Does this orange helmet make my head look big?
I wear a blaze orange helmet — and a Tekvest chest protector — to be safe, and fact is that most other people who work in the snowmobile industry do, too. There’s a reason that snowmobile racers are required to have 144 square inches of international orange on their helmets; it’s so they can be seen by other racers.
I’m not a racer, nor do I pretend to be one. I ride for a living, and I ride a lot, so with that the chance to fall victim to one of the sport’s inherent risks increases. Wearing a bright-orange helmet makes my head more visible through snow dust to reduce the chance I’ll be struck by another sled should I have an off or when I’m in motion, not to mention it helps followers find their way down the trail — keeping them safer, too.
No other helmet color that I’ve seen on the trail is as visible as blaze orange; not dull orange, not yellow, not red, not green. What’s the least visible? White, gray and black (especially matte black) blends into the winter landscape. When you shop for a snowmobile helmet, consider buying one that’s bright orange, it could save your hide.
— Andy Swanson, Snow Goer magazine managing editor
To read more posts from Snow Goer editors, go to blog.snowgoer.com.
I’ve been wearing bright orange helmets for decades as they are best for visibility as you stated in this article. The sad part os it is getting harder and harder to fond a good MX style helmet in bright orange. Perhaps the snowmobiling apparel manufacturers can put some heat on the helmet manufacturers to offer more bright orange styles.