Helmets and mouthguards

just wondering how many people ride with helmets and/or mouthguards? since picking up my first boat i plan on trying some spins and inverts this year and thinking that a helmet and mouthguard might be essential

last season i suffered 2 concussions from trying blind 180's. The first with no helmet, the second with a helmet. My doctor told me that a helmet would not help while wake riding, but would actually cause more injury. His explanation was that a helmet will increase the surface area of your head, making it stop faster when it hit the water, causing your brain to slam into your skull harder. Makes good sense to me. I do wear one while riding rails however. As for mouthguards, probably not a bad idea on rails either and maybe the wake for that matter.

i could see maybe, slamming hard and choking on mouth gaurd.

I am no doctor, but after crashing numerous times over the years I can say that a helmet does help. Ear protection is why I wear one. As for concussions, all I can is that doctors are not physists... and cannot explain the dynamics of a collision between a vented or perferated helmet and the water surface. This topic has been beat to death on this site and you have to make your own decsion. The point Mike brings up about surface area has been discussed over and over again with people and facts on both sides. You will find a few people who feel like Mike, and others who feel like me. I say if you are thinking about wearing one, wear it.

UJ

Doctors don't know everything like they think they do....and probably less.

i ride with a mouthguard. After backrolling onto a submerged tree, and the ensuing crash that resulted in piercing my tongue with one of my teeth, and chipping a little bit off one of a tooth, its definitely worth it cuz that wasnt too enjoyable of an experience. If i'm just cruisin around on my Roam i dont worry about it, but if i'm trying some bigger stuff, or new stuff i definitely rock the mouth guard!

haven't some people said that a helmet may not be a good idea for just riding behind the boat because it slows your head down quicker resulting in more of a concussion to the brain? Not a doctor here, but the concept makes sense to me. never tried riding with a helmet, so i wouldnt know, but just wondering if anybody has a take on that idea

why dont high divers wear a helmet? they hit the water with some speed, head first, with just there hands to break the surface. i believe in the surface to mass racio thing as stated above, "it's science." lol. but as for smashing your head on a rail, etc... wear a helmet.

i race motocross also and have had 9 concussions over the past 7 years and i started wakeboarding a couple years ago without a helmet. i finally got one this year and havent had a headache since. wont ride without one no matter what !!!

"If you think it makes a difference it makes a difference"
Mike Paferio.

Ding Ding Ding, Helmet Fight Round 3,231,984,513

I rock the mouth guard. Last spring I smashed my lip on my knee. The outcome was not good. My top tooth went through my bottom lip. Six stitches on the inside and 5 on the outside. Had to make a $500 deposit at the ER that day. So I now wear one all the time.

Honestly I cannot believe that more wakeskaters dont rock helmets, that thing always has a way to come back on get you after you crash. There's like no middle ground, its either 50 feet away and you have to swim, or you pop out of the water and its right there trying to crack you in the face/head whatever.

Andy...I think you are off by a billion or two

I started wearing a helmet last season when I started wakeskating and I refuse to ride w/o one now there were 3 different occasions where my skate came up and hit me in the head really hard and I'm pretty sure if I didn't have it on I would've been knocked out . . . I've heard a lot of people say that a helmet can cause more damage because of the added surface area but I have had some hellacious crashes wearing my helmet and have not experienced anything like that

andy, i've had that happen to me. skating, lip slide to shuv out to crash. came up from underwater and the skate shot right onto my forehead. i saw stars and 5 minutes later, had a huge knot on my head! needless to say, my day ended there.

I started wearing a helmet and mouth piece. Last yr I had some good headaches the yr before this yr i didnt. Towards the end of the summer i started just rockin the mouth guard. I am still a little torn about the helmet, but i have had some good falls since but i think with the helmet or not it was the same.

I think the mouth guard just like for football players and boxers takes some of the blow and stops ur jaw from absorbing the blow.

My friends daughter was attempting well I dunno what the hell it was supposed to be but anyway she landed all funky and her wakeboard hit her in the back of the head and split her head open and knocked her out if she would've have been wearing a helmet she would probably have swam away with just a headache

Helmets have worked great for me and all my riders, no more headaches or concussion's since we started wearing helmets.

