W. Watson wrote:
I'm basically a flat water paddler but am extending my horizons to class
II. Maybe III some distant day in the future. III will be my limit. Any
suggestions on a suitable helmet for II?

Wayne T. Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)
(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Wayne, some tips:

Pushing a rock out of the way with your head on class II/III can be just
as painful as doing that on class IV... Get a good helmet.

-Decide on how much you want to spend on a helmet. (If you have a 20
dollar head, get a 20 dollar helmet. :-) )
-Look at what is available for that price, and try the helmet on.
Look especially at the straps: Does the strap try to strangle you if you
move the helmet forwards or backwards? If you can move it forward over
your forehead so that it doesn't cover the back of your skull, or if you
can move it backwards far enough to expose your forehead, leave it
alone! Some of the newer helmets come with very nice adjustable straps
that feel like the helmet is glued to your head.

Mind you, some helmets come with some foam so that you can outfit the
inside to fit your head better. The better the helmet fits your head,
the less work you have on outfitting it!

A helmet without drainage holes will protect your head better (stiffness
of the shell) and keep your head warmer. Personally I hate those holes,
because they let cold water in and my body heat out, but I also enjoy
paddling when it's freezing. I guess that it's warmer where you live, so
see what works for you.

A helmet that is made of kevlar or some other composite material will
generally be stiffer, thereby spreading the force of the blow to your
head over a bigger area, and it will usually need (a lot) more force
before deforming. A plastic helmet is more likely to deform locally and
in that case it will pass the energy on the point of impact almost
directly to the skull below it.

A helmet that has a decent layer of foam inside will have more distance
between your skull and the rock and it might absorb more of the energy
of the impact (depending upon the kind of foam used).

A helmet shaped like a baseball cap might look very fashionable, but it
usually lacks adequate protection on the sides and back, as well as
adding a visor that will yank your head back if it hits on something.
For very little money you can add a flexible (velcro'd on) visor to
almost any helmet.

I've had five different helmets over the years, two Roemer, one Prijon
Corsica, a Shred Ready Full Mental Jacket and for the last five years or
so, I've used a Grateful Heads Dropzone helmet to which I added the
visor and a face guard.

Some pictures he http://kayaker.nl/tips.html#Helmets

HTH

--
Wilko van den Bergh wilkoa t)dse(d o tnl
Eindhoven The Netherlands Europe
---Look at the possibilities, don't worry about the limitations.---
http://kayaker.nl/