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Go Back   WakeWorld > >> Wakeboarding Discussion Archives > Archive through July 09, 2003

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Old    nobrains14            06-30-2003, 3:23 PM Reply   
I was just wondering what everyone's thoughts on wearing helmets are?
Old     (jarrod)      Join Date: May 2003       06-30-2003, 4:01 PM Reply   
I think they are good for sliders but worthless for head impact on the water. I think a bigger object on your head will result in your head hitting the water harder. Just my theory.
Old     (timmy)      Join Date: Jul 2001       06-30-2003, 4:07 PM Reply   
I agree with jarrod. I'll use them in cable parks and hitting sliders, but that's it for me.

I just got a new pro-tec water helmet and I will say that they are very comfortable. and I will say that during a faceplant after catching your frontside edge coming up short on a toeside back roll off a kicker at the cable park you can definately feel the helmet catching water and pulling your head back.

On the other hand, some people swear by them. They give them a false sense of security so they ride better.
Old     (kristian)      Join Date: Nov 2002       06-30-2003, 4:17 PM Reply   
Definatly for sliders, hitting your head on a sliders can feel pretty hard, so I'd suggest it.
But as far as wake riding, I'll have to agree and say that its worse for you neck, when you catch an edge, that thing just ripps you head back. Its just a matter of going out and weighing up the positive's and negative's.
Old     (wakeripper)      Join Date: Oct 2002       06-30-2003, 5:09 PM Reply   
I disagree and swear by wearing a helmet all the time, especially when trying new tricks. I have been trying to perfect the backroll,tantrum and raley and i'll tell you what i can crash 20 times and not feel a thing but again that's just me. The other reason i wear one is to help displace water upon impact to the side of the head to reduce the chance of another ruptured eardrum, but that may just be a false sense of security.
Old    bbb            06-30-2003, 5:17 PM Reply   
good - topic but I don;t really have a solid opinion. I have worn a helmet for about the last year (after taken 8 stitches from my board)I do think that they soften the blow to your head (especially when you catch a hard heal side and get slamed on the back of your head) but the other day I forgot my helmet when I went in the water, and I actually felt better riding. So I am really mixed. Most the guys I go w/ wear helmets with ear pads, but all of them have blown eardrums b4 when the eat it. Mine doesn't have earflaps/pads, but I am sure I'll wis I had them if I ever blow out an ear drum
Old    zanek            07-01-2003, 3:35 PM Reply   
Well, I also am an undicited person. But last summer my friend was riding, and she face planted trying a backroll, and the friggen "TOE-SIDE" of her board went over and smashed the back of her head...we knew it was the toe side because the cover sheet on the bottem had been ripped and it was soked w/ blood. So well i guess that helmets could be good for more than just sliders, but I don't wear one! LOL.
Old     (deepstructure)      Join Date: Jun 2002       07-01-2003, 4:00 PM Reply   
i wear one all the time now (just started recently, just because i think it's smarter). it is weird to wonder if it's necessary. i would like to get one that offers ear protection as mine doesn't.

but i disagree that it's a false sense of security. it's already helped with the falls on my 3s. contrary to what i've heard, my neck actually is better - perhaps because the fall is broken better when i slam backwards, or perhaps i relax more because i have a helmet on. but i believe it helps, and for more than just sliding.
Old    isaac_d_funk            07-01-2003, 4:05 PM Reply   
I heard someone say it "causes concussions".

Maybe ski jumpers shouldn't wear 'em anymore.
Old     (timmy)      Join Date: Jul 2001       07-01-2003, 4:12 PM Reply   
ski jumpers hit a LARGE, SOLID object. this, at speeds MUCH greater than wakeboarders attain.
Old     (deepstructure)      Join Date: Jun 2002       07-01-2003, 4:13 PM Reply   
ya know, in the last major thread on helmets i brought up that exact point. i thought there'd be some ski jumpers on this board and asked for their comments - since they wear helmets and often impact the water at high speed. if anyone should be able to testify as to whether the parachute effect is something to worry about - it's them.

soooo, anyone know any ski jumpers that would care to comment?

i first wore a helmet in april when i went to owc for the first time and at the end of the day suddenly realized i'd been wearing a helmet all day and hadn't noticed. that's when i decided to get one.

i think it's a lot of what you're willing to get used to. im a motorcycler rider who would never think of riding without a helmet. and i've had older friends that had to learn to put on a seatbelt as they grew up not using them. but i feel weird when im in a car without one on.

funnily enough, i forgot to wear my helmet for a run last week and i thought when i was getting in the water that i was missing something. didn't realize it until i was almost done with my run that i'd been riding without it. if i can feel that way after only riding with one for the past couple of weeks, im sure soon i'll feel as naked without one as i would in a car without a seatbelt.
Old    stormrider            07-01-2003, 4:19 PM Reply   
I've hit my head on the water with and without a helmet and with a helmet it is less violent. Sure that's anecdotal.

There are medical studies on the consequences of head trauma. Multiple hits to your head will affect your ability to think and they increase your chances of getting Parkinson's disease.

