I would go with bubble wrap round the helmets and then wrap in a towel or similar item and pack in middle of case. Mark case with fragile and when you get to check in say case contains breakables and can it go with fragile items.

I've had the same situation with cycle helmets but have even managed to pack a large brimmed straw wedding hat in a suitcase and it emerged without so much as the slightest dent at the other end so if the following method worked for that then I'm sure that it would work for ski helmets.

1) Pack out as firmly as you can the inside of the hat/helmet so as to provide support from the inside. I always use things that it doesn't matter whether they get creased or not eg socks, underwear (but not an underwired bra!).

2) Put a good layer of clothes in the bottom of the case so that the hat/helmet will be sitting roughly right in the centre of the case both in relation to the top and bottom and the edges of it.

3) Roll something like a towel up into a sausage and pack it like a doughnut around the side of the helmet. The wedding hat had an up-turned brim so I placed the towel sausage in the curve of the brin around the crown of the hat.

4) Fill the space between and around the hat/helmet with smaller items so that it's held in place. The idea is to fill the case to the same level as the top of the hat/helmet

5) Then pack the remaining clothes, evenly spread on the top.

Using these same principles I've successfully brought back glass and china in my checked-in case from holidays in Tunisia and Crete. This is based on my Dad's years of experience as an expert handler of museum and art gallery exhibits and his general advice that providing support from the inside of a hollow object is as important as protecting the outside from any knocks. Pakced this way, there should be no need to add the extra bulk of bubble wrap around them as long as they are already surrounded by soft clothing or towels. The important thing is to protect them from moving around or knocking against hard objects inside the case.

The last time I moved house the removers told me that only boxes and goods packed by them would be covered by their insurance which was a good thing because the only things damaged had been packed by them! All my china and glasses etc, which my Dad and I packed into the tea chests using this system, survived the journey without so much as a scratch or crack whereas the removers managed to leave a trail of my cutlery up the drive because they it turned out they'd just tipped it loose into a box from the kitchen drawers and then never even secured the box properly with tape! They also managed to lose the teapot and kettle completely - I suspect they simply forgot to pack them!

SM

Thanks for the replies!! SM sounds like great advice, I guess packed well, they are less at risk of damage than if we carried them. Packing out the inside is a good point.

Thanks again

Pam

forgot to say pack inside with small things. I once got a pack of shot glasses and a bottle of Tijuana abck from Portugal in a rucksack without any breakages. Method used was wrap with newspaper, get a towel and put shot glasses on end, roll once, add bottle of Tijuana and roll up. Place in middle of rucksack. Voila. Will use same method in 3 weeks time only this time, I also have the plastic thing designed to protect bottles. It's not solid but is made up of diamond shapes.