Do wakeboard helmets help prevent head injuries?

[malibanker]

Have a pretty good headache after a crash yesterday evening.

Would a wakeboard helmet help prevent concussions when you slam into the water?

I'm sure it helps if your hitting rails/ramps, but what's your experience with water crashes?

[Pruis6]

It seems to help with some of the crashes but not all. There have been times that I was glad I was wearing it because I know a particular crash would have hurt without it and other times it didnt seem to help much. It does give me a little more confidence when I'm riding.

[CedarLakeSkier]

A few years ago my daughter caught a front edge on the wakeboard. She went down and the wakeboard came around her back and the edge of the board sliced the back of her head. I think she had 8 staples in her head. A helmet would have helped and she has worn one ever since.

[00sunsetter]

Aside from preventing the board from hitting your head, a helmet probably wont do too much behind the boat. It all comes down to how fast your head hits the water, then how fast it stops. A helmet can only absorb a small amount of that shock considering how fast you are usually headed towards the water when taking a good fall. That being said, I dont wear a helmet, but i have considered getting one to prevent slashes on my head

Edited June 24, 2011 by 00sunsetter

[Levi900RR]

I got hit in the head with a wakeboard in 2004. 3 titanium plates screwed to my skull and 30 staples in my scalp later I was OK. I couldnt use my left arm for about a week but it came back. Still have some numbness in my left tricept.

A helmet would have pretty much avoided that whole situation.

I never grab the rope without one now.

[Hammertime]

I always wear a helmet; on the water, snow skiing, biking, motorcycle, etc. I had a rock climbing accident in 2008 while wearing a helmet; crushed forehead, broken nose, torn rotator cuff, cracked ribs, etc… I probably wouldnt be here now if I wasnt wearing one. My neighbors joked about it after I recovered and bought me a helmet to wear when Im cutting the grass, so yea, Id say wear one.

We hit Lake Lewisville every so often, where do you run?

Edited June 24, 2011 by Hammertime

[malibanker]

Board in the back of the head sounds bruttal.

I'm more worried about the bankroll to faceplant / whiplash back of head plant.

We ride on ray hubbard. Been to lake grapevine a few times and thought it was nice. Not too many places to ride but a good lake to cruise.

[jtrovato]

Three Summers ago I caught an edge after jumping wake to wake, nothing crazy, just caught the back edge somehow and went down hard, whiplash style. When my friends came back around to get me, I was acting all loopy and crazy, didn't know what day it was, what had just happened, etc. So off to the hospital I went. I knocked myself silly, pretty bad concussion, had short term memory loss for that whole day, asked the same questions every 5 minutes, spent the night in the hospital, and my wife thought here life was going to be that movie 50 First Dates with Adam Sandler.

Long story short, I asked the neurologist if a helmet would have helped and he said with that type of injury, it most likely would have done nothing. It's the sudden deceleration when your head hits the water and stops that makes your brain bash against your skull that causes concussions, so a helmet would do very little to prevent that. I said I would get one just in case after that accident, but never did end up doing it.

[FlatH20]

I wear one, wouldn't want to second guess any head injury if I didn't- also the ear flaps have saved my eardrums on numerous occaisions... second what pruis6 says about confidence

[mikeg]

Three Summers ago I caught an edge after jumping wake to wake, nothing crazy, just caught the back edge somehow and went down hard, whiplash style. When my friends came back around to get me, I was acting all loopy and crazy, didn't know what day it was, what had just happened, etc. So off to the hospital I went. I knocked myself silly, pretty bad concussion, had short term memory loss for that whole day, asked the same questions every 5 minutes, spent the night in the hospital, and my wife thought here life was going to be that movie 50 First Dates with Adam Sandler.

Long story short, I asked the neurologist if a helmet would have helped and he said with that type of injury, it most likely would have done nothing. It's the sudden deceleration when your head hits the water and stops that makes your brain bash against your skull that causes concussions, so a helmet would do very little to prevent that. I said I would get one just in case after that accident, but never did end up doing it.

Had a concussion skyskiing while wearing a helmet. Probably would have had the concussion without the helmet too. Mandatory on our boat that all riders going on the skyski wear a helmet anyway. Earflaps saving eardrums is one of the goal.s Also, the skyski is potentially a lethal weapon should you somehow get so farkled up that the board comes loose. No one really wakeboards on our boat, but I would ask that the riders consider wearing the helmet too. We have four (4) helmets onboard to fit most all melons. The only downside to wraring a helmet IMHO is that it cut's down on your music listening pleasure while riding. Small price to pay! What's the old tv commercial line? "Never leave home without it" or something like that.....

[ATLWake43]

I wear one. I've had bad concussion like jtrovato describes on a snowboard.... not fun.

I figure it certainly can help, just not guaranteed to always help. Originally I was concerned it would pull my head when entering the water during a crash. That doesn't happen. Your board and body provide much more drag. So, the only reason not to wear it is that you may think you don't look cool. Funny, that was rationale used by snow skiers and boarders in years past; now almost everyone wears a helmet on the mountain except for a few stubborn, "old" farts.

