Helmets

[bluebomber]

Just started wearing a helmet last weekend. Makes the falls a little easier. Anybody else out there wearing a helmet?

[HHI Dave]

One of my riding buddies is considering getting a helmet. I told him if it makes him feel safer, then go for it.

But I also understand that a helmet protects your skull, but not your brain. In otherwords, it will protect you from cracking your head open on sliders and rails etc but it won't prevent a concussion from hitting the water hard. Anyone have any input there?

[Epic]

I wear one when trying new tricks. I think they actually help a lot. Like everybody that wakeboards I've taken a ton of falls and can tell you it hurts a hell of a lot less with a helmet than without. Once I feel comfortable with a trick I don't wear it anymore but I think they definately do help.
As far as them not protecting your brain, I find it really hard to believe that wouldn't be the case.

[jplvr]

There was a rider whose father was in this forum about a week ago and mentioned talking to a doctor about a helmet. The doctor told him that a helmet was not going to do much, if anything, to prevent a concussion with a "water only" fall.

[jlaws]

i'm debating whether i should or not. personally just for the fat that it probably hurts less...even if the protection is the same

does it hurt alot less or a little?

[OuachitaWaker]

i asked my friends about getting a helmet before we started throwing inverts this year (none of us at the time had ever thrown one) and they called me a sissy.



well i didnt get the helmet but im the only one thats throwin them

[FLWake]

[Nils_Lars]

I just got one this season and im gonna try it out this weekend but im prepared to be laughed at and I dont care , its worth it compared to the risk I would say.

[Maestro]

Everytime this discussion comes up the majority of people seem to be in favor of it, but I disagree. I rode with a helmet a couple of years ago and ended up getting pretty bad whiplash. Maybe I would have gotten it even without the helmet, but I think it was due to the increased surface area of my head and the extra strain that was put on my neck when my head hit the water funny. I wear a helmet when hitting sliders, but other than that my personal belief is that it's better to leave it off when riding W2W...

[Zcaithaca]

I agree with Maestro,

They make your head feel heavy and turn you into a bobble head doll when you hit the water.

[Hero]

Wearing a helmet makes me more fearless.

[Seth818]

its already been said if your hittin sliders then wear one! but if not its not going to make much difference unless u hit something like a log or someting but the chances of the happening or slim to none since you shouldnt go near logs and debris with a boat anyways... but its personal preference

[matt1808]

wearing one if you aren't hitting sliders or kickers is pointless. The only thing it would help just jumping the wake is if your board hits you in the head, which is pretty rare.

[pet575]

Disagree. FLWake has no idea what he would've been like if he wasn't wearing a helmet. Seriously, everyone, what is the risk? That you might not look as "cool"? If the biggest risk is that it doesn't really help, that sounds like a good risk. The only valid argument made here is that it may increase the size of your head and make you more prone to twisting/whiplash. Otherwise, the only true "risk" is in NOT wearing one.

True, a concussion comes from your brain hitting the inside of your skull. But, the point of the helmet is to absorb whatever amount of energy it can so that the brain impact on your skull is less than it would have been if you were wearing nothing. There is no way to measure how much energy is required to sustain an injury, but the amount of energy a helmet absorbs CAN be measured. If it is a certainty that a helment can absorb some of this brain-damaging energy, why not buy that type of insurance? The cost is relatively low, unless your own beauty is so flawless that a helmet will cost YOU a ton personally.

For the record, I've never worn one. However, that is going to change this year. It is just not worth chancing my missing out on the rest of my life, my beautiful wife's life, or my son's life because I'm drooling and filling diapers in my wheelchair after sustaining a catastrophic brain injury.

Anyone seen the new studies on former NFL players, and the brain damage they sustained due to playing with concussions, using their heads as weapons, and wearing inadequate head protection? It is scary as hell. The autopsy of former Philadelphia Eagles' safety Andre Waters, who recently comitted suicide as a result of depression (caused by brain damage?), indicated that his brain looked like the equivalent of a senior citizen with Alzheimer's Disease.

[jplvr]

pet575, I was starting to consider getting a helmet eventhough w2w riding is plenty for me. While reading through the following thread:

http://forums.wakeboarder.com/viewtopic.php?t=68956

I found this:

[tpj]

but also, if you take a faceplant i have heard that people have ruptured eardrums. if you get a helmet with ear guard things than that can be avoided. and if anything it will do good, not bad so why not wear one?

[jplvr]

Sure, like the assumed doctor that he's referring to in the quote says, a helmet will help in the event the board struck you in the head as well. I was speaking more about the concussion issue and assumed most were as well.

[ttuclint]

[inter]

I've worn a helmet and they definately do reduce the pain on impact, but I think thats all it does unless you're hitting sliders.

