What is the rationale of skiers and snowboarders who do not wear helmets?

Head itches. No way to scratch with a helmet on.

While I agree with the notion that other people have cited on here that helmets <can> create a sense of false security and therefore expose some people to greater risk, for me personally, I choose to wear one because of the following:  (I know this isn't answering the question but it seems to me to be a worthwhile discussion) I can't remember a single instance when I wished I wasn't wearing any type of protective equipment while I have several examples when I REALLY wish I was. (Broken wrist - Snowboarding - I almost always wore wrist guards because I had a friend break their wrist. I forgot to throw them in my board bag and I sketched out on boilerplate.) Cutting brush with a machete. Flexible little tree slapped back at me after I hit it - punctured cornea. Once again, I almost always wore safety goggles but forgot them that day.) Modern helmets are warm and confortable for cold days, and have venting options for warm ones. Most are super light and relatively inexpensive compared the the rest of my equipment and lift tickets/lodging. It takes 2 minutes to put on/tighten boots and strap in while it takes 5 seconds to put on a helmet. Even if I am confident in my own abilities, there are plenty of others on the slopes that aren't as skilled and you don't always see those people in time. Even the best boarder/skier can hit a death cookie (chunk of ice left by a groomer) and wipe out. When it's late in the day and your tired, anything can happen regardless of your skill level.

Two that come to mind... Availability bias: been skiing x years, no accidents, helmets are probably safer, but it's been okay so far. Penny-wise, pound-foolish: costs $x more to rent a helmet, don't want to pay that much; it's x discomfort to wear the helmet, don't want to be uncomfortable.

#1 reason is that they are uncomfortable. But sometimes there are other reasons. A few years ago a friend of mine was deciding whether or not to buy a helmet.  After an exhaustive internet search and a half hour with a calculator he concluded that he was far more likely to suffer a serious injury during the 2 - 3 hour car ride to the ski hill than 6 hours spent skiing without a helmet.

Same reason why some people don't wear seatbelts when they drive. They cite reasons such as comfort, but ultimately it is just arrogance - I am a good driver/skier/boarder so I don't need a seatbelt/helmet. Well maybe you're so good you could ski an empty mountain all day and not crash, but usually there are other slope-users out there and some of them are a liability. Someday one of them will hit you and it is increasingly likely they will be wearing a helmet, if your head hits theirs ... ouch! The comfort argument doesn't wash, just buy a decent helmet and you'll soon feel naked without it. It's not going to stop you breaking your legs, but the unique thing about a head injury is that most other injuries don't result in you having to be fed with a spoon for the rest of your life.

Great question, here are a few thoughts - 1. I skied for 13 years with no helmet and no major injuries 2. I've been snowboarding for an additional 23 yrs, same result 3. I don't spend time in the "parks" doing tricks or catching big air, so lower risk 4. I believe there should still be some measure of personal freedom when it comes to risk & injury prevention 5. I'm going to need to revisit this entire conversation and my personal decision if I expect my kids to wear helmets, if they are hitting the park and catching big air then "we" all may end-up wearing helmets 6. I think both the science and the marketing trend support the use of helmets Hope this helps