I've never wore a helmet or a mouthguard, except at competitions where it is required. Haven't had any serious injuries, a bloody nose once, but I don't think wearing a helmet would have changed the outcome to that.

The doctors who make the comments about surface area and decelleration...has anyone asked them for the basis of the comment? What kind of modelling or testing they have done? I think most Dr's make that statement with little familiarity with the physics...and would guess that most haven't even looked at the shape of the helmets they are commenting on. You could easily argue that from alot of angles, the surface area of the helmet is less than a head or face.

I suffered my second wakeboarding concussion in September, and i was wearing a helmet this time. Unfortunately, I was lazy in strapping it on and adjusting and it was loose. When I went down it shifted on my head and the shell smacked me pretty good. I had a lump on my head that outlined the shape of the shell.

Helmets are a good thing. BUT, make sure you wear one that is properly fitted and strapped on.

Nate, I'm having trouble imagining how putting something over your head can result in less surface area. Please elaborate.

I watched a guy at wakeboard camp one year say, "I'm wearing this helmet to prevent perforating my ear again"

First set, helmet on, he perforated his ear anyway.

The force of the water hitting the helmet created a suction cup like seal on his ear and the pressure blew it out.

Helmets will not necessarily prevent concussions or perforated inner ear injuries. Of course you might get lucky on occassion.

THese threads are honestly so entertaining!

First, make the distinction between volume, and the surface area in an impact. We're talking about the area of surface that makes the initial contact with the water.

Open your hand and put the your palm and fingers over your cheek and the side of your head. I have a bigger head than most, but you will probably have a flat area on the side of your head roughly the size of your entire hand. Compare this flat surface area to that of the flat surface of just about *any* helmet, especially once it is on your head and creating an offset that is the thickness of the helmet.

Just because a helmet makes your head bigger, it doesn't mean you'll have more surface area in contact with the water at the moment of impact.

This opens up enough questions regarding the limits to which you take the "moment of impact". I haven't been able to find much support other than those who heard from a friend who heard it from a doctor who heard from another doctor who heard it from a friend in church that helmets are dangerous. Buying into this requires blind faith in medicine to understand physics intuitively, and completely ignoring the fact that there is cushioning designed (and tested) to absorb the decelleration of the general impact which is far greater than what is added by the supposed surface area increase.

The G loads that are absorbed by helmets can be (and are) quantified. A valid argument against this effect should be evaluated the same way...but to our knowledge, this hasn't been done.

"Doctors don't know everything like they think they do....and probably less."

Ain't that the truth. I'd just like to find a doctor that knew about doctoring, much less helmets.

i'd get a new doctor.

I did a Medline search on this subject the 32nd time this topic was posted before and found nothing. MDs are basing their recs on their best intuition not facts but I am sure they are well intentioned.

This has got to be the worse reasons I've seen in the many threads for not wearing a helmet: "why dont high divers wear a helmet? they hit the water with some speed, head first, with just there hands to break the surface."

Having dove, you will only fail to properly "punch" the water with your hands one time on any head entry dive >3M. Failing to do so will certainly ring your bell. Unfortunately ALL head smackers in wakeboarding are out of control and I can't see the hands being of much use to break the water before your mellon does.

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You could easily argue that from alot of angles, the surface area of the helmet is less than a head or face.

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So when you said that, you really meant to say that you could make the argument that the surface area is close to being the same, not less. Is that correct? I just don't see how it can be less.

Also, you seem to have a real problem that the "greater surface area" argument has not been proven and you state that it "requires blind faith" to believe the greater surface area argument. Yet you preach the opposite argument, which, to my knowledge, has not been proven either and would also require "blind faith" in the ability of padding to absorb impact. How do you reconcile that line of thinking?

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there is cushioning designed (and tested) to absorb the decelleration of the general impact which is far greater than what is added by the supposed surface area increase.

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Can you show me the evidence that backs up this assertion? I'm assuming you cannot since you admit in the follow up paragraph that "this hasn't been done."

I'm not trying to be argumentative. I truly believe that there are so many variables that neither side can be proven for all or even most situations. I just don't want to see inaccurate support for either side thrown down as fact, which can confuse people.

i guess i should contact a helmet manufacturer and see what their helmets were "designed" to prevent injury from, is it from the impact of hitting the water or from things like a board hitting your head, after all they are designing them and selling them

The surface area could be less if it were a full face helmet (e.g. motorcycle helmet) cause then it would take into account the nose and other parts of the head that may have more surface area with less volume. But given the helmet only covers the round part of your heard, then it would only increase the surface area.

