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Wakeboard helmet thoughts?


Fman

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My son has always worn a helmet riding up to this year because I have always required it.  The wake camp he visits nobody wears one, even all the instructors ride without them.  They brought up some good points on why they don't wear them.  The first was it makes your head buoyant when it hits the water causing a backlash on your neck and more pressure on your head.  Another reason was the cupping effect hitting water at a certain angle creating  a pocket to blow ear drum and create more pressure on your head.  About the only time it definitely helps if the board actually hits you in the head, that would definitely make a difference compared to not wearing one.  I guess there is always a trade off with everything.

My son is inverting now so he will take a knocker every now and then.  He missed a tantrum yesterday fell hard and said it did not hurt at all, but if would have if he had been wearing a helmet.

Anyone advanced wakeboard riders have any thoughts on this?

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How common are eardrum injuries? Does anyone wear the helmet with ear flaps to protect ear or the Docs Earplugs?

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I've had a lot of arguments with people about this. Generally the arguments are with me being devils advocate because I can't decide what is better, lol. It is cool to here the instructors point of view though.

I agree that it would slow your heads entry into the water possibly causing problems (whiplash and head impact issues). However, if it has ear covers I would think it could save an ear drum on a hard side impact.

I would love to see some real research on this from a non helmet manufacturer, but I don't think we will find that though. Hopefully we will get a feel for where the community is if enough people reply!

I do know a few riders that have injured ear drums.

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I don't wear one doing and learning lots of inverts but if it were my kids, it would depend on skill level.  I'm kinda in the same boat as the instructors you talked to for intermediate and advanced riders, however if my kid is out there taking diggers and scorpions constantly, then I'm gonna want their head/ears protected as much as possible.  If you don't take super hard falls very often, I feel like helmets can make the lighter falls worse for the reasons you listed.

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We (6 foil riders) Always wear helmets. Mainly for ear drum protection. Yes it can cause a bucket effect on some crashes but that results in slight soreness from neck strap or maybe very slight sore neck. That is no worse than sore muscles for me at beginning of season. I have never busted an eardrum and understand that will keep you off the water for some time while it heals. I am sure I would have broken ear drums in the past had I not had the helmet with ear protection. Anyone know of a helmet user that lost time on water do to helmet whiplash? I don't.

That being said, If I thought I could just wear earplugs without a helmet and not worry about shoving them in too far in or loosing them on a bad side impact, I probably wouldn't have a problem with that.

I don't think I am limber enough any more to hit my head on any hard parts of my rig on a Scorpion.

8CBBB764-1FA2-47D1-93B0-AA9684325C08_zps

I know the driver of the Axis trailing, All good.

Edited by dalt1
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For me, it's the concussions- granted I've had a few so I am more susceptible, but the extra whiplash means time off of the water.

Benefits and risks to both sides.  Wakeboarding isn't always sunshine and soft landings- just part of the sport.

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Just now, hunter77ah said:

For me, it's the concussions- granted I've had a few so I am more susceptible, but the extra whiplash means time off of the water.

Benefits and risks to both sides.  Wakeboarding isn't always sunshine and soft landings- just part of the sport.

Same. I've had a few concussions and I would think what ever decreases head impacts is best. Ears heal brain injuries are much scarier to me.

If you think closely about the physics, it comes down to where the impact occurs. Does most of the deceleration occur on the surface of the water or in the entry to the water. If it all happens at the surface maybe a little foam helps. If the gross deceleration continues through entry then the helmet would slow your head down faster making for worse head injuries. So the question is were does the most deceleration take place? 

(I might be an engineer)

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22 minutes ago, tdelandsheer said:

Same. I've had a few concussions and I would think what ever decreases head impacts is best. Ears heal brain injuries are much scarier to me.

If you think closely about the physics, it comes down to where the impact occurs. Does most of the deceleration occur on the surface of the water or in the entry to the water. If it all happens at the surface maybe a little foam helps. If the gross deceleration continues through entry then the helmet would slow your head down faster making for worse head injuries. So the question is were does the most deceleration take place? 

(I might be an engineer)

The worst concussion I had was while wearing a helmet. Caught an edge, which I've done before, and it really rung my bell. Haven't worn one since. At the cable park, yes, but not behind a boat. On a water impact, I think the larger surface area presented by a helmet increases deceleration.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 7/22/2016 at 2:35 PM, mikeyg said:

The worst concussion I had was while wearing a helmet. Caught an edge, which I've done before, and it really rung my bell. Haven't worn one since. At the cable park, yes, but not behind a boat. On a water impact, I think the larger surface area presented by a helmet increases deceleration.

