iPod Ski Hat or Ski/Ride Helmet?

Posted by Mitch Kaplan Dec 15, 2006

So, this company from Florida (of all places - why not Colorado?) has come out with a "ski" or "snowboarding" hat that’ll hold your iPod Nano and manage its wires.

An iPod ski hat? Seems like a great idea on the surface. But, then you start to think about it and wonder just how safe it really is.

Common ski/snowboard courtesy says you should call out to someone if you’re about to pass them on a trail. Is there any point in doing that if the person you're passing is six-fathoms deep into some head-banging music and can’t hear you anyway?

Well, the company president rightly says the idea isn’t to condone careless or dangerous skiing. The hat is a "ski style" hat, really a knit hat, but "ski hat" is the common term for that.

And I can’t blame him to making such a hat—there are many situations where it would come in very handy. Like when your snow shoveling, for instance. Or just out for winter walking.

But, the flip side of the safety question sis this: should anyone be out on the hill wearing just a hat?

Should we all be wearing ski/snowboard helmets?

A 1999 Consumer Product Safety Commission report stated that 7,700 head injuries could be prevented annually if skiers and snowboarders wore helmets on the slopes.

Now, there’s also some debate about helmets, and it runs something like this: the skiers/riders who most need helmets due to their sliding style are males between ages 15 and 30; and these are not only the folks least likely to don a helmet but, if they do, they’re also the demographic most likely to think it will protect them from any- and everything and therefore will ski/ride even more recklessly.

Hmm... a bit of a dilemma that.

But, even more problematic is this: several helmet makers produce models that accommodate iPods and MP3 players.

Now, that’s really mixing your poisons.

What’s a poor skier to do?

Related Article: iPod Ski Hat for Sale