Unless you've got some really funky ears i suppose.

Having said that I'm a firm believer of helmets. Remeber that there's padding in that helmet too. See a previous thread where I pointed out getting hit with a brick is a lot worse than a brick wrapped in a giant pillow.

Would you use the similar argument that more surface area makes the crashes worse on the user to a driver of an SUV?

(Message edited by sloshake on January 23, 2008)

No offense taken David. We probably have an opinion on this that is more similar than not. I too think it's too clouded to know, but being a participant in several action sport I'm biased towards the protection I've witnessed and experienced from good gear myself.

What we do know, is that helmets are very carefully designed and tested to absorb the decelleration of an impact. Like I said above, this is quantifiable...engineering data that is used to certify and improve helmet designs. It's far from perfect, but it's alot more scientific than an un-named medical expert's opinion on physics.

http://helmets101.blogspot.com/2007/02/part-ii-innovations-and-helmet-fit.html

http://helmets101.blogspot.com/2007/04/part-iii-helmet-testing.html

People should understand that there is more behind our helmets than some foam thrown into a plastic shell. If you read the testing article in detail it won't leave you very confident in ANY helmet, but one can see that they do know *something* about how they work and that it is approached scientifically.

I guess I'm saying that there is a factual, demonstrated effectiveness of helmets...which is not something that can be said for the surface area theory. The good Dr wants to convince you that he KNOWS that the surface area effect is greater than the cushion effect, but with little to no data.

My daughter now rides with a mouthguard. I wish that I could get my sons to wear one too. Andrew Adkison now rides with a mouthguard. My daughter gave herself a concussion with a knee to the jaw impact. Had the impact been cushioned by a mouthguard, it still would not have been pretty, but the impact may have been slightly less, and it would have protected her teeth. Fortunately, she ended up with only a few minor chips.
IMO a helmet does nothing to protect from a whiplash type injury, and may worsen some impacts for the reasons stated above. The benefits of a helmet are ear protection (assuming you use the ear flaps) and protection against the board hitting the head. On balance, If I could have my kids wear either a mouthguard or a helmet, I'd pick the mouthguard. Of course on sliders, a helmet is a must.

I think most can agree on the fact that surface area is increased, which will lead to increased deceleration. If you don't, imagine the difference in deceleration when diving head first into water versus the Jack In The Box guy diving head first into water.

I also think most can agree that padding in the helmet leads to decreased deceleration.

Whether or not one outweighs the other could probably be tested in a lab for certain conditions, but it would be very difficult to take all possible variables (helmet type, fit and quality, speed, ability level, water debris, wakeboard or wakeskate, ear protection, bucketing affect, etc.) into account. I think it's important that each rider make the evaluation based on the variables involved rather than just relying on a hard and fast rule going one way or another.

Our kids have always worn helmets. They started wearing them to prevent blown ear drums and hits to the head by the wakeboard. The small amount of surface area increase should not make that much of a difference upon impact to the water IMO. My kids have still have had conccusions with the helmet but it has saved on numerous occasions staples to the head. Never a ear injury either.

We don't make them wear them anymore, they choose to wear them because they feel it protects the head. To each his own. But after you have seen first hand what an edge of the board does to a head maybe some would change their minds.

By the way we all wear them snowboarding. It's a no brainer...

The scale tipper is the fact that the helmet just looks rediculous!

Sorry.... Paytons, Scotty, and all my other friends that ride with a bucket on their head.

I see it the same as Bryan. Whether you fall from high up off a double up or go cliff jumping with your helmet on. Same thing. There's extra stress on your neck because of the added surface area to your head. Plus having added surface area to your head, wouldn't that cause your head to slow down faster on impact and make your brain bounce inside your skull more? I dunno but def always wear one if your hitting obsticles.

