Brian T

Hello,
Have any of you used or currently use this brand of helmet for riding?
I know they are rescue and climbing helmets. Are they made to the same or better standards as bike helmets? I ask because I currently have one for work and love the way it fits. Thanks for your help in advance.


Brian

buzzman

how 'bout a link, a picture, something to go on here?

Brian T

Good point. This is the helmet. thanks


https://www.rescueresponse.com/store/...rtex_Vent.html

littlewaywelt

I own a few. No way I would ride with them, especially the classic ecrin roc models which are designed to primarily protect against falling rock and ice. They aren't designed to absorb energy by using foam the way a bike helmet is, although some of their models do have foam. Again, no way I'd ride with a rock helmet...even if I was riding a bike to a crag.

buzzman

looks like it might work as a winter helmet but the ventilation does not look sufficient for intense athletic activity. As far as comparing it's effectiveness for impact I'd check the classification of the helmet under ANSI standards (465 g CE ANSI Z89.1 - 2003 type I class C). There might be a way of doing a side by side protection comparison.

As is often pointed out in these forums helmets protect cyclists to a point but they all have their limitations. I personally think riding with a helmet of any kind is preferable to no helmet at all. But at that price it certainly isn't a matter of the price differential (ie my Bell Citi retailed for about $35 vs the Petzl price of $94).

Brian T

[QUOTE=buzzman;6463347]looks like it might work as a winter helmet but the ventilation does not look sufficient for intense athletic activity. As far as comparing it's effectiveness for impact I'd check the classification of the helmet under ANSI standards (465 g CE ANSI Z89.1 - 2003 type I class C). There might be a way of doing a side by side protection comparison.

As is often pointed out in these forums helmets protect cyclists to a point but they all have their limitations. I personally think riding with a helmet of any kind is preferable to no helmet at all. But at that price it certainly isn't a matter of the price differential (ie my Bell Citi retailed for about $35 vs the Petzl price of $94).[/QUOTE]

I agree. luckly I already own one. I will look at comparing them side by side. Thanks for the help.

Rex G

Rock climbing helmets are designed for a totally different type of impact than bicycle helmets. While there is indeed some benefit, i.e., better than nothing, each type of helmet is optimized for its intended use. I do not wear my superbly comfortable Petzl for bicycling. While it may be great protection from kids throwing rocks and bottles, it lacks the energy-absorbing foam that is best if my head strikes something of substantial mass like a vehicle or the planet Earth.

joejack951

Better start doing more research if you think bike helmets were actually designed to protect against collisions with automobiles.

Rex G

It's not that I plan to head-butt automobiles! Obviously, a car moving at substantial speed will have enough kinetic energy to defeat the best helmet in a direct collision. Over a certain impact velocity, the helmet will not matter, as the spinal injuries will be so bad as to make the brain injury irrelevant. (I did research that in my motorcycling days.) But, if a vehicle suddenly crosses my path, and my head is destined to hit it, or the planet Earth beyond it, I would rather be wearing one of my bicycle helmets than my Petzl. FWIW, in many, if not most, of the auto-ped collision scenes I have seen, the main head injuries seem to have happened when the victim hit the pavement, not the vehicle. I have not been at enough bicycle wreck scenes to know if they are any different. My wife is a medicolegal death investigator, and has an M.D., so if anyone is interested, I can ask her opinion on this.

jfmckenna

I have a Petzel helmet that I use for caving and have so for many years. They are very tough indeed. It seems to me they are a lot tougher then any cycling helmet I've ever owned. I've had many rocks hit my Petzel helmet and banged it many times in caves over the years. I once dropped a brand new cycling helmet from about 3 feet and one of the foam fins broke off! Seems to me that head impact from a rock or a fall is similar if not worse then a bike related impact.

John E

Cycling helmets are designed to absorb energy by crushing or collasping during a collision. This is precisely what one wants to happen, because it reduces the rate of deceleration of the head. Think of your brain rattling around inside your skull -- this is the primary mechanism leading to traumatic brain injury. I currently wear a Giro Xen because it fits me perfectly and provides good coverage.

Rex G

Exactly! The bike helmet's crushable foam decelerates the head as it strikes a much larger mass. The Petzl is a hard shell, that makes small rocks, of much less mass than the Planet Earth, bounce off your noggin. Mass (the rock's) is deflected, not decelerated. Now, for real protection, we can wear a hardshell helmet with collapsible foam; they are called motorcycle helmets. There is nothing wrong with wearing a motorcycle helmet while riding a bicycle, except the smaller vents are designed to function at highway speeds, and the rider will bake at typical bicycle speeds. Plus, the weight is greater, and most road cyclists will not want to carry that weight.