The only time i had a concussion was with a helmet, first time at the cable park.  and was a water impact too. 

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Here's what happened the last time I DIDN't wear a helmet wakeboarding...

staples.jpg

3 titanium plates in my skull and 40 staples. Lost feeling and control in my left arm for a week. All the movement came back but it's still a little numb. 

Caught my toe edge on a simple wake jump, face planted and the board smashed through my skull. 

 

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4 minutes ago, Levi900RR said:

Here's what happened the last time I DIDN't wear a helmet wakeboarding...

staples.jpg

3 titanium plates in my skull and 40 staples. Lost feeling and control in my left arm for a week. All the movement came back but it's still a little numb. 

Caught my toe edge on a simple wake jump, face planted and the board smashed through my skull. 

 

Ouch. That is a good reason to put a helmet on. 

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On 7/22/2016 at 2:48 PM, dalt1 said:

We (6 foil riders) Always wear helmets. Mainly for ear drum protection. Yes it can cause a bucket effect on some crashes but that results in slight soreness from neck strap or maybe very slight sore neck. That is no worse than sore muscles for me at beginning of season. I have never busted an eardrum and understand that will keep you off the water for some time while it heals. I am sure I would have broken ear drums in the past had I not had the helmet with ear protection. Anyone know of a helmet user that lost time on water do to helmet whiplash? I don't.

That being said, If I thought I could just wear earplugs without a helmet and not worry about shoving them in too far in or loosing them on a bad side impact, I probably wouldn't have a problem with that.

I don't think I am limber enough any more to hit my head on any hard parts of my rig on a Scorpion.

8CBBB764-1FA2-47D1-93B0-AA9684325C08_zps

I know the driver of the Axis trailing, All good.

My wife suffered a concussion from a hard fall wearing a helmet while wakeboarding a few summers ago.  It happened mid-August and she didn't return to the water until after Labor Day (3-4 weeks).  Since then, we do not wear a helmet.  

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From what I've read from a study (can't find source):

Helmets are worse for standard wake riding falls.  The increased surface area of the helmet vs. your head slows your head a faster rate = brain hits skull = concussion.  On rails helmets are a great idea, behind the boat I never do, and wouldn't really consider doing it.

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Here's some light reading...

http://www.wakeworld.com/news/feature/concussed---head-injuries-and-wakeboarding-01-08-10-15-05-55-1447.html

I usually NEVER take a hard stance on anything on this site, because it's usually pointless. BUT. If you think NOT wearing a PROPERLY FITTED helmet is a good idea you're crazy. In basically 99 out of 100 scenarios it helps protect the most important asset you have. PS, as it states in that article, there is no way to take the wakeboard out of the equation, and I can tell you from experience that a wakeboard will chop through your skull if you give it the opportunity. 

I'm totally fine with people choosing not to wear one, it's a free country, but don't say it's a bad idea. That's just silly. 

Edited by Levi900RR
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2 hours ago, Levi900RR said:

If you think NOT wearing a PROPERLY FITTED helmet is a bad idea you're crazy.

I think you meant to say the opposite?

As someone NOT doing layouts on a wake board, I'm sticking with no helmet for the same reason ski racing bodies don't allow face guards in speed events - the extra leverage on the neck that might occur is a greater risk than impacts.

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16 hours ago, minnmarker said:

I think you meant to say the opposite?

As someone NOT doing layouts on a wake board, I'm sticking with no helmet for the same reason ski racing bodies don't allow face guards in speed events - the extra leverage on the neck that might occur is a greater risk than impacts.

I edited my original post :blush:

 

I hope you don't catch a hard toe edge 

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5 minutes ago, Levi900RR said:

I hope you don't catch a hard toe edge 

And I hope you don't get whiplash or a concussion :)

Wake boarding is the most dangerous thing we do behind the boat.  Risk minimization depends on many factors.  Kind of like your sport bike hobby (I assume 900RR is your Ducati?).  I sold my sport bike years ago.  Just to much uncontrollable risk from cagers, deer, and sand.

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I don't wakeboard, but when I foil, I wear a helmet.  Mostly because of fear of blowing an ear drum - which happened to a buddy on the 1st day of a Lake Powell vacation a few years back.  

After the posts from Levi and Stevo, it seems to be a good idea for wake boarding as well.

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I'll take my chances with a whiplash or concussion issue (which I personally believe that there are no increased risk of but I understand some people disagree) vs a skull fracture. 

 

When I was 22 I was even more of an idiot than I am now. Sold my sportbike 10 years ago. Talk about a risk fest... But man was it fun 

 

PS that may or may not be safe for word depending on your place of employment... 

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