Concussions and Helmets?

my brother and i both have been taking some big head shots lately. i am pretty sure i had at least one concussion this summer. how many riders are wearing helmets and do they help?

I swear by them. I was in the same situation as you. Mild concussions, blown out eardrums from hard falls. I started wearing a helmet and I have taken some bad falls and my head has been protected each time.

Downside is you look like a TOOL.
But I can handle that.

lol, dont really care about looking like a tool...time lost on the water is reason enough... thx for the feedback

I look like a tool without a helmet!!

I always wear one, put it on like clockwork after my vest goes on.

Took a boxer riding. He caught a front edge and hit pretty hard. I asked, what is more forceful, the wakeboard hit you just took or a solid punch to the head. He laughed and said wakeboarding.

Helmets work. We've had these discussions over the years and the bottom line has always been that so long as the helmet does not "bucket" it will dispense the force and absorb it, keeping your brain from sloshing forward into the very rough, sharp surface at the front of your skull while also providing protection for your ears.

it took 2 concussions in one season of snowboarding before I started wearing mine. I don't think I'll go snowboarding again without it. I've never worn one wakeboarding though, and I've had my fair share of head slappers. It's usually my neck that hurts more when I take a good digger.

I have had 5 total concussions. So last week I bought me a new wakeboard helmet. I wear a helmet for everything I do now. I don't care what I look like as long as I stay out of the hospital.

ive never taken a bad head shot with one on and have taken many without a helmet. i really dont like riding without one. plus im at an age where i dont really care what i look like and im expected to show up for work everyday alas i wear a helmet. im also starting to see alot more people wearing them at the lake. just like snowboarding it took a couple of years for them to catch on but they are all over the mountain now.

Thane Dogg...I think i need a helmet now what do you think?
I thought I saw beavers swiming in the water with me after my last 3 attempt...but it was just the graphics on my 3ds!

Like David says " I look like a tool without a helmet" so who cares.

Two concussions both WITH the helmet. Needless to say, I don't wear one anymore

Yeah, I'm not so sold. I agree for snowboarding, but for wake..... not so sure. I've knocked my noggin about quite a bit and had 2 really bad concussions, but I'm not sure a helmet would have helped with that. I don't like how they catch water on falls.

My opinion is that helmets are for sliders. Properties of a liquid and a solid are so different. I hear the argument about dispersing the force and it doesn't apply to water. It's the surface tension of the water that causes most of the impact when you hit. The less surface area I have hitting the water the easier it is to break the surface tension and the less of a smack I will feel. Ie. belly flop vs. dive.
Helmets dramatically increase the surface area of my head. Would you feel safer diving off the 10m tower with or without a helmet. I say if there is no water in the pool give me the helmet, but if there was water in the pool there is no way I would strap it on. It just makes no logical sense that it would help with concussions at all. All I can see is negatives. I feel safer and more comfortable without one. + I keep the $100. I feel it is a marketing craze. But if it gives you the confidence to finally nail that big trick strap it on. Just not for me.

well put JM

In any fall there will be two type of impacts. The first is obvious and it is your head striking the object. The second is when the brain contacts the skull from the sudden deceleration of your head. In my opinion, on the water, the helmet will not minimize this second force. Given the same fall, with or without a helmet, the probability for a concussion is very similar. Just my thoughts.

helmets make it worse when you are just hitting the water, I stopped wearing one except for rails.

Then why does a motorcycle helmet work?

Rod. Jonathan explained.

I think that a helmut on the water helps more with not blowing your ear than a concusion. Could be wrong

I don't believe that a helmet increases the surface area enough to outweight the benefits. Sure it doesn't look cool, but take a look at alot of the pros. They have the lid on. Sure their tricks are more intense, but severe impact is severe impact. I've taken more than my share of head shots from different addictions, and I'm for them. Just my opinion.

I've been wearing the 05 Ace Wake with the re-designed padding for about a month now. Couple of weeks ago I take a nice heel edge digger that would of normaly rung my bell, but with the helmet on I got nothing, so for now I'm saying it helps.

I've got to find that thread where I think Dococ, Chris Stack and Tim Krutz were laying out these mathematical equations that showed the greater surface area of the helmet decreased the force per square inch and that the cushioning power of the helmet and padding lessened "brain slosh". I remember it because DocOc, I think, pointed out that the front of the inside of your skull is very rough. I'm pretty bad with this archive stuff but I'll post if I find it or if somebody else remembers this (2003, I think).