[windy1]

In biking we call people who don't use helmets "Organ donors"

[Dan P]

We started using helmets (with ear flaps) after reading about ruptured eardrums and some Crew members here will share first hand experiences. It doesn't take a hard fall to rupture an eardrum. Just catching an edge can do it.

[windy1]

who can recomend a good helmet suplier

[Wakechaser]

Have a pretty good headache after a crash yesterday evening.

Would a wakeboard helmet help prevent concussions when you slam into the water?

I'm sure it helps if your hitting rails/ramps, but what's your experience with water crashes?

There was an interesting article in a wakeboarding magazine several years ago about helmets and their conclusion was that they won't do you much good on edge catches and faceplants. Like someone mentioned above the problem is the sudden decelleration when your head hits the water which, in some cases, is worsened with the use of a helmet. Since it is larger than your head and often has holes in it that can catch water, the decelleration is more than without the helmet which makes the impact of your brain off your skull potentially worse. I never rode a sky ski without one and the earflaps in. I would never hit a rail or ride in the cable park without one either. They are only helpful to keep the board and obstacles from directly impacting your head, but won't help too much with straight water impacts. There is however the confidence factor. If you feel more confident and secure wearing one, you will likely feel safer and have more fun riding.

[Wakechaser]

who can recomend a good helmet suplier

Bern

Pro-Tec

ShredReady

All have water-specific applications in a variety of styles and colors.

[CincyVLX]

I wear a helmet every time I ride. Doesn't matter if it is boat, cable, or winching. There is no reason to chance it.

I've had both protec and capix. Depends on what you want. Some have more padding and are more protective, and others are just enough to get you by at the cable park. I'm currently riding with the Protec Wake Ace Helmet. Its comfortable, tons of padding, and with the additional support it doesn't go anywhere. The earflaps kind of annoy me. I ride without them sometimes, but the possibility of a busted eardrum usually makes me deal with it.

[augie09]

I'll wear helmets 100% of the time snowboarding and about 1/2 the time wakeboarding.

I heard a story from a guy at the wakepark last year about helmets that made me second guess wearing them, but have yet to hear anyone else with a similar situation. He said once he took a bad fall backwards catching end on landing, the helmet came forward over his face and the strap caught behind his ear and ripped his year cartilage where it connects to his skull. yuck.

Edited June 24, 2011 by augie09

[malibanker]

So helmets give more confidence AND possibly increase the force at impact....

No wonder surfing is so popular.

Interesting that so many posts talk about busting ear drums, never really knew that was a common risk. Is it because guys are good enough to see the face plant coming so you turn your head?

My face plants usually come out of no where... Like that wall in my garage that jumped in front of my Tahoe

[Fman]

Have a pretty good headache after a crash yesterday evening.

Would a wakeboard helmet help prevent concussions when you slam into the water?

I'm sure it helps if your hitting rails/ramps, but what's your experience with water crashes?

Short answer, YES, will not prevent all accidents, but will definitely help... much more PRO's than CON's.... if you are an aggessive rider trying new tricks would highly recommend one. Falling at 23-24 MPH on the water can definitely cause a concussion without a helmet, and if the board ever hits you in the head you will definitely be glad you had one on.

[WakeGirl]

It still won't help in every situation, but wearing a helmet with a mouthguard can potentially increase its overall effectiveness.

[StarOneWake]

Now that Yall got me thinking about a helmet here is the one I ordered...

My link

[NorCaliBu]

..Aside from preventing the board from hitting your head, a helmet probably wont do too much behind the boat...

...They are only helpful to keep the board and obstacles from directly impacting your head, but won't help too much with straight water impacts...

Opinions like those above are just that. Opinions. They are not fact and are not based on scientific research. I started wearing a helmet when I started wakeskating and just left it on when wakeboarding. The falls that used to send me crawling into the boat looking for advil with a beer chaser are no big deal when wearing a helmet.

If you think hitting the water at 22-23 mph hurts...try going OTF at 36 mph.

Actually, I'd rather crash on a skinny stick vs standing sideways any day.

Not trying to call anyone out with the above quotes (which is why I remove the ID from the quotes).

[Stevefo]

Have a pretty good headache after a crash yesterday evening.

Would a wakeboard helmet help prevent concussions when you slam into the water?

I'm sure it helps if your hitting rails/ramps, but what's your experience with water crashes?

i took a hard hit about a week a go as well. I was going up the wake and had too dodge a huge log in the water and wiped out. I re-injured a concussion that I recieved throwing my son's batting practice. (hit in the head with a ball) anyway, I was feeling dizzy and got of the water. been thinking about buyinga helmet as well, but don't know anything about them.

[Bill_AirJunky]

Sittin around the campfire in Alabama a few weeks ago & we started trying to guesstimate how fast a guy would hit the water on a big wake roll...... probably riding a foil, but can be applied to a board too.

I ride at 26 mph. So if I'm loading the line up on a hard cut, I'm probably doing in excess of 40 mph. Then if I'm falling from 15' - 20' high, I'm probably doing over 50, maybe pushing 60 mph on impact.

Overrotate the roll and smack the water on the side of your head at those speeds & I'd be willing to bet that the helmet will be a good thing...... in fact I do bet it everytime I ride.

Some of you math wizs can correct me on this. I'm betting those are somewhat conservative numbers.