Having seen the effects of various incidents over the years, including one forced lading where the AI knob went through someones forehead, I say wear whatever safety equipment you want to. If people think it's 'showing off' they can jog on.
Where I work, an Extra 300 had a landing incident, flipped over, and they were picking up teeth and scalp from the runway afterwards. He was wearing a Dave Clark headset. With a helmet would the outcome have been different? Who knows.....but I know where my money would be.
