Helmet or no helmet, that is the question !

[yz 2smoke]

We don't have them yet but we will one day. My wife had to get 10 staples in her head last season. Some how she hit her head on the wakeboard. I was driving and didn't see it but my mom knew it was bad when she hit. One of the few times I've done a power turn.

[parrothd]

I use my helmet more for the ear protection than for impact protection. I have the snap on ear flaps, easier than ear plugs..

[smitty75]

I just started wearing a helmet last year and haven't had a day long headache since. Even with some head slappers that would normally ruin the weekend, usually a little ringing for 10 minutes and then back out. Before the helmet, a good head slap would have me out of the water for a few hours if not the rest of the day. Doesn't help the whiplash though.

[REDFIVE48]

Plus 10 for the ear protection, I popped an ear drum on a fall a few years back, the medical co-pays were more than a damn helmet. Now I don't ride or let me kids ride without one, plus, it's where I like to mount my GoPro My buddy was riding by me a year back and yelled to not forget the helmet (he was on the boat when I crashed the first time), he was joking with me, but then caught an edge and popped his ear drum. Guess who doesn't ride without a helmet now?

[Ian Brantford]

Helmets, yes, definitely. I have posted on this several times before, but now it looks like those old posts are not searchable. So, here it is again.

I have had many dozens, perhaps hundreds, of people on my boat(s) over 17 years on the water. Many, including myself have had mishaps where we felt concussive effects (everything from slightly "ringing one's bell" to memory loss to ear injuries). Most of us started using helmets about 9 years ago. My conclusions are below.

Helmets help with SIGNIFICANTLY reducing the severity of crashes, including on plain old water. They make a difference for speeds of 17-18 MPH and up. However, they MUST fit properly.

I have six helmets on my shelf. These days, I bring four of them on the boat. The two that get left behind as not worth the time are a kid-sized one that never fit anyone right and a kayaking helmet that I used to have for smaller folks due to its large range of strap adjustment, but poor ear flaps. The four that I still have on board are a small, medium and large ProTec from 2005-ish, plus an XS 2012 Bern.

The ProTec "Ace Wake" models are much better than nothing, but I consider them to be obsolete. They have flimsy rear straps to adjust fit front-to-back. They have no side adjustment. The only people who allegedly got more detriment than benefit from these helmets have odd-shaped heads (unusually narrow or wide). The detriment is that room to wobble in any direction means that the helmet could slap you harder than the water. With correct fit, even the limited padding in the helmet is far better than being slapped directly by the water. The ProTec models have the best ear flaps, though.

The Bern model that I have is actually their skateboard model, because the Canadian distributor didn't have the watersport model available due to short supply. The difference is that the inner layer of the skateboard model will take up a bit of water, whereas the water model won't. However, it's FAR better than the ProTec for fit. The Bern has two thick layers of foam: a firm one lining the helmet's hard layer, and a softer one against the user's head. There are no adjustment straps or pads. You squish into it a bit and there is no play. You have protection from both soft and hard hits. The users of this helmet reported that the ear flaps weren't giving effective protection, so I drilled some vent holes like the ProTec ones have, and now that's working fine as well.

Extra equipment that some of us wear:

Crash goggles (makes you braver by protecting against "eye opener" effect in a face plant)
http://www.bartswatersports.com/catalog.asp?P=4427

Neck Roll (a hydrofoiler favourite for preventing neck hyperextension). This only works well in concert with a helmet and isn't for smaller folks, though I guess that a person could take a neck roll and shave it thinner. There is only one size.
http://www.cinchmax.com/id3.html

I bought the neck roll just in time for my boat's first public appearance at a cottage trip in 2005. However, I got distracted by taking care of guests and forgot to put on the neck roll that first day. And, of course, that's when I took a crash and hurt my neck, suffering for five years.

This is how it just seems to go... so many people just don't like to wear the safety equipment until after they get hurt and regret it. Then they start wearing it, stop getting hurt so much if at all, and curse themselves forever after for the needless suffering.

Some people have said that helmets have a danger of catching the water, twisting one's neck. That's never happened to my many people over many years, but conventional crashes with hits to the head are commonplace.

So, yes, get helmets that fit and wear them. I also strongly endorse the crash goggles and neck roll.

Best wishes.

[Woody929]

This is something I've been thinking about. I'll probably get 3 for next year to cover my oldest daughter, wife & me. Any recommendations?

[parrothd]

Guy I ride with has a built in visor in the helmet. Defiantly helps with preventing peeling your eyelids back..

[trayson]

Ordered my helmet yesterday. Liquid Force Icon. I'll have to order my earflaps seperately, as this model didn't have them included...