Alright, found it. Wow, that was a walk down memory lane. Best discussion that I have personally seen on helmets with all the math stuff, doctor's opinions, anecdotal stuff is here:

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65919/87797.html

It was December 14, 2003: "You Wear a Helmet?"

To all you that Think they know what they are talking about. I would venture to guess that you guys have never worn a helmet for a long period of time to see the actual effects and benefits of wearing one. I am not trying to say you are wrong for not wearing one ( to each his own), but I would say that it helps more than it hurts you

I rode without a helmet for 3+ years. I had a few concussions and a lot of major headaches from hard falls. I als0o popped 2 eardrums during this time.

I have ridden with a helmet for the last 1 1/2 years and have actually ridden more times within this 1 1/2 years than the previous years. I have taken just as many hard falls and I have not had 1 concussion nor headache from a fall, and no hurt eardrums either.

I am my own 1 man clinical study and I have to say without a doubt it helps with head injuries 100%.

Myself and my 2 children have been wearing helmets for about 4 years now. We are serious riders who ride almost everyday of the year. Never have any of us ever been injured while wearing a helmet.Those of you who know me know how I feel about this subject. There are alot of ways to get injured without a helmet, such as blown eardrums, concussions and even possibly hitting debris in the water. Bottom line properly worn helmets save lives. Try one for awhile and see how you like it. I think you will be suprised.

I caught my back edge on Saturday and got the shiz whacked out of me. Its not my head that hurts now, its my ab muscles and my freakin neck!!!

Here's what can happen when you don't wear a helmet:


And here he is now after a number of staples to the head and surgery:

Hahn Solo;
Point taken..........

Yea Tyler back at it. Tyler hit some debris in florida last yeatr just before worlds. Ask him how he feels about helmets now.

To those of you out there who have had concussions...how long did you wait before getting back on the water. I dinged myself on a backroll attempt June 7. Didn't feel too bad at the time, but that afternoon got feeling like crap and took a loooong nap. 2 weeks later, all symptoms gone, so I go boarding...simply wake jumps, no hard crashes...feel like crap again, slightly nauseous, sore neck, etc. Now I'm afraid to go again, for fear that my brain is still sloshing around in there. Oh, I did go and buy a helmet, to avoid the dain bramage. I don't have $$$, I don't have looks, my brain is all I got keeping me in the game

I don't wear a helmet now. But, after reading this tread and the old threads I made a decision to start wearing a helmet. Life's too short, why tempt fate. I aint gonna be a pro rider, nor do I want to be a pro rider. I just want to have fun and enjoy my time with friends and family. I could care less if certain people think I look like a dork wearing a helmet wakeboarding, that's just stupid. It's not a fashion show.

I also ride dirt bikes and I would never even think about riding my bike without a helmet. In fact, whenever I see someone riding a dirt bike or quad WITHOUT a helmet, I think to myself “WHAT A DONKEY!” I even had to tell a friend of my that he couldn’t ride the trails with us because he didn’t have a helmet. It sucked to be stern like that, but I didn’t want to see him get hurt unnecessarily.

It's nice to see that a thread like this can have a possitive outcome for some. For those of you who refuse to wear a helmet but continue to get concussions, remember that your body can only handle so many concussions. I'm not a docter but I have heard that after approximately 7 concussions your brain will sustain irreversable damage. Many pro football players retire because of this.

As for looking like a tool waering a helmet. I have seen more people riding with helmets this year.If you can throw your jump/trick with some style and can go big then I think most people wont even notice the helmet. It is the riding that counts.

Pro's wear helmet's for a number of reasons. I would say primarily because of hitting sliders, because they are sponsored by helmet manufacturers, and probably insurance regulations at tournaments. Also may help with confidence.

I you are riding in a lake full of debris I agree that you should probably wear a hemet. But I don't think it is safe to be riding in a lake full of debris in the first place, even with a helmet on. I would like to see your prop.

The point I was trying to make was that helmets are for when you hit your head on solid objects. If you do this a bunch put on a helmet. If you are just falling in water I don't think they help at all with concussions. If you are worried about blown eardrums, buy earplugs and save some cash.

