Pole Vaulting Helmets

[mdavis2685]

do helmets really help? i think about it like this, a helmet can yes save your life but also could put your life in more danger. by that i mean it is just another distraction. i personally dont want something on my head and have the chance of that messing me up. also helmets are safe for iff you miss the pit yes but from some of the deaths in this sport they happened by landing in the box on their head. A helmet wont protect you from that. a fall from any height landing upside down on your head is going to break your neck/back and as far as i know helmets dont protect those areas.

[tim hutzley]

the company who makes tobys hocky helmet should make a toby stevenson pole vault helmet. That would be wicked.

[achtungpv]

$100 for a helmet though? Most skateboard helmets are $40 as I recall. Maybe these are more expensive to make?

All products theoretically get cheaper as the number of units sold increases. A company selling skate helmets can probably move 10s if not 100s of thousands of helmets a year and can make a good profit at $40. A PV-only helmet? They'll be lucky to sell 1,000 a year and their profit margin on $100 is probably lower per helmet than the skate helmet at $40. That's barely worth the trouble of hiring the 3rd world children to build the darn things.

[Bruce Caldwell]

any one have success stories on the soft box/

[Scott Go Pre]

do helmets really help? i think about it like this, a helmet can yes save your life but also could put your life in more danger. by that i mean it is just another distraction. i personally dont want something on my head and have the chance of that messing me up. also helmets are safe for iff you miss the pit yes but from some of the deaths in this sport they happened by landing in the box on their head. A helmet wont protect you from that. a fall from any height landing upside down on your head is going to break your neck/back and as far as i know helmets dont protect those areas.

It's true that a helmet won't be able to save your neck from falling on your head, but it can save you if you happen to fall like Somoa Fili did, or even Jesus Quesada. But a helmet is only a distraction if you think that it will be. I wear one, and when I put my helmet on, I forget about the darn thing during the run and vault. It will only hurt you if you let it get to you-- don't let it get to you head

[mdavis2685]

bruce as you know we have two of them at HipAthletics but nobody has landed in them on their head which is better than having a story, but more on those boxes; i dont feel any difference in planting a pole in that box or a metal box, but reading the stats on how they can help save lives from several feet higher than a metal box i think they are the answer, the only problem they are soooo expensive compared to the metal boxes

[lonestar]

Learn to pole vault instead. It's a much better investment.

Seriously!

[saraf]

hey mike how do those soft boxes treat you kankles ??? I am just messin with ya !! haha

[VTechVaulter]

kevin dare was a 5.10 meter vaulter. he def knew how to pole vault. as per the other deaths i can not speak of. The fact is that every pole vaulter at some point in there career will be involved in some kind of accident. Things you can do to reduce risk are always a plus. Would a helmet have saved my friend, probably not. kevins accident was going to be fatal no matter what he was wearing.

I do agree that safe pole vaulting is the key. I land in the dead center of the pit 99% or the time. one or two jump get off a foot or two, but learning to plant straight every time was something my father instilled upon me from the start. but i still wear a helmet and it has helped me a couple times. One fall where i landed on my feet at the front of the box, but the metal spikes slid out from under me, spinning my shoulder down to the ground and then whiplash head into ground. Broke my helmet, got up and walked away. And when i broke a pole, the plug came up and tapped me int he back of the helmet too.

I think they are a good idea, and we have seen in the past few years that they dont stop you from jumping high, toby, bobby most, handful of others. But no, they shouldn't be mandatory, but i recommend it. thanx for listening

my opinion anyway.

[Bruce Caldwell]

I just heard this might also be High Jump Helmet!

what is anyone's thoughts on this?

Other thoughts
http://polevaultpower.com/forum/viewtop ... 8839#28839

[mdavis2685]

hey adam
i think that any box is gonna be rough on the kankles haha, but as far as wearing a helmet for high jumping i have never seen that at any of the meets i have been in. have there been serious head injuries from the high jump? i only way i can see one is if they go off the back of the pit or over shoot it. does anyone have any stories?

[jmayesvaultmom]

There was a post on here a long time ago about a 12 yr-old girl that bounced off the high jump pit after a jump and then her head hit the concrete around the pit. Her brain swelled that night and she passed away that night. Her dad was the head track coach, I think, of their high school. Terrible thing. The ambulance was there within just a couple of minutes, too. She seemed ok afterwards early in the evening, but then didn't make it.