I think this is a good thing. Helmets are becoming more and more popular anyway - I run an online ski shop that specialises in ski helmets and noticed that sales have increased in recent years. Many customers are first time helmet buyers and their comments are generally along the lines of "You'd be stupid not to wear one".

I think many people avoid wearing them as they want to "look good" on the slopes, because they think they might be uncomfortable or expensive. There are many comfortable AND inexpensive helmets out there and there is a huge range of helmets that look great and actually add to your appearance if the skier/boarder is concerned about visuals. For example, take a look at the helmets on our site http://www.rideking.co.uk/ski-helmets-and-snowboarding-helmets.html - you can see a range of styles and prices to suit all and they all look pretty good - certainly not like your old-school cycle helmets.

My whole family and our friends we go skiing with all wear helmets are of the opinion that it's the non-helmet-wearers are the ones who are "uncool"! There are some great helmet manufacturers out there from big names like Pro-Tec, Red and Giro, to more specialised/up and coming ones like RuRoC. RuRoC's helmets (pictured here: http://www.rideking.co.uk/ruroc-helmets-for-skiers-and-snowboarders.html) integrate a face mask and goggles into the helmet offering even better protection (also they look pretty darn cool!). I've had customers contacting us when returning from holidays saying that these particular helmets had saved their lives from head on collisions with trees etc. One man sent us a photo of the whole mask and front of the helmet cracked, he had to buy a new one but he said it was by no means a waste of money because he wouldn't be here today if he hadn't been wearing one.

Another note, its sad that it took a high profile accident/death to make more people aware of the need for helmets - in the days following the accident our sales peaked noticeably, lets hope the number of such accidents will be reduced in the future through better awareness and more people wearing helmets.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on the matter!

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