I still want to hear hown many of you helmet lovers would rather jump of a 10m tower with a helmet on. I didn't think so.

two things i will allways wear are a uscg vest and a helmet. I reptured my ear drum, seperated my shoulder, and got a conscusion and went unconsious from a double up three attempt. nothing like being pulled out of the water un consious by youre dad to change youre perspective

Jonathan, first of all I don't want to jump off of a 10m tower or platform or whatever you are talking about. Pro's wear helmets in tournaments because they have to if they want to hit sliders. Most will tell you that they don't want to wear helmets. I wear a helmet cause I am 43 years old and I would like to be able to continue making money. Helmets do work. It's just that they are a little uncomfortable to some. Not me, I've been wearing one for so long that I feel uncomfortable without it. By the way has anybody ever told you that hitting the water hard feels like hitting concrete? It's true, so if I'm gonna hit something that hard I'm gonna wear protection.

Ordered my helmet today...

go to gotriver.com
The have the Pro-tec's for like $49.

I wear one. And as far as just for sliders and debris.... Ive known people who get hit by their board. May sound impossible to some, but if you're flexible enough you can get your board to hit the back of your head or if it comes off.
All I know is that if it decreases my chance of a concussion or head damage, Id be an idiot not to wear one.

This *&#$'s Banana's, B-A-N-A-N-A-S.....

not happening. only concussions were football and soccer. Motorcylces, wakeboarding, skiing, I am just not convinced.

Well shane let me convince you.

Bad fall... Knocked silly... Didn't remember driving home... Throwing up 3 hours later... Went to Dr..... He said " You sustained a Concussion...

Convinced yet!

It happens

Save some cash? Give me a break. $39 for a ProTec Ace Water helmet.

I can understand some of the other reasons why people choose not to wear a helmet, but "save some cash", that's just retarded. You spend more than that on one day's worth of gas.

Good wakeboard boat - $60,000...A good board, bindings, vest, rope & handle - $1,000...Saving a life - Priceless.

Hockey players didnt used to wear helmets, they all do now......i wonder why?

no need to convince me, i have caught that edge and lost brief consciousness, and had that nice queasy feeling and hazy about events. The convincing statement was about wearing one. It seems as everyone wears a helmet nowadays for everything. Should I go full face since my board cut my face? I mean seriously where do you stop?

I remember the incident with Tyler very well. The while story of survival, AND the photo should have made everyone think a bit.

A couple weeks ago I was heading to Shasta, and heard about a bunch of debris in the lake. It was short notice, but in Redding I picked up a helmet. I wanted to get a couple sizes to keep on the boat for others to use, but the shop was limited on selection at that time. I picked up one for myself. I did wear it a few times, and we also scouted out the cove before we rode. I do plan on getting more use to it, and start wearing it regularly. Get a good, comfortable helmet. If it fits well and is comfortable, you will wear it more often. Who cares if you look like a tool. I like the Pro Tec as far as fit, ear covers, etc, but if you really have to look cool, there are others out there (Capix, etc) that give a different look.

I remember the days when motorcycle riders did not wear helmets. I rode mountain bikes professionally a few years ago,and have destroyed more than my share of helmets. I can guarantee I would not be here today if on some of those falls, I was worried about looking like a tool, and did not wear my helmet. I know the water is different than the hard ground, but not that far off. Anything can happen. Just ask Tyler!

I happen to know Tyler very well he has been riding with me many times over the last two years. Convincing him to wear a helmet behind my boat was a nightmare to say the least. He hated it. He's wearing one now because he has to. Debris in water is something that you really don't expect but with all the rain that we got on the west coast this year the rising water levels have brought all the crap down off what we would have considered our beaches last year. So the debris is there. Some even inches below the surface where you cannot see it. I'm on the Colorado River where the water fluctuates daily. Also on holidays we have IDIOTS who throw there beer bottles in the water. I've ran over a couple myself. So many of us riders wait until something bad happens to us before we are willing to do something about it. People always say "That will never happen to Me." If thats so then why did my friend Tyler almost die from something like that. Head injuries are very common in wakeboarding. It just seems to me that it's always the guy not wearing a helmet the gets hurt the most. So all you riders who don't believe in helmets keep riding till you can't ride no more. Cause I'll still be riding many years from now. Will you?

Sure helmets are restrictive and uncomfortable and so are condoms. Most of the time you won't need either, but the one time you do, you'll wish you had it. I've been in all kinds of extreme sports and helmets are just another piece of the equipment that goes with it. I was told when I started roadracing that if you never crashed, you weren't pushing it hard enough. I guess in my case I always push it to the edge which explains my quote that "If you're not any good, you've gotta be tough". I wouldn't win any comps, but I'd make for some awesome highlight reels for "Damn, that had to hurt"

Alright, I mean this respectfully; just a comment on human nature and I am as guilty of this as anyone.