John....that statement came from a Nurse

my feeling on it.... i think people are way too cautious. if your going to feed your adrenalin need then why not do it all the way rather than hold yourself back. you only live once. why not push your limits. plus i cant stand that strap around my neck. feels like im bein choked out

Jason...you must not have kids. If you did you would do everything you could to satisfy your need to wakeboard and stay as safe as possible so your kids have a father as they grow up. You can't be too cautious when you have kids....they are counting on you to not only have a balance of work and play in your life (to stay sane) but also to be safe when you do have fun and come home to them, safely, every night.

Helmets do not increase the surface area....they only help decelerate your brain so there is not so much brain tissue torn, thus decreaseing severity of concussion. It does not prevent it...only decrease it. They do not help with eardrum perforations. The only thing that will prevent that are earplugs....but that is also 2 billion threads in the past list of archives. I have spoken to several neurosurgeons and researched this extensively and helmets help decrease brain injuries...NOT PREVENT. Seat belts decrease physical injury and death, not prevent it. I have taken care of patients in the OR who have died of their injuries who wore seat belts and had airbags. If you are in a serious enough accident, or wakeboard injury, no helmet or seatbelt is going to help you. But if you go without seatbelts and are seriously injured, how will you know if it could have helped or not.

J-Rod...have you seen how "rediculous" a person looks foaming at the mouth and a mental vegetable due to a head injury? I have. I had to drill his brain open, as a matter of fact.

No offense or heavy hand intended to anyone here...just want you to think and make an informed, intelligent decision, while you still can. And yes....to each his own....live and let live.

Actually, Jason has a kid, not that you have any right to tell him where his priorities should lie. As you said, live and let live.

Wearing a mouthguard has been proven to decrease your chances of getting a concussion when playing contact sports. I see no reason why it couldn't be an effective measure in our sport as well.

Only trying to express where my priorities are when it comes to kids....we all have to make our own decisions. I am out there riding hard like all of you. Like I said, no offense to anyone, Scott. We can share opinions without taking offense?

Ride on!!

Well said SoCal.

I can say for fact that my helmet has prevented blown ear drums. I have hit the side of my head so freaking hard that I swear my ear drum would have blown... but with the helmet, no damage. Nothing is 100%, but I say that a helmet with ear guards reduces the risk.

I am all for open forums, but saying helmets look "reduculous" isn't cool. Adults on this forum should realize what they post is read by kids of all ages... now some kid sliding a rail, which I think everyone agrees is a good case for wearing helmets, might choose to go without, thinking he looks "redulous".

When I see a rider with a helmet I am actually impressed that they made a decision to go against the grain, take the critisism of looking "rediculous" and wear one. Many of the guys I know who wear one tear it up. Spins, flips, raley based tricks, back side, off-axis, you name it, they do it. They are not worried how they look. They are like me, they are trying to maximize their time on the water and prevent a 6 week or 2 week layoff from a concussion or blown ear drum, or stitches in the head.

Be your own person. Who cares what you look like. It takes a strong individual to not care what people think...People should spend more time doing what they perceive is best vs. doing what others think is best.

Sorry Jarrod. Just close your eyes when you see me ride!

Thanks Uncle...anyone who knows me knows how supportive I am of this sport and how non-judgemental I am. I see hurt people everyday and don't want to see all my wakeboard friends hurt.
PS.....I SOOOOOOOO want to move to Roseville!!!

yup am a proud father of a 4 year old girl. shes the love of my life next to my wife. but like i said before, if your pushing your adrenalin then why do it half way. if im going to teach my daughter to do things 100 percent then i better do it myself. just my theory. i refuse to live my life being too carefull. you only live once. when god decides its your time to go, its your time to go, weather your being "safe" or not.

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Helmets do not increase the surface area

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How can you say that? It's a simple fact that your head is larger when there is a helmet on it, even if the helmet is only a millimeter thick. I understand people arguing that it's a negligible difference, but how can say your head is the same size whether or not it has a helmet on?

Again David, you have to think in terms of the surface area in contact with the water at the moment of impact, not the volume of ones head. That is, the profile that is breaking surface tension. Go back to the diver example with the hands breaking surface tension. It's not the overall volume of the diver that determines the splash, it's the point that breaks the surface tension as they enter.

MOST heads and faces are more blocky than they are round. Helmets introduce contour lines and curves and there are many angles at which you have a rounded helmet shape, a "spine". or even the bottom edge of the shell making that first contact. This is especially true on side impacts, which was how both of my concussions occurred. I don't think the square-on-the-top-of-the-head impact is common in our sport.

