Helmet replacement - how often?

[HDSkiing]

Impacts aside the ski area that I work for requires helmets be replaced every other season for full time employees and every 3 seasons for part time. They provide the helmet on their dime or a voucher if you want a higher end model. Two seasons full time is about 200 days at 8 hours plus each day. My Smith Vantage ($200 plus retail) still looks like new but next season it will go in the garbage/recycle bin at the ski area. Not sure if this is driven by insurance or industry standards.

 

[NE1]

Not sure if this is driven by insurance or industry standards.

IMHO...fiscal greed and stealth marketing...

 

[skidrew]

Don't be a hoarder!! Trash that thing..

Hahaha . . . I was thinking the same thing, having just bought a replacement (8 years in, but probably only ~50 ski days, but a small chunk of Styrofoam broke off recently).

Would be nice if they could be recycled somehow, like electronics, but because neither you nor anyone else will ever use it, trash is the only option.

 

[skidrew]

Impacts aside the ski area that I work for requires helmets be replaced every other season for full time employees and every 3 seasons for part time. They provide the helmet on their dime or a voucher if you want a higher end model. Two seasons full time is about 200 days at 8 hours plus each day. My Smith Vantage ($200 plus retail) still looks like new but next season it will go in the garbage/recycle bin at the ski area. Not sure if this is driven by insurance or industry standards.

I would guess insurance. Talked to an instructor at Big Sky who was forced to start wearing a helmet this year based he said on OSHA issues that lead to insurance issues. I would guess that insurance companies require a certain frequency of replacement, and the resorts can probably negotiate a very good deal anyway, given the free advertising the helmet cos. get.