Typical wakeboard set up is like this: car's charcoal grey, boat's red with black checkers. The rope is yellow. The rider's board is black with blue and yellow belmont bindings. The rider is wearing board shorts that are green and the vest is purple and grey.

And with this thunderously eclictic mix (the fashion mavens are heaving in the restroom from the sight), they won't wear a helmet because it won't make them look stylish!!!!

"Alright, I mean this respectfully; just a comment on human nature and I am as guilty of this as anyone.

Typical wakeboard set up is like this: car's charcoal grey, boat's red with black checkers. The rope is yellow. The rider's board is black with blue and yellow belmont bindings. The rider is wearing board shorts that are green and the vest is purple and grey.

And with this thunderously eclictic mix (the fashion mavens are heaving in the restroom from the sight), they won't wear a helmet because it won't make them look stylish!!!!" WORD!

my girlfriend has had a few stiches to the head when after her board came up and knocked her in the head..she was bleading all over the lake..awh..now she allways wears a helmet..and so will i soon!!

I wear a helmet when i ski cause I've hit my head on the hard pack snow before and sustained a mean concussion. And I wear a helmet for whitewater kayaking because you'd have to be a complete idiot not to. I do not wear one wakeboarding because I've heard that the concussions you sustain from wakeboarding (unless running into debris, or hitting your head on something else that is solid) are from your body hitting the water, and stopping you so quickly that it kind of throws your brain into your skull for a second. The concussion doesnt occur from the impact of your head hitting the water, but from very violent decelleration of your head. If this is true, which i believe it to be, than a helmet is not going to prevent a concussion for me. Please tell me if you have heard the same/different.

I used to wear a helmet, but then everytime I hit the water my head would hurt more than not wearing one at all....only wear a helmet when hitting sliders....

I used my new helmet today for the first time. I took 3 shots to back of my head and one to he front/top of my head. And I feel great!

If you're head hurts and you wear a helmet you don't have it on properly. You can die on the second concussion. I wear a helmet without fail cause I got tired of falling and getting headaches. Plus I have a 9 year old and I want him to be raised by 2 parents, not 1. Personally, I would prefer to be a live fool than a dead fool. I admire Tyler for his great comeback and being persistent in wearing his helmet.

Anthony....where you been????

JM...you don't think water at 24 mph is a solid object????

Dave....water becomes like concrete at high speeds. If you hit your head on concrete you can sustain a concussion. If you get a second following the first, you can die.

OK I’m in,,, I read this thread before the weekend, and I was still on the fence. Yesterday I took a pretty good head slap, which left me a bit dazed for a few minutes. Needless to say I’ll get my brandy new helmet this week. Thanks All

Maybe I,m wrong but it seems to me that alot of the anti helmet riders seem to be on the younger side. Quite a bit of the older riders on this thread seem to be for wearing helmets. That is because we are older and wiser and have probaly taken more than our share of injuries throughout our years. To all you younger riders out there that aren't sure how you feel about this, just try a helmet for awhile and see how you like it. It really does'nt matter what your friends tell you. Don't give into peer pressure.By the way the helmets that I buy and wear have padding in them, which seems to me would help absorb an impact, yes the surface area is greater, but so is an airbag in a car. I'll take my chances with the extra padding. Also, fell on the side of my head 2 days ago (with helmet) and I did'nt feel a thing. Next day my ear was sore. Can't imagine how bad my ear would have been without the helmet and ear pads. Hi Geri how are you?

Eustace....proud of you!!!

Good Anthony....Clearing the wake now. I will e-mail you.

Regarding the helmet issue, im buying a helmet!
Do any of you know if this is a good helmet?

http://www.sweet.no/0302/index.htm

And click on the Strutter helmet!

Frederik - I currently wear the Shapiro helmet by Pro-Tec and love it.

I've gotten a lot of flack for wearing a helmet, but after suffering from amnesia and several mild to moderate concusions, I would much rather be safe that sorry.

Two years ago I suffered a moderate concusion a week after the fall I couldn't remember what happened, two weeks I lost dexterity in my hands, to the point where I couldn't hold onto a simple water glass without supporting the underside. Three weeks later I had slurred speach and had difficutly making a complete and simple sentence at four weeks my symptons started to clear and at 8 weeks I was at full recovery but was advised to wait another 4 weeks before getting back onto the water. This was two years ago ... I've rode with a helmet ever since and feel lost without it. I don't know about the rest of you but I don't feel that helmets are JUST for sliders ... It's your brain, if you want to end of like Mohamad Ali it's your choice (you might be laughing and saying it won't happen to me, but you are WRONG; DEAD WRONG)!!

