely open-boaters don't have to worry, do they? They don't
"stay with the ship" when they capsize, after all. Unless, that is,
they're using thigh straps.
Well, maybe. If you're wearing a life-jacket, and if your
life-jacket fits, and if it's zipped all the way up, you're
likely to have relatively little trouble keeping your head above water
when you go for an unplanned swim in easy-to-moderate (Class I-III)
whitewater. The same thing can't be said for more difficult rapids,
though. Swimming in Class IV water (or worse) is a little like going
for a ride in a washing machine. One moment you're up. The next moment
you're down. You're tumbled and tossed, willy-nilly. The word
"swimming" doesn't really apply, in fact. You don't swim in difficult
rapids. You struggle. You struggle to keep on your back. To keep your
feet pointing downstream. To avoid being washed over ledges and trapped
in recirculating eddies, or pinned by your runaway boat. And through it
all, you'll find yourself underwater as often as you're above it. If
you're flushed into a cobble-filled pothole, you'll soon feel like the
clapper in a church bell on Easter Sunday.
In such conditions, a helmet makes a lot of sense, whatever type of
boat you paddle.
OK. What should you look for when you go shopping? A good helmet is
both light and strong. A good helmet fits snugly but not too tight, and
it has a chin-strap with a quick-release buckle. A good helmet doesn't
prevent you from hearing the shouts of your companions, fry your brain,
or trap large quantities of water (look for ventilation and drain
holes). And a good helmet is designed specifically for boating. While a
cycling or climbing helmet may be better than nothing, nothing's better
than the real thing.
The bottom line? If you own a kayak and you think you'll want to
paddle rapids—even easy rapids—get a helmet. Then wear
it every time you leave the placid waters of Golden Pond, and every
time you practice your roll, engage in deep-water recovery drills in
rough conditions, or surf. Every time, in short, that your head could
suddenly find itself between a rock and a hard place.
If you paddle an open canoe, inflatable, or sit-on-top, and if you
plan to use thigh straps, get a helmet. (Be sure to check the
release on your thigh straps, too!) And what if you won't be using
thigh straps, but you still think you'll want to run Class III-IV water
someday? The answer's a no-brainer: once again, get a helmet.
Lastly, if you're going to take your kids with you in your kayak,
I'd recommend that you insist they use helmets even on Golden Pond. In
the confusion of a capsize—or just a sudden squall of
wind—it's surprisingly easy to clock a kid on the head with your
paddle. And it's not just kids. I know one couple who paddle a tandem
Folbot in whitewater. The woman paddles in the bow, and her husband can
get a little absent-minded at times, particularly when they're in the
middle of a tricky Class III drop. After he hit her in the head with
his airborne blade for the second time, she bought a helmet. It worked.
Both her skull and her marriage are still intact.
Helmets. If you value your head, they're always worth considering.
'Nuff said.
Copyright © 2001 by Verloren Hoop Productions. All
rights reserved.