before i am misunderstood for a "basher of helmets" let me just say that i am glad we have at least something.
Wakeboarding is not Kayaking!
so why should we be content on using helmets certified for kayaking and other whitewater sports?
Every wakeboard helmet i have seen that has a certification listed is listed with the same certification:
CE 1385 from what i have gathered in quick internet searches, safety of helmets may not only be questionable for impact on water but impacts on hard objects as well. (I think i have yet to see an "official" document on this certification, so if you see one point it out to me)
MAIN PROBLEM ONE - We wakeboard faster than kayakers do
quote:Under these circumstances it is extremely unlikely that the speed of impact will be greater than 18 km/h (5 m/s) because this is the highest recorded rate of flow in a white water river. http://www.happy-2b.com/new/pages/CE1385.htm
MAIN PROBLEM TWO - If not recomended for "extreme kayakers," then possibly not good enough for those hitting sliders too If this helmet certification does not meet the needs of "extreme kayakers" (class 5-6 difficulty as stated on the same web site
http://www.happy-2b.com/new/pages/CE1385.htm)
then these helmets are probably not up to par for those hitting sliders too. I think it would be fairly safe to say the forces that "extreme kayakers" are faced with are similar to those that pose a threat for those hitting sliders, especially slider gaps.
other info gatherd from an interview with a co-founder of shred-ready on this site
http://helmets101.blogspot.com/
quote:RF: Ah I see. What about the CE 1385, that seems like a small amount of energy.
TS: It is, but the people who helped right the whitewater helmet standard did not have any data to suggest how hard kayakers hit their heads. They thought about the vertical distance the head travels and also though about the water slowing the head down when flipping upside down. They set the standard with the best knowledge they had at the time.
RF: So we really don’t know how hard we hit our heads?
TS: Right we don’t. There is subjective or anecdotal evidence but I know of no studies with objective measurement of the forces of head impacts in whitewater.
F.Y.I.
I wrote a 4 page e-mail to pro-tec yesterday about this and hope for a reply.
this topic (water impact) has also been submitted at least 3 times on three separate occasions by separate individuals to myth busters. see what happens...
(Message edited by wakerider111 on April 08, 2008)
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