What is safe to wear under a helmet?

[PAB855]

Does wearing some kind of head covering affect the safe performance of a helmet?
Yesterday I bought a new helmet and someone said it might not be safe to wear a beanie under it .
Over the years I've worn all sorts of headgear, beanies, baseball caps, buffs, a Campagnolo Gitane cap, so have I been careless?
If so, the next question is, in the current weather how does one keep warm? I like to pull the beanie down to my eyebrows and over my ears.

It's good to keep a cool head, but !,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Cheers

[Nicholas]

I have a merino wool "skull cap" which is basically a thin beanie designed to be worn under the helmet.

[Paulkentuk]

Whoever gave you that advice isn't looking after your best interests !

There are loads of them out there, here is just one:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/flintronic-Cyc ... 2b6b615b9c

I've used similar, and on cold mornings cycling the short distance to work, I have been very grateful for it !

[Nicholas]

This is the one I wear:

https://www.condorcycles.com/products/a ... riding-hat

[mjr]

Does wearing some kind of head covering affect the safe performance of a helmet?

Read its instructions. It'll say if it can't cope with a cap. Some helmet retention straps are designed to cope with skull caps and so on, while some aren't. Memorably, one American manufacturer warns against letting your hair grow too long!

I suspect the beanie may be more protective than the helmet for most riders! Cold is a certainty, falling off isn't.

[mjr]

This is the one I wear:

https://www.condorcycles.com/products/a ... riding-hat

I wonder if they'd stand by the product if a helmet maker blamed it for a helmet failing in a fall.

[Nicholas]

This is the one I wear:

https://www.condorcycles.com/products/a ... riding-hat

I wonder if they'd stand by the product if a helmet maker blamed it for a helmet failing in a fall.

Who knows? I've been very happy with the Albion hat so far. It's warm, light and fits well under my Specialized road helmet with no movement at all.

[Brucey]

in the bad old days, before almost every helmet had a quick-adjust system, I used to have two differently-sized, but otherwise identical helmets. I used one in the summer, and a larger one (which would cope with a beanie as well) in the winter. With a modern helmet it is much easier; I just turn the knob twice a year.
IME a thinnish hat will only impact a helmet negatively if it somehow degrades the fit of said helmet.

[PAB855]

Very many thanks for all these comments.

I did try my favourite beanie under the helmet and the helmet felt just as secure as it did without the beanie.

It's a Giro, not the first one I've HAD to replace due to a fall. From those experiences and a fall in 1960 when I, as was the custom, wasn't wearing a helmet, you wouldn't get me going out without one, ever. After the falls which caused substantial damage to the helmets, they were still securely held in place ( including the beanie) when I was rescued by passers by. What a pity I hadn't been wearing full body armour !

I've checked the 'Owner's Manual' and under the heading 'Warning: Read Carefully', not one of the 15 bullet points says anything about anything under the helmet. - Perhaps it should.

I think I'll just keep doing what I've been doing.

One final comment.

It's great to get a posting from Brucey once again. It hasn't been the same without you. Back on form, judging by the number of postings. Thanks and best wishes.

Cheers

[Pebble]

how does having an ever expanding bald patch effect the complex safety of a cycling helmet. - could its very limit protection be compromised?

I suspect the beanie may be more protective than the helmet for most riders! Cold is a certainty, falling off isn't.

If i had to make a choice I would go for the beanie - as it is I wear both in the winter, can't be doing with a cold heed

[531colin]

I made a light-hearted comment to the effect that the powerful magic of a bit of expanded polystyrene should make wearing anything at all safe.
Removing this comment, and having this topic on the “technical” board instead of the helmet board looks a lot like pro helmet propaganda to me.
Aren’t we supposed to be helmet neutral?

[pwa]

In a cupboard upstairs, amongst other cycle related clothing items, I have a seldom used Goretex helmet cover. It is meant to keep rain off your bonce, which it does, but I tend to run hot and find that I cook with it over the helmet. But on really cold days it does keep me warmer. It creates a warm zone within the helmet. For someone who gets cold more often than I do, it might be more wearable. It certainly does keep the head warm once you have got going. And being on the outside of the helmet, it doesn't affect the fit.

[slowster]

Two reports have been made that this thread should be in the Helmet forum. When I saw the first one yesterday evening I thought there was a case for arguing that the discussion was primarily about recommendations of hats to keep warm or protect from the Sun which were compatible with helmets. Inevitably that is a somewhat subjective judgement. Looking at subsequent posts and the thread overall I now agree with the reports that it should be in the Helmet forum, and have therefore moved it.

[Psamathe]

I suspect it depends on the details construction of what is being worn under the helmet. eg when gliding my club had a rule that you must not wear baseball hats - their reason is bad turbulence or ejecting could bash your head into the top of the canopy and the "button" might puncture a hole in your skull. Being no expert I can't assess the validity of their concerns (you are strapped in so turbulence should be safe because of straps but I've never ejected!).

So something with hard eg buttons maybe not a good idea.

Ian

[531colin]

Two reports have been made that this thread should be in the Helmet forum. When I saw the first one yesterday evening I thought there was a case for arguing that the discussion was primarily about recommendations of hats to keep warm or protect from the Sun which were compatible with helmets. Inevitably that is a somewhat subjective judgement. Looking at subsequent posts and the thread overall I now agree with the reports that it should be in the Helmet forum, and have therefore moved it.

Thank you