The expert thinks that appearance factors affect women’s choice of headwear.
Among others, Jasmi Joensuu, Jasmin Kähärä and Hilla Niemelä prefer wearing a panta in the freezing cold of Northeast Finland. Pasi Liesimaa
It was fifteen degrees below zero at Ruka’s ski stadium on Saturday. According to the weather service, it felt like 20 degrees below zero.
Still, many female skiers skied in the Suomen Cup without a beanie.
– Appearance factors are probably a significant reason for this, says Iltalehti’s skiing expert Pirjo Muranen.
He brought up the headdress issue on his own initiative already a week ago in the cannonball competition in Olos.
– More and more women ski with a snowsuit, even if it’s closer to 20 degrees below zero. I notice the same phenomenon in young skiers. They take a model and copy, says the 2001 sprint skiing world champion, who works with juniors in the Ounasvaara Ski Club.
The expert estimates that a bandana is not the most sensible headgear in the cold.
– The heat loss from the head is quite large. Has anyone paid attention to that? Do we think that it’s a 30-minute race performance, that it doesn’t matter, he ponders.
– Yes, it is a heavy physical strain, so there will be heat loss, Muranen continues.
Always with a beanie
Pirjo Muranen always preferred a beanie in skiing competitions.
Muranen’s competitive skiing career ended in 2011.
– I skied with a beanie and sometimes wore a hooded cap. It was twenty degrees below zero in Rybinski, Russia. Back then, a woolen hat and all possible collars were worn.
The wool beanie was Muranen’s choice in the freezing cold. Otherwise, he preferred a tricot-type headgear, which many male skiers call a condom beanie.
– I put practicality first. The beanie wasn’t always so fitting, but it didn’t matter if it looked like dust.
Muranen’s review is not intended to be judgmental towards anyone.
– After all, it’s nice to watch when it’s shown well. The main thing is that the headgear feels good.
Here’s the answer
Hilla Niemelä didn’t get cold. Pasi Liesimaa
On Saturday in Ruka, among other things Jasmi Joensuu, Vilma Nissinen and Hilla Niemelä were competing with headbands.
– I have such thick hair that it’s not cold at all. I haven’t thought for a moment that I would wear any other headgear than a headband. So far, I’ve had enough of it – my brain isn’t frozen yet, Joensuu commented.
– I have so much hair that if I put on a beanie, it gets too hot. Even now, I’m wearing two headbands, so it won’t get cold. Wearing a beanie makes me anxious. For those with less hair, the beanie can be easier, Nissinen analyzed.
– The panta warms well. It works even better for me than a beanie. I have thick enough hair that I don’t feel the heat escaping. Maybe then you can think about a beanie if your hair is thinning, Niemelä said.
The men’s skiers covered their heads quite a lot on Saturday at the Finnish Cup in Ruka. Pasi Liesimaa