Funkster's got a point. If they don't do anything, why do ski jumpers, boat racers, Catalina runners and the like all wear them? If a helmet saves your head when you hit concrete, how couldn't it help if you hit something that, at speed, is somewhat as hard? It's just counterintuitive to me that a helmet would make things worse, but I've been wrong before.

Any MD's/medical professionals out there with some help?
Old     (timmy)      Join Date: Jul 2001       07-01-2003, 4:20 PM Reply   
i will totally agree that the new pro-tec helmets feel like you are not even wearing one (until you faceplant)
Old     (lizrd)      Join Date: Jul 2002       07-02-2003, 6:17 AM Reply   
One point that has gone unsaid on this topic is that when you board you could potentially collide with something OTHER than water. During winter, on the lake I ride, hunters build duck blinds. I am certain that there are a few "careless" folk who do not remove every last support in the spring. It's a matter of time before random events line up and a boarder or skier hit something that was left behind. Also, some rivers around here have suprisingly shallow spots and I could see the possibility of hitting the rocky bottom on a hard crash.

That being said, I am of the belief that helmet use is rider choice.
Old     (laptom)      Join Date: Apr 2002       07-02-2003, 7:29 AM Reply   
I bought a helmet last winter after riding 2 years without. I don't know if it's because the helmet or because my riding but I have no neck problems this year.
Last year I didn't try 3's and backrolls.. I now do and I have no problems with my neck or a headache...

Maybe it's between my ears, but I'm keeping wearing my Pro-Tech..
I bought it with a wakeskate this winter and when trying the wakeskate the first time this year I forgot to taken my helmet off. When wakeboarding somebody said that I still was wearing the helmet and now I always board/skate with a helmet...

It's a choice. I believe that a surface with a helmet is bigger. But with the foam in the helmet and the big impact on the helmet and not your head I believe that a helm is saver.
Old     (33drew)      Join Date: Apr 2003       07-02-2003, 12:38 PM Reply   
There is a big difference when hitting the water on your head at 23 miles an hour and 70mph (The speed ski jumpers go at) when i land head first trying backrolls, raleys, etc. my head goes underwater, hence not skipping on the water. One time i had a freak accident slalom skiing where i hit a wake off balance when i was carving (probably around 50 mph because my boat speed is 34 so when you carve across the wake real hard your speed increases by a lot), flipped me upside down and i landed on my head. Instead of "diving" like wakeboarding crashes, my head skipped along the water almost like i was hitting concrete. I was knocked out by it oh well.

In conclusion i dont wear a helmet waterskiing because it was a freak accident and i dont wear a helmet wakeboarding because i dont think its necessary.

Hope this makes sense
Old     (eas)      Join Date: Nov 2001       07-02-2003, 2:12 PM Reply   
I've never really faceplanted with a helmet, but I've taken many 270 to heelside edge/earplant with and without.

Without: Look at the pretty stars, get that tingly sensation down to you fingertips, and get back in the boat.
With: Come up smiling, talk about that insane hit you just took, and try it again.

Maybe I'm just a big baby, but the helmet is definitely the way to go when trying new stuff.
Old    stormrider            07-02-2003, 2:19 PM Reply   
Same same on the tingling/itching/stinging feeling in the fingers and forearms. Doctor told me thats caused when soft tissue swelling around vertabrea impinge or rub on nerves as they leave the spinal cord-- which is why advil is so effective: it is a muscle (soft tissue) relaxant that also fights swelling, hence nerve impingement decreases quicker. That's what I'm told. Like Eric, I have much less of the stinging when I hit wearing my protect.
Old     (sandman59)      Join Date: Aug 2002       07-02-2003, 5:56 PM Reply   
I am still recovering from a pretty nasty eardrum rupture and while I am on the mends, I have ordered a Pro-Tech helmet with ear flaps. I figure it has to help protect the ears. From what I have read on this thread, I feel it will be worth it.
Old    stormrider            07-02-2003, 6:10 PM Reply   
Sorry, but one more comment. The earflaps on the ProTec helmet "snap" on, and they also "snap" off pretty easy too which is a problem when you eat it. I JB welded my earflaps on after losing the first set.
Old     (jarrod)      Join Date: May 2003       07-03-2003, 10:06 AM Reply   
I saw a guy at wake camp blow out his ear with a helmet on, with ear flaps. Don't count on it.
Old    catalyst            07-03-2003, 11:13 AM Reply   
i think there fine, i used one for year and i dont hit sliders, but it has saved my head from several painful crashes, just cover it in stickers and pretend your pro haha, I kinda think they look cool, like your going to tackle a huge A frame or something. I think they are worth while
Old    scoot            07-03-2003, 11:17 AM Reply   
I think helmets are a must where I ride. I dont have one yet but i plan on getting one, not for sliders or a cable park though. You see I ride in a spillway that when opened lets flood water from the mighty Mississippi enter into Lake Pontchatrain. Anyways it causes a lot of erosion when the water comes pooring in tearing down tons of cypress and oak trees which can stretch out to the middle of canal and every summer you can expect to atleast have 1 or 2 more trees down that we'rnt there the year before leaving logs and stumps a few feet under the water i know i hit a few last year. They cant be seen since the waters like chocolate milk so in my opinion a helmet is the best way to keep safe.

Scott

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