chaffedsaddle

how do you pack your helmet when flying? i'm worried if i put it in my checked baggage that it will get damaged, since even a minor amount can ruin its effectiveness. i'm taking one of my front panniers as my carry-on bag and the handlebar bag as my laptop/purse bag. if i put the helmet in the pannier, there won't be much room for anything else. do you think i could get away with wearing the helmet onto the plane?

TRaffic Jammer

just wear it and rock back and forth in your seat.... they might think it's made of plastique... who knows these day? Seriously though I'd call the airline to make sure.

centexwoody 

When flying to Germany in August, I just packed it in a bag with clothes & stuff around it. No problems and it's not very heavy. Same thing on return flight, no problemo.

Altho wearing it onto the plane is kind of wonderfully super geeky: I dare you... then report back to us what the response was from the airlines.

TRaffic Jammer

Full Team kit? , or I need a helmet for daily living? It would be pretty funny either way. Hey if Borat can make life comedy......

Machka 

I just clip my helmet to the outside of whatever I use as a carry-on bag (pannier, Carradice, handlebar bag). Yes, it hits all the seated passengers in the head as it swings when I walk down the aisle to my seat, but that's OK. At least the saves me from the worry of putting it in my checked luggage and not having it show up at the other end, and it doesn't take up any room in the bag that way.

I've carried it like that many times and have had no complaints from the airline personnel ... and if the passengers have complained, I haven't heard it!

valygrl

Just take it on the plane, I did, with the same setup: handlebar bag = purse, front pannier = carryon bag, plus helmet. Not an issue.

FlowerBlossom

Similar to the majority above.

On my more recent trip (Sept/Oct 2006), the most important gear were carry-ons: helmet, shoes, one pair of cycling shorts, one shirt, raingear. All of this, except the helmet, fit into one pannier. The other pannier remained unfilled, and I carried the two panniers connected together by adding D-rings to the straps, clipping a shoulder strap into the Drings, and like Machka advised, strap the helmet into this setup. The unfilled pannier was so flat that it "blended in".

The above was my "carry-on", and, my handlebar bag was my "purse", with the other important things I needed: the tour books and maps, digital camera, passport and other papers, and collapsible wine glass.

NoReg

Pack a helmet, what a bunch of pus... Just kidding you are a wise and prudent lot, with a lot of wisdom and prudence to protect.

Outside of NA, what is the helmet situation like? Do many euro countries allow non-helmeted riders?

markf

Helmet usage seems to be less common in Europe than in the US, at least among people who cycle for transport instead of recreation. Ironically, the countries where cycling is safest (Netherlands, Denmark) are the countries where the fewest cyclists where helmets.

Cornchops

I just put mine in the box with my bike.

Machka 

In Australia, helmet usage is mandatory ... it's the law, and I've heard stories over and over about some poor cycle-tourist who rode all day with a helmet, got to his/her campsite that night and decided to cycle the 1.5 kms to the store to pick up some groceries, without his/her helmet, and got ticketed for it.

Also many cycling events, and cycle touring packages, require that the cyclists use helmets. So if you're going to another country to participate in an event, and then do some touring as well, you've got to pack your helmet.

paul2

+1

imafencer

OK, last May I actually did WEAR my helmet on the plane. I was meeting someone during a connection for that flight and knew she would be able to pick me out with my helmet. The 40 or so 8th graders in the lobby at 5 a.m. gave me a little extra distance while I was walking around waiting to get on the flight, so that was nice! And none of them seemed to want to sit by me on that leg of the journey...We had people meeting us at the airport, so I just left it on once we arrived. One less thing to carry while I was picking up panniers and a bike box.

Lolly Pop

I think I will start wearing my helmet on the train to dublin so I get the seat next to me to myself.

NoReg

Thanks guys, that's one reason I'm not touring in OZ.