Frederik - look at the Pro-Tec helmets and look at the Shred Ready Helmets, try them on. I've experienced little to no bucketing with my properly fitted helmet. It's been suggested to get a new helmet every year to two years. I'm do now and will be going to the Shred Ready helmet since they now make a woman's specific helmet! Good luck and buy what feels best to you, just because it's cheap doesn't mean it's going to offer performance!!

Dave: the thread I referenced earlier addresses the question of whether a wakeboard helmet buffers brain slosh. That's what the math calculations were about, I recall. Bottom line: between the additional circumfrence of the helmet and the padding brain slosh is reduced, hence, less of a chance of a concussion. Definitely check out the other thread because it goes into all the science, including a doctor's opinion, etc.

For those of you who are interested in a really stylish helmet check out Shred Ready. These helmets have a support strap in the back with a rachet control for better fit. Ricky G introduced me to this helmet two years ago. My family and I have been wearing them ever since. Whatever you buy must fit properly or it defeats the purpose of wearing one.

Terri...good job of sharing your experience. Sometimes it takes a second chance to make a change. I don't even know I have a helmet on when I am riding. All I know is that my head feels great when I finish. My back is a different story though!!!! Fifty dollars is a small price to pay for an intact brain.
Anthony....I LOVED the helmets you guys were wearing last year. Shred Ready will be my next helmet.

Geri

G.Robertson - the water does feel hard at 24. It feels even harder at 45 when I'm barefooting. But not like concrete. I'll take my chances jumping out of my boat at 40 rather than my car on the highway any day.

I see there being solids, liquids, and gas. Hitting your head against gas would be analogous to shaking a baby. It has nothing to do with the impact of the air to the exterior of the skull, rather the acceleration and deceleration of the head. His brain is going to get scrambled with or without the helmet. With a solid, the helmet will stop skull fractures and also slow the deceleration of the head through the padding. Water is in between. The increased surface area probably makes the decelation more rapid. The padding may balance this off for no noticible difference. Water won't really give you a skull fracture so there is no benefit from that (although I got a bloddy nose last night). Plus there can be damage to the neck from bucketing. You can't compare hitting a solid object to hitting a liquid, just like you can't compare hitting a solid object to hitting a gas. They have different properties.

On a side note, I would be willing to bet more wakeboarding concussions could be avoided through the use of a mouthgaurd than through helmets.


(Message edited by jonm on July 06, 2005)

I'm starting to wear a helmet more and more. Christie said she had two concussios while wearing a helmet so she wasn't going to wear one again.

I guess I have to ask, do you think you wouldn't have gotten the concussions if you weren't wearing the helmet? I'm thinking the helmet didn't cause them.

Jonathan - I'm a little astonished! What in your opinion makes water softer at 40 vs. the highway at 40?

What type of concussion is similar to shaking a baby??? What makes hitting the water any different than slamming a persons head against the wall. If you re-read your post you seem very contradictive, very.

I have to ask you this question: Why do the divers have water shooting onto the surface of the pool during practice or competitions?

Teri. It seems simple to me. Water gives/dampens, blacktop does not. The same blow to the blacktop would kill you without a helmet.

The type of concussion he he talking about is when the brain is shaken so hard that it begins to swell. This can happen with or without impact. If your head goes from 40 mph to 0 mph in an instant a helmet doesn't help you. IMO that is what is happening to wakeboarders.

So I've done a few Google searches and here is an interesting one that might help explain water tension!

Consider a diver who jumps off a high diving board (it is a 10 meter board or platform if I
recall correctly). A good diver enters the water almost without a splash. However, an inexperienced diver who does a "belly flop" is going to get a pretty hard jolt. The difference is due to the fact that it takes a finite
amount of time for the water in the path of the diver to move out of the way of the diver and the water the diver displaces as she/he enters the
water. If the water cannot "get out of the way" it begins to behave as though it were a solid. At 10 meters this depends upon the technique of
the diver. If the speed of the diver at the instant of entry becomes greater (as his/her altitude becomes greater) the less time the water has to "get out of the way" as the diver hits the water. If the water cannot be displaced, it begins to behave as though it were a solid. The same principles also apply if the fluid is a gas. At sufficiently high speed, if a person jumps from an airplane even the air cannot "get out of the way" and it is almost as though the air was "solid". This is the reason that pilots in military aircraft flying at high speeds (e.g. greater than the speed of sound) have to be in a protective shell. At those high speeds
even air behaves like a wall. This is also why reentry vehicles from orbit have to skip along the atmosphere to slow down. If they do not do so the vehicle would "crash" long before it hit solid ground. http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/gen01/gen01790.htm

I added a bit to my previos comment to maybe clarify my last point.

