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Wearing a bucket?


yardsale
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Are many guys wearing helmets while skiing? I picked up a liquid force wake board helmet thinking the idea is sound now that I'm old enough to have heard about enough guys getting injured and a few rough ones myself.

 

Not sure about it as it appears when looking at it that a guy could get injured by the actual helmet if he hit hard enough. Might be counter productive. Thoughts anyone?

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I broke my neck skiing and I am convinced that something that catch in the water and pull my neck would be VERY counter productive. Will not be using one any time soon.

 

For kids, though, at slower speed, they might be beneficial, as i have seen more than one getting the tail of the ski hitting the back of the head.

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I've seen a few guys wearing helmets. @ral the Hydrogen helmet appears to be designed to prevent bucketing. It has a securing system that looks like it wouldn't bucket and would easily come off if you were to catch water behind the ears. It's pretty popular around the SCR for jumpers.
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@yarddsale - I popped an eardrum last September, so I wore my jump helmet for a month or so afterwards, it has ear covering pieces so it would give a little more protection to the earplug I was wearing. Worked out well, as I had my best 2 tournament scores of the year with the helmet on !
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When Kirk