There is a draft ASTM standard for non-motorized watersports helmets in the works...if it is ever completed we may see some additional testing that addresses this.

Maybe the answer is spiked helmets!

.....when I was Jasons age I felt exactly like he does!!!

.....now I am 43 with a 10 and 8 year old .....and feel exactly like socal!!!


....one of the hardest things in life to appreciate.....is that our opinions and feelings today will often not hold true tomorrow........because of our experiences and just growing older and having seen and done more.


....good arguments Nate....I have always wondered if we really need helmets on the water....or just something on our head like a ridge of pointy foam or something....to just break the surface tension.....

(Message edited by absoluteboarder on January 24, 2008)

Enough of this already. SOMEBODY GET SOME PROOF! This he said she said, This doctor that doctor garbage is out of control.

Somebody get some proof, from a doctor a helmet company something.

I think it's time for Myth Busters!!!!

I agree totally Jason!

(Message edited by andy_nintzel on January 24, 2008)

I think its sad when grown men make decisions based of how they look, or what others think. I figured by then people would not be worried about how others see them.... if you are when ur riding then are you really riding for yourself??

I have a expression that i use often." I dont have anyone to impress but myself, and i did that a long time ago."

So, Nate, you're making the argument that the first point of contact with the water is the only thing that matters when calculating deceleration? You say that I have "to think in terms of the surface area in contact with the water at the moment of impact." What about the amount of surface area contacting the water a split second after impact? Do we just ignore that?

I can see your point if we're talking about a solid object since the initial point of impact is really the only point of impact. But when you are entering the water, the resistance doesn't cease after initial impact. It continues until the head has stopped.

I appreciate the fact that you're at least bringing an argument to the table, but I find it hard to ignore everything that happens after the initial impact.

We're actually just finishing up an article on concussions for WakeWorld. Unfortunately, medical data on this is rare, but here is a quote from an article called "An Unusual Case of Traumatic Intracranial Hemorrhage Caused by Wakeboarding" where a 14-year-old boy suffered a head injury...

"A helmet is effective in reducing the extent of a head injury by functioning as a direct barrier between the head and the surface of impact, by dissipating the kinetic injury of the impact, and by functioning like the crumple-zones of an automobile. Unfortunately, these mechanisms may not apply in the water medium of wakeboarding. It can be argued that by increasing the cross-sectional area of the head, resistance is increased in the water, and a helmet would increase the decelerating forces on impact on the water surface. The increased torque could conceivably place additional stress on the cervical spine."

- Chia JKK, Goh KYC, Chan C. An Unusual Case of Traumatic Intracranial Hemorrhage Caused by Wakeboarding. Pediatric Neurosurgy 2000;32:291-294 (DOI: 10.1159/000028957)

....I think what nate might be saying is that after the initial impact( point of surface tension being broken,with rim of helmet ) the characteristics of the water and the impact change (ie. become softer...as is case with diver and hands)



......for the sake of argument you should first agree on if a concussion comes from the initial yar of breaking the surface tension or the consequential deceleration through the water.

I believe our concussions come from the yarring of breaking the surface tension ...not the consequent slowing down in the water.

(Message edited by absoluteboarder on January 24, 2008)

BooooOOOOOmmmmm..

David I cannot wait to read that article.

......and there is proof that the deceleration does not give the concussion.....as with a cliff diver.......of course just assuming but his hands breaking the surface tension save their lives .....if they were to enter head first...I think there would be some serious damage.

the question thus remains does the helmet break surface tension more efficiently than our head.

A helmet is effective in reducing the extent of a head injury by functioning as a direct barrier between the head and the surface of impact, by dissipating the kinetic injury of the impact, and by functioning like the crumple-zones of an automobile. Unfortunately, these mechanisms may not apply in the water medium of wakeboarding. It can be argued that by increasing the cross-sectional area of the head, resistance is increased in the water, and a helmet would increase the decelerating forces on impact on the water surface. The increased torque could conceivably place additional stress on the cervical spine."


still to many could can and mays.........have they done an actual biomechanical study with forces etc...?