Teri - If you have to ask that first question, try jumping out of your car and you'll get the answer. the water is shooting out onto the pool to help break the surface tension of the water.

j-rod, it seems you are the only person that understands my argument here. I know of no one that has gotten a concussion from wakeboarding because their head has hit the water so hard it has fractured. You get concussions wakeboarding because you decellerate so quickly it causes your brain to swell. (with the execption of hitting sliders/debris.) If your head hits asphalt at 40 mph, your skull WILL crack. If your head hits water at 40 mph. Your skull WILL NOT crack. The problem with water, opposed to asphault is that water will GRAB you. you will DECELLERATE from a 40mph impact with water MUCH faster than you will from a 40 mph impact with asphault. The fact that water can GRAB you and stop you so instantly is what causes your brain to swell. IT IS DECELLERATION THAT CAUSES CONCUSSIONS IN WAKEBOARDING. A helmet will not help you decellerate at any less of a rate.

i've read this thread and there are good points either way, but i think i have made the decision to buy a helmet for my girlfriend. She just started wakeboarding last summer and her progression was incredible. She was hitting big wake to wake jumps by the middle of last summer but she also took some pretty bad falls. She came out of the water complaining that her head hurt quite a few times. She basically shrugged them off and took a few vitamin I's and felt a little better. Well at the end of the summer she took a really bad one and came out of the water crying about how her head hurt. This summer, she took a fall at the beginning of the summer and i've noticed that she is really pensive about getting out there and pushing it as hard as she used to. Her sessions are a lot shorter and she's not charging the wake with near the same confidence as she used to. I noticed and finally had a long talk to her this last fourth of july weekend and she admitted that she is scared of hitting the water. I asked her if it would help if i bought her a helmet and she instantly perked up and said yes. now whether or not wearing a helmet is really effective, i think that the added confidence boost would almost be worth it for her. She's a great rider and it kills me that she is so scared of getting bad falls that she would rather stay in the boat than go out and risk another headache.
My question is how much do helmets run, and what is a good helmet to buy for her?

Jonathan - The impact is going to be a lot more damaging from hitting a solid at 40 vs hitting a liquid at 40, the results from hitting water are probably going to significantly less severe than hitting a solid, however there is still the same affect on the brain.

Drum take a look at the Shred Ready helmet it's running $120 and they have a woman specific helmet, I'll be changing from the Pro-Tec to the Shred Ready in a few weeks. Make sure to have her try it on and that it fits properly, this will prevent the helmet from bucketing or slipping. Remember you want to buy a little tighter than normal when the hair is dry since it's typically thicker when dry vs when wet!

I understand because I had this type of concussion on the water and soon after lost all recollection of this day. It was all to the side of my cheek like Mike Tyson had pimp slapped me. It was my head stopping and a brain shaking that cause it. Helmet or no helmet, I would have had a concussion.

How many of you who don't wear helmets do prefer the crash/impact vests? Are these all hype, too? Interesting to me that the same pros who push the impact vests because it displaces water and lessens the effect on their internal organs won't or don't wear helmets.

Here is a pretty interesting article on head injuries

http://www.ahs.uwaterloo.ca/~cahr/headfall.html

Steven - I have no experience with the impact vests, but if the work as you say by helping to displace the water, it doesn't surprise me pros like those and not helmets. Helmets do the opposite.

Jonathan

I thought they shoot the water into the pool so the divers had a referance to where the water was?

I’m no expert on this subject, but here is my opinion: If you put it in the perspective of a car wreck where you have primary and secondary Impact. The primary impact is the car hitting an object; the second is you hitting the air bag, that being said I think your chances are better on the inside with the airbag then outside on the bumper. One would think that the helmet would have to absorb some of the initial blow as the car does.

Not to mention it is the standard in so many sports on and off the water ie; water-ski jumpers / boat racers /snow sports / etc……..