Why do cave divers often wear helmets?

Cave divers wear helmets primarily to protect their heads during spelunking and sump diving. The environments encountered in caves can be hazardous, with the likelihood of hitting hard surfaces, rocks, or other obstacles while navigating through tight spaces. A helmet provides essential protection against such impacts, ensuring that divers can safely explore without risking injury to their heads.

While temperature can be a concern in certain aquatic environments, especially in colder waters, this is not the primary reason for wearing helmets in cave diving. Helmets do not significantly contribute to buoyancy control; divers typically rely on their buoyancy compensators and other gear for that purpose. Lastly, while visibility is important in diving, the design of helmets is not aimed specifically at enhancing visibility; instead, diving masks and light systems are more crucial for this function.