Not that I'm aware of. That's the point. There are too many variables and unknowns for anyone to be making the statement that either wearing a helmet or not wearing a helmet is the "right" thing to do. Perhaps someday there will be some concrete data on this topic, but so far we've seen very little.

With so many variables involved (helmet type, fit and quality, speed, ability level, water debris, wakeboard or wakeskate, entry angle, etc.), the rider has to figure out what's going to work best for their particular situation.

Good research David, and I also can't wait to read the article.

It seems that based on your reference, we end up slitting this into 2 discussions that muddy the waters further. Maybe it's just a bad paste job, but that specific comment is made relevant to cervical spine stress, not concussion/brain hemmoraging.

So...we have 2 things to think about. The effect of the initial impact and what causes concussions and brain injury, and the continued effects of decelleration and how it can apply torque to the neck. I see the neck argument as holding a whole lot more water than the brain injury side.

To more directly answer your question, yes I believe that the concussion type injuries occur almost instantaneous with the initial impact. I don't claim to know to the millisecond, which is why I mentioned earlier that we end up with questions as to the limits to which we define the 'moment of impact'.

i'm thinking the whiplash effect has more to do with a concussion than the impact of your head on the surface of the water...in which case the extra mass from the helmet would not help...when your head snaps back, your brain would remain in the same place (for an instant) and your skull would slam into your brain...also, when landing backwards, your back probably hits the water at or around the same time as your head causing your entire body (head included) to decelerate...the extra surface area from a helmet (and the resultant increase in head deceleration) would be negligeable compared to the surface area of your back...a helmet will neither help you or hurt you regarding concussions...I am a scientist...

Every time I have had a concussion, all 6 of them. The Docs in the ER tell me its from Whiplash and loss of blood flow to my brain, not a impact injury. At least that's what I remember from them telling what happened the next day.

.......now that is interesting and a new twist!!

Iam also one the guys that rock the helment...I think Unclejessie said it best when he said.

"I am all for open forums, but saying helmets look "reduculous" isn't cool. Adults on this forum should realize what they post is read by kids of all ages... now some kid sliding a rail, which I think everyone agrees is a good case for wearing helmets, might choose to go without, thinking he looks "redulous".

When I see a rider with a helmet I am actually impressed that they made a decision to go against the grain, take the critisism of looking "rediculous" and wear one. Many of the guys I know who wear one tear it up. Spins, flips, raley based tricks, back side, off-axis, you name it, they do it. They are not worried how they look. They are like me, they are trying to maximize their time on the water and prevent a 6 week or 2 week layoff from a concussion or blown ear drum, or stitches in the head.

Be your own person. Who cares what you look like. It takes a strong individual to not care what people think...People should spend more time doing what they perceive is best vs. doing what others think is best"

I have had many a bad crash, and I can say for sure that my dome piece has saved me from a few headachs if not worse!}

well put shon...i dont rock a helmet but thats a choice i made on my own not because i think it looks dumb but because i cant stand to have the strap under my chin...it irritates the hell outta me...BUT after the set i took the other day having to dodge tree limbs and sticks and twigs smashin thru the old river...it woulda been nice to have one cuz you never know whats 6 inches under water...

Well said....

I also rock a helmet, and those who ride with me know I need it.

If you doctor it up with stickers and make it your own personal place to show your support for the sport. Its much like a construction worker with their hardhat. It can be as cool as you want it to be.

Who cares what everyone else says. Its the only dome you have, take care of it.

JR..I have my strap a little lose. I have never had a problem with it coming off or the "Bucket issue" Works for me..Dont care what anyone else thinks!!

Okay, great thread. I'll add my two cents. I am a doctor and I don't know (and can't find) any definitive answer to the physics questions being discussed. However, since there are so many variables in each wakeboarding impact of melon to water/ board/ knee or whatever, I can't see any completely satisfying physics answers in the offing.

I can fully understand the fashion and cultural resistance to wearing protective gear but those concerns won't stop me from wearing a CGA approved vest (just thought I'd add that since it hasn't come up yet) or helmet. I listened to the arguments for and against helmets for the first year of my riding and didn't buy one. I have some degenerative disc changes in my neck, so the added weight of a helmet throwing my head around gave me additional pause about the potential negatives of wearing one.