[FLWake]

pet575, you are right, I can't say what would have happened if I had no helmet. You're also right that there is no downside to wearing a helmet, unless it causes whiplash, or, as http://www.helmets.org/other.htm brought up, it increases the surface area that hits the water, increasing the severity of the impact.

What I'm saying, though, is that they are not nearly as protective as they are in other sports. If you go down riding a motorcycle, a helmet will save your life but thats not necessarily the same in wakeboarding.

I've tried to do a little research on this but it seems that there has never been any real testing for wakeboarding helmets. Everything I've seen about them hints that they are just adapted skateboard helmets. If anybody can find a page that has actual test results on wakeboarding helmets I'd like to see it.

Oh and pet575, I barely remember what it was like when I was wearing a helmet

[QNev]

They hurt a lot more when you land the wrong way. Most of the time, falls are just harder on the neck but the whole "instant headache" thing is nothing to worry about.

Wakeboard helmets are essentially skateboard helmets with waterproof padding. They are really only safe when there is something your head could hit: ie. a wakeskate or a slider.

[Hangtime]

[Hyrific]

It help all kinds of falls period. My headaches are MUCH MUCH less after a bad fall with helmat that without.

Its like riding motorcycles. Don't say there safe because they of coarse are not. Just say you would rather take your chances of being crippled and dead than not ride one. If you say there safe you just look like a horses ass or someone who is mentally retarded.

Same thing with helmets. Never say they don't work cause they of coarse do. Just say you would rather have blown ear drums and concussions than wear one.

At least your being honest I figure.

[bluebomber]

I wear a helmet but let me tell you its really hard to put one on when you have a boat load of girls. Just have to swallow your pride every once in a while.

[Ohioboarder]

If you are wearing a helmet and your head hits ANYTHING that causes it to stop suddenly ex. water, hardwood floor, the ground the padding in the helmet is designed to dissapate the impact energy over a longer period of time lessening the amount of energy transfered to your head. Essentially your brain may still hit but it will be going slower and therefore potentially reduce the injury to your mellon. They also reduce the chance of a counter-cou injury where your brain flips back the other way and collides with your skull on the opposite side from the impact.
I'd rather not hit my brain on anything but if its going to happen I'd rather get a pat than a slap!!

Dave

[verticle]

people who are saying helmets do nothing in the majority of falls are misinformed. people who are saying it does more bad then good in falls are just plain dumb. the reasons why helmets help have been stated in the last few posts, and first stated by pet575.

/thread.

[LakeIolaLuke]

verticle, All I know is that My neck gets jarred worse when i fall wearing a helmet than when I don't have one on.

[matt1808]

[Ohioboarder]

I think the fact that every collision sport requires helmets pretty much tells the tale.
The fact is a helmet will reduce your chance of a closed head injury. Some of the motorcyclicts that belong to ABATE claim that the helmet increases your chance of a neck injury also but the studys show there is no significant increase in the chance of injury in that manner.
The helmet will do more good than not and as a professional who deals with sports injuries I'll go with a helmet if I have a choice or need.

Dave

[wakeboardin2k4]

I think that for me a helmet is more for the confidence i get of knowing my head is "protected". Even if the helmet does nothing it sure makes me feel safer out there on the water and helps me feel better about trying inverts and stuff. I wore one for the first time a few weeks ago with a group of people I had never ridden with and they said that helmets are a rule on their boat. I had no objection because i wear one when i snowboard so why not wear one wakeboarding. It was slightly uncomfortable, but knowing that i had a helmet on I said to myself well lets try something new. I didnt notice a significant difference in the pain felt by my fall, but i worried less about falling and so if wearing a helmet helps me push my own riding to another level, then I will swallow my pride and throw on the helmet when the boat bun is in the boat.

[Nils_Lars]

Just tried my new Ace wake helmet this weekend and it did help with the confidence (aka balls of steel) and my last trip out without a helmet I had headaches for a couple days after and this time nothing.

I did not notice any neck jarring but my pride did hurt a bit putting it on in the boat especially with nobody else wearing but thats fine its still worth it.

I also started wearing a double hinged knee brace (nothing special just a Donjoy I got online) and it made a huge difference once again with confidence that I wouldnt re-injure my knee and my knee doctor said it was a good idea especially on the right knee riding regular stance.

[jdmcivicman]

[matt1808]

jdmcivicman, I was joking, which is why the next sentence starts "seriously though"

[jdmcivicman]

i understand, i was just making a point about pros not wearing them.

[cezza]

i have a capix pointless helmet and yeh its abit easier on the head when u bail..but i never really wear it. my mate wants it to wear at the snow haha