In reply to springfall2008:
> Incidently my climbing helmet is designed to protect your head from rocks (hard upper shell) but isn't designed to protect you from head injuries. I think you would require a different design of helmet more like the cycle variety to help with head injuries?
This is incorrect. Every helmet on the market apart from the very oldest designs are in fact designed to protect against head injury using the same kind of materials to provide impact protection as cycling helmets. The foam provides the protection, the shell merely protects the foam and adds some penetration resistance. The majority of the protection is provided for crown impact, but there is a requirement for side, front and rear impact protection as well.
The UIAA are looking at introducing protection standards for rim impacts, because there is a general feeling that the current standard could give better all round protection, which would correlate to better head protection in a fall, but there is a delicate balancing act because there is no doubt that more people wear helmets, and more often, because the current standard allows very light, comfortable and well ventilated helmets to be marketed.