I ended my season in 06 with a concussion. I called my neurologist buddy the next morning and ran my symptoms by him: no loss of consciousness, anterograde amnesia for about 30 minutes and HA for 24 hours. He told me in no uncertain terms that I shouldn't ride for at least a month, so that was it for the year. The next day I backed my car into a colleague's car in the parking lot at the hospital where I work. First accident in 30 years and her car was just sitting there! That afternoon I bought a helmet.

This year I wore it all the time and took some hard falls without ever having so much as a headache. As luck would have it, one day in the fall when I was just messing around with my crew riding our Roam and doing only surface tricks at about 18 MPH I chose not to wear it, caught an edge, smack down and massive headache. Draw your own conclusions, but I'm convinced that the helmet helps me.

I haven't started wearing my mouth guard yet, but I have one for basketball so I might use it. It has saved me a couple concussions when my chin met my son's head while he is backing me down in the paint. Didn't save me from a broken nose though. How about face guards, anybody rocking one of those?

Do any companies design a helmet that is made for wake as far as breaking up water tension, etc? I know they change the pads inside to waterproof but they kinda look like street helmets as far as shape.

Thanks for posting that Les. I think it's a very clear analysis of your decision and it helps me with mine.

Hmm..."neurologist buddy" eh? At the rate I smack my head I could sure use one of those!

The only data I can offer is my own. Two seasons with a helmet, numerous diggers, and not one bell ringing. Proof enough for me. I couldn't care less what people think as far as how it looks. I don't ride to look kool for other people. Safety gear saves injuries and sometimes, lives, but not always. If you put yourself in a risky situation, you assume those risks. I laugh everytime I hear someone use the old "when your times up, it's up". So when 250 people get onboard a jet and hurl themselves through the air at 500mph, and the jet crashes, they all had their number come up at the same time? I think not. We put ourselves in risky situations and all we can do is use what's available to keep us safe, or choose not to and just rely on luck.

(Message edited by wake upppp on January 24, 2008)

I rock a mouthguard fitted by my dentist. Lost my teeth several times on my way to playing pro hockey for 2 yrs. Then I fractured 8 teeth wakeboarding......Tantrum off the d-up cased the landing and kneee off the chin. 13 stitches and 8 fractured teeth, 4 of which were fake already.

Mouthguards will help with the impact of a crash for a concussion. Not so much in wakeboarding imo, but can in some instances, due to the fact the mouthguard works for direct blows like a punch of a hit to the jaw(IE Hockey). They prevent the jaw from snapping together which is the most common cause of concussions in contact sports.
In wakeboarding most of the concussions are caused from the impact of your head with the water and your brain jarring. So a different kind of concussion.

I still rock a dental fitted mouthguard to protect my 200K+ teeth from chipping and facturing on the hard falls. After 4 major surgeries and barely any teeth left I guess $100 mouthguuard is worth it when you consider the amount of $$$$ in my mouth and I ain't even gots a Platinum Grille. Who needs Platinum? Thank god for insurance. If you fit your mouthguard properly(IE boil water and then dip the mouthguard in there for 30 secs or until it starts to deform and then put in in your mouth and bite down, then after 30 secs or so run it under ice cold water) even the $0.99 Sportmart special won't come out.


My feeling on the helmet is if you're using sliders/kickers a ton I would rock it. If not, it's not going to protect you as much as you think it is. May give you that extra confidence to hit a trick, but in reality it isn't going to do what you think it will.

Mostly joking here, but maybe a helmet that had some "hydrodynamics" to it would help. something with spikes on different surfaces to "break up the water like a diver"... course this still might not help much on the whiplash end of things... or maybe it will. IT would also look way COOLER and less "ridiculous"... or maybe more so

quick google search turned up this gem. Looks like Byerly would rock this one ;)
and it even has built in goggles for keeping spray out of the eays and for contact wearers. looks like they would keep UV rays out too. The spines on the sides would break up water for ear inpacts too heheheh

lol Jeremy. It seems like that helmet would probably break up the water better than the current helmets.

If anything the water would be scared of the helmet and just get out of the way before impact.

I rock the helmet, I'm not sure if it helps but I've taken crashes that I think would of hurt alot worse without it. It also makes me feel better trying new tricks, so it's good just from a mental standpoint.