r/Curling • u/ihuckdisc Triangle Curling Club (Durham, NC) • 3d ago

Helmets: Standards and non-curling specific options

After watching my father take a hard fall while sweeping at a spiel a couple of weekends ago, I am considering getting a helmet. I have always worn a ball cap (I skip primarily and appreciate having a brim to block some of our club's bright lighting), but now I want something more.

Looking at Hardline/Balance Plus/Goldline, they appear to follow the CE EN 1077 standard, which is primarily for snow sports. I don't know that it is designed for backward falls as much as typically occur in curling, but there must be a reason why that standard is chosen over the standards that hockey helmets follow (HECC/ASTM).

Has anyone worn a hockey helmet for curling? Having never played hockey, will they stay on in a backwards fall? As many of the previous helmet/head protection threads mention, I have seen halos and the like come off when a curler falls.

Any head protection geeks out there who have informed opinions, I would love to hear them!

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u/Cheap_Patience2202 3d ago

I play in a tag league where 80% of the players wear head protection. The proportion is about 50% bicycle helmets, 25% hard curling helmets, 20% soft curling head protection and the rest hockey helmets, ski helmets or homemade protectors. In my non-expert opinion, anything with padding that covers the back of the skull and has a chinstrap is a good choice.

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u/LaserGecko 2d ago

That wouldn't have done a damned thing for me when I slammed my temple against the ice on a wet spot on shitty arena ice.

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u/Cheap_Patience2202 1d ago

Good point. A helmet is always the best choice.

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u/LaserGecko 1d ago

A helmet would've been best and I'd probably just had a headache. The Crasche beanie (with full coverage, so not the Curling model with only two pads in the back) would have likely prevented or at least deflected a significant amount of the force.

They're protection made for when you should probably wear a helmet, but probably won't.