I hope this isnt a popcorn thread but i searched and couldnt find the answer. Can i wear a normal skate helm when winching? or will water mess it up and i should just get a protec water helm?

I don't have a sure answer for you and i doubt anyone does. <BR> <BR>There is a crazy controversy about helmets in WATER crashes ALONE which you may know about or at least ran into in your searches. But i am sure your wearing one for rails specifically? <BR> <BR>anyway, i would guess that the skate helmet would be fine. I don't know a whole lot about helmets, but a lot of their design is based on the speeds engaged in and the surfaces that are expected to be hit. considering this notion, wake helmets are certified for kayaking which is based on speeds slower than what we wakeboard and based on hitting your head on rocks in rivers. mostly i am telling you this for an f.y.i. kinda thing... not at all meant to discourage use of any type of helmet <BR> <BR>If you plan on just trying out rails and dont plan to hit them often AND your helmet seems to be made of materials that are not going to soak up water, i'd GUESS that the skate helmet will be acceptable, otherwise, invest in a watersports helmet <BR> <BR>i finally jumped and got me a wake helmet. i got a discounted one from Shred Ready. I got the PHLY (i have not used it yet) version <BR><a href="http://www.shopatron.com/product/product_id=SHDPH/343.0.10087.10085.0.0.0" target="_blank">http://www.shopatron.com/product/product_id=SHDPH/343.0.10087.10085.0.0.0</a> <BR> <BR>i believe the phly was discontinued because it is kind of a multi-sport helmet, for snow and water. shred ready seems to do mainly/only watersports helmets so i guess no one wanted to get multisport when they were looking for water only/specifically anyway... But i think the PHLY looks pretty sweet, for a helmet!

i suppose the pro-tec helmets are about the same price as the PHLY, but if the prices of the other shred readys discouraged you, at least you know about this one too.

yea i know all about the helmets in the water controversy which is why i was hoping this wouldnt be a flame thread haha. thanks for the answers <IMG SRC="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":-)" BORDER=0>

The only thing I can think of would be the padding soaking up water (watch out, your head might get wet!), and getting a little whiplash from falling, because there usually arent that many vents on the top of the helmet, turning it into a bucket. I dont think the difference would be too great, so I would say go for it, good on you for being smart and wearing a helmet. Maybe post up how it works out for you if you do try it, help people out in the future?

I wear just a regular skate helmet at OWC and never had any issues with it.

Same here reg skate helmet not that much heavier my buddy has a wake protec