Safety Equip
hey
just checked out Mitch’s berlin clip, pretty sweet
just a question about safety gear
is it still “uncool” to ride with safety gear (helmets, knee/elbow pads, wrist guards etc)
noticed that mitch has the wrist/arm guard on - assuming it is from a previous injury
just wonder why more skaters don’t wear protective gear - esp if you are serious about progressing your ability at a sport where u land on concrete?
Edit: wrong word
You mean uncool to ride with safety gear?
yeah, always seemed to be a stigma on wearing helmets and pads “when i was a kid”
but we only had “stack hats” (showing my age :( )
also do you rail bandits wear a box??
just asking, cause those clips where u see the guys nadding themselves must seriously fark u up 
I don’t think its uncool to wear safety equipment, it just depends what you do.
If I were bombing big hills or going down big ramps at the skatepark then year I’d wear a helmet. But I’m mostly just doing flip tricks on flat ground whilst going very slow. I wore an ankle brace for a bit when I sprained my ankle but yeah.
Protective gear is definately more common in vert, bowl and some park riding. But it is rarely (if at all) seen in the street scene. I would hardly say street is less dangerous or has lower consequenses than the rest. If anything it has the same or higher. Obviously less full on stuff like basic flat land tricks it may not be needed. Just depends on your skill level and riding.
I think more than anything its just not that big a part of the culture. It is only just becoming more of the snow culture now. Before you would never see pros wear helmets, now even in some street vids you see helmets being worn.
I’d wear a box if I was practicing rails all day because I’m a pretty big bloke and I reckon the board would snap.
I never watch skating bails because it will put me off skating.
But I think if your going to ollie huge sets a helmet will be a good idea.
hey
just checked out Mitch’s berlin clip, pretty sweet
just a question about safety gear
is it still “uncool” to ride with safety gear (helmets, knee/elbow pads, wrist guards etc)
noticed that mitch has the wrist/arm guard on - assuming it is from a previous injury
just wonder why more skaters don’t wear protective gear - esp if you are serious about progressing your ability at a sport where u land on concrete?
Edit: wrong word
the sad thing about protective gear is that the skateboarder will only learn the hard way like me.
i destroyed my wrist smashed it into 5 pieces i needed 3 surgeries.
that is why im always wearing the wrist guard now!!!!!!!! if only i was wearing the day it happened.
its does suck that there is this unwritten law of not being a pussy and wearing a guard.
im the sort of skater that likes the big stunts and rails so ive always had injuries.
like just recently i twisted my knee very bad almost needing surgery maybe if i was wearing a knee brace things might of been better or worse.
the end of the day you need to sk8 at your own risk and understand the chance or injury.
ive just excepted skateboarding almost always will = injury at some time.
wearing a wrist guard does not effect your skateboarding at all but something like a knee brace or ankle brace does.
and the best thing is your my likely to break your wrist first…
hope this helps.
mitch
I can confirm that knee pads and elbow pads are uncool on street
I can confirm that knee pads and elbow pads are uncool on street
twice as uncool
Thing with street skating is that you do need flexibility in your joints to pop and land tricks. In street, pads will tend to restrict that depending on how big the pads are. You can get impact pads that will fit under jeans and so forth that can help minimise impact damage.
Along the lines of what Mitch said though the bigger you go the more likely the injury. I find skating within your ability is always a good way to stay away from bigger injuries. Even then you can get pretty hurt.
Helmets for bigger stuff, I am on the fence with this. I haven’t seen it growing up skating, but the thing is the size of some stair sets now are stupid. Land and getting flung to the ground head first can really cause some damage.
For big parks and bowl I will wear pads and helmet. Due to a good few knock outs which actually freaked my wife out good and proper when we were going out. Street I don’t.
Just like Mitch i also have a pretty wrecked wrist, if i fall on it and hurt it again I will then put on a wrist guard to protect it until it heals,
For street skaters it is very rare to fall hard enough on the knees to need to wear pads, we usually have learned how to roll out of a fall or use the wrists to take it,
As said earlier though, pads and helmets these days are usually a vert skater thing, they need the knee pads to slide on, and the helmets actually are needed since they are the ones who are getting upside down up there haha
pads definitely restrict the movement of a street skater too, Ive skated a few indoor parks and comps that require helmets, its a big put off having that extra weight on my head 
then again, if i ever have a kid, he will be ‘learning’ to skate in a full pad and helmet setup haha
thanks for the response guys
i got scared of skating when i was pretty young, nearly broke my elbow in a bowl, so went back to surfing - softer landing
i can understand the restriction of knee pads for street stuff
just thought if you are serious about your sport wrist guards and helmet would be sensible, but i remember how kids are can’t do anything without getting bagged out
hey
just checked out Mitch’s berlin clip, pretty sweet
just a question about safety gear
is it still “uncool” to ride with safety gear (helmets, knee/elbow pads, wrist guards etc)
noticed that mitch has the wrist/arm guard on - assuming it is from a previous injury
just wonder why more skaters don’t wear protective gear - esp if you are serious about progressing your ability at a sport where u land on concrete?
Edit: wrong word
the sad thing about protective gear is that the skateboarder will only learn the hard way like me.
i destroyed my wrist smashed it into 5 pieces i needed 3 surgeries.
that is why im always wearing the wrist guard now!!!!!!!! if only i was wearing the day it happened.its does suck that there is this unwritten law of not being a pussy and wearing a guard.
im the sort of skater that likes the big stunts and rails so ive always had injuries.
like just recently i twisted my knee very bad almost needing surgery maybe if i was wearing a knee brace things might of been better or worse.the end of the day you need to sk8 at your own risk and understand the chance or injury.
ive just excepted skateboarding almost always will = injury at some time.
wearing a wrist guard does not effect your skateboarding at all but something like a knee brace or ankle brace does.
and the best thing is your my likely to break your wrist first…
hope this helps.
mitch
Cheers Mitch!!
keep the clips coming!!!!
i’m no skating guru, but you have got a smooth style 
What brand of helmets do u guys recommend for skating?
apart from the obvious response of “the one that fits best”
Pro-Tec has always been a popular brand for skate helmets. They start at $69.95, light, comfy, and good shape. http://pro-tec.net/helmets.php#skate
TSG is another popular brand. http://www.ridetsg.com/