UPDATE: This season I did buy a helmet and I will wear one from now on. Partly my kids pointing out that if they wear one, I should too (pace ), partly my wife asked me too. But to give some reasons why I didn't and to answer the question: I don't wear a helmet skiing. Why not?  Because I don't like it, and I don't want to wear one. Given that skiing is supposedly something to enjoy, then not liking it is a reason itself. I find it claustrophobic and uncomfortable. I find the loss of peripheral vision noticeable and worrying: I have a niggling worry of the things I can't see. I also find it muffles sound, and, once more that somewhat worries me. I find the lack of feeling loses some of the point: it is as though I'm watching skiing on TV instead of being there. I accept there may be risks (but see below) but some evidence doesn't seem that helmets greatly reduce risk. But more importantly, I accept that as part of skiing. I might bust my ACL, I might ski off a crevace, I might bash my head. But the odds are low. And that is a point: the odds are low, so I chose to accept them. Helmets have not actually reduced deaths. I do make my kids wear one. And I do wear a helmet for cycling - although that is not uncomftable and doesn't cut out senses (peripheral vision or sound). Indeed, maybe I'll try skiing in my cycling helmet...? Have the increased use of helmets decreased the number of serious and fatal head injuries? Oddly, no. Helmet use been estimated to be about 40 percent of users and has been increasing about 5 percent annually over the past several years. ... However, according to Shealy’s research, there has been no significant reduction in fatalities due to head injury over the past nine seasons despite the increase in helmet use.... Why no reduction in fatalities? There are several reasons. Helmets are designed to protect your head up to 12 mph, however, most collisions with trees involve the skier/boarder traveling at least twice to three times that speed. Studies have shown that those wearing helmets ski faster than those without helmets. For non-helmeted skiers, 23 percent of all potentially serious head injuries are more serious than a mild concussion. For helmeted skiers, 67 percent of their potentially serious head injuries are more severe than a mild concussion. Another reason is that two-third of fatalities by those who wear helmets are due to multiple causes or injuries. For those who die while wearing a helmet, only about one-third have a head injury as the first cause of death. Basically, the severity of the incident simply overwhelms the ability of the helmet to prevent death. http://www.ski-blog.com/2008/01/some_statistics_on_ski_injurie.html or The American Medical Association have produced arguably a more objective assessment of helmets for snow sports - click here to read their report  - "Helmets for Recreational Skiing and Other Winter Sports in Children and Adolescents". Personally, I  wear a helmet myself  and  would always recommend (but not force) others do so too - in my opinion there is no good reason not to wear a helmet other than personal choice. However, I also agree with the AMA's conclusion that there is insufficient evidence to support mandatory wearing of helmets on the slopes. Yes, head injuries do occur and yes, helmets will help in the vast majority of head injury situations. The argument is stronger for children who are at higher generic risk of injury on the slopes. In my opinion though, the fact remains that the risk of such an injury remains too small to insist that everyone on the slopes must wear a helmet http://www.ski-injury.com/prevention/helmet

An interesting angle is the kind of place you ski. Generally I've found that places with a bias towards more difficult skiing (e.g. resorts such as (IME) Engelberg and Chamonix), the more likely skiers are to wear helmets. It's similar to wearing avalanche transceivers off-piste; if you're not wearing one, people will look at you like you're a bit dim, not to mention selfish. Personally I find it like wearing a seatbelt in a car - I feel naked without one. It's also warm (though I've never found mine too hot, even when touring), comfortable, quicker to put on than a hat, and acts as a handy camera mount. It causes absolutely no issues with my field of view, in fact I can't see it when I'm wearing it - goggles or sunglasses have a far bigger effect on that. I really don't get the "but I don't want to look silly" attitude; you'd look a lot more stupid with your head smashed in. With regard to parallels with cycling, http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/bicyclefatalities.pdf of cycling accidents showed that three quarters of accidents involved head injuries, and 97% of cyclists killed in road accidents were not wearing helmets. A friend was killed in an 8mph accident and wasn't wearing a helmet. He suffered no breaks or fractures, but hit his head and suffered encephalitis that proved fatal. A helmet would almost certainly have saved him. In any kind of accident, I am generally happier with more protection than less, and, like Christopher Corn, never have had an accident where I wished I was wearing less.

Wow really shocked by these answers. If you make your children wear helmets, you should wear one, actions speak louder than words. Some of you have not tried a helmet on in years, they are comfortable and warm. Also it's something little you can do to keep yourself safer when skiing. If you know anything about head injuries and people who have them they are horrible, why take the chance?  Some one made a comment about hearing and vision, once again you have not a helmet on in a long time.  I would encourage everyone to wear one!