My son, Dustin recieved another concussion yesterday, and this time he had a helmet on.When he raced motocross he would only wear a Shoei helmet and after one impact we would get a new one. I want to find the best helmet on the market. I am looking at shred ready products right now. Wakeworld posters are the most informed in the business. Can you help?

Was it just a straight "smack your head on the water" type of crash? Did he catch an edge? Did he hit face first or the back of his head first? <BR> <BR>I'm just curious because we've had discussions for years about whether or not helmets help or hurt with head to water falls.

He slapped the back of his head coming off a slider at WWC. I feel helmet design has a way to go in wakeboarding. I also think that as the sport continues to grow, the number of injuries will also. I hope someone is listening and better products are in the works.I promote the day everyone will wear a helmet.

I wear a pro-tec that is waterproof. It's a good fit. No matter what helmet you get the most important thing is that it fits properly.

Don: The reason your son had another concussion may not be the helmet quality, but rather the time in between this concussion and his last. Because a concussion is essentially a bruise on the brain, it takes a while to heal. I was out for about 4 1/2 weeks after my first concussion, and even longer before I felt that there were not any effects after impact. You may want to think about this, even though I know it would be tough for anyone in his position to sit out for a bit.

Your right Garret, It has been about five weeks and concussions are easier to come by after the first. His Docs cleared him to ride again, but I am not convinced his Docs have a full understanding of what it is he does.My hope is to find better protection, if not more time off. He is not riding now for a couple of weeks.

I recently got the ProTec Ace wake, and have been very happy with it. I can confidently say that it DOES help on head to water impacts, whether it be straight smacking the water or catching an edge first. Just don't get too big of a helmet or it will fit sloppy and not do its job properly.

don <BR> <BR>im not sure if anybody has used one of these yet but the guy who designed them claims they were engineered for wakeboarding and should be released this year..i dont think they are being sold yet but who knows contact them and let us know whats up... <BR> <BR>not much info but may be worth a shot <a href="http://www.pulseheadquarters.com" target="_blank">http://www.pulseheadquarters.com</a>

wow. Do they sell that without the totally lame goggles? and mic? and thick strap? and huge earpads? <BR> <BR>That design is interesting, but sadly hideous. Not that looks should matter if you are trying to be safe, but cmon, can we get both please?

garret not sure if thats the finished product yet this guy came on here 4 months ago and said they were still in design and test phase.. <BR> <BR>im sure you can get it without the junk and maybe the finished product is a little less bulky looking..or maybe in person it wont look so bad.. <BR> <BR>only way to know is contact these guys,hell they could be out of business before they even started <IMG SRC="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":-)" BORDER=0>

You have to be careful buying a helmet. There are some helmets advertised as wakeboard helmets that are actually Kayak helmets (which are designed to hit blunt, rock like, objects - thick, high density foam.) Not what you want for hitting the water. Kayaking and wakeboarding see different kinds of impacts. I wear a Pro-tec helmet and I really like it. It weighs 300 grams. Weight is important, I've sustained many pulled muscle neck injuries (whip lashing) in the two years I've been wearing helmets wakeboarding. Though I'd take those over concussions. <BR> <BR>I've been through the whole multiple concussion, CT Scan, MRI, Neurologist visit, and yes I don't think the doctors have a clue what kinds of impacts and repeated impacts are being sustained during wakeboarding. Hopefully this sport doesn't develop "Wakeboard Head Injury Syndrome" after 10 years of repeated impacts. <BR> <BR>Something else to consider. I did a lot of research before buying my Street (motor) Bike Helmet. I read an article that said "If the helmet is good enough for a Pro Racer, it's good enough for me" The article explained that this simply isn't the truth. The average impact on a MotoGP Race bike is in the neighborhood of 130MPH. As to where the average impact on a street bike is 28.3MPH. Thus, the helmets for street bikes are much softer to maximize absorption. I believe the same would hold true for Wakeboarding. You want the helmet to use up all of it's absorbing at the exact moment you stop moving, then have a slow recoil. If it doesn't use all of it's absorption, or uses it all up half way through the impact it's not doing it's job. <BR> <BR>Good luck.

I have an pro-tec ace wake helmet and its pretty good. Had to few good smashes to the head (sliders) with it and all is good. But IMO normal skate helmet is better, they seem to fit snugger and take more abuse. Check out the Pro-Tec B2, I've heard good things about that.

Kristian, <BR> <BR>The Pro-Tec B2 is "dual certified to both the bike (CPSC) and skateboard (ASTM F1492)"

I bought a Capix "pointless" helmet a couple years back. I thought the hole "backwards hat thing" looked kind of a cool, plus at the time it was the only one with the ear drum protection. I've been told you should wear it forwards by a few but i have seen many pics with Parks wearing it backwards. Two different crashes the helmet cut the bridge of my nose pretty badly therefore i have retired the helmet. So in short i dont recommend this model. I have a couple friends with Pro techs and they seem to like them.

protec ace wake is great. Its what I use, and I love it.

Protec Ace Wake here also. So far so good.

Another ace wake wearer. <BR> <BR>My only gripe is the ear flaps and plastic thingy constantly come loose. Usually after a hard fall I have to take the helmet off and snap it all back together. Anyone else have this problem?

Yes, pleanty of fiddle around problems with the snap in ear protection on the Protec ace.

Squeez the snaps slightly out of shape with a pair of pliers and then put them back on with the pliers and the ear flaps will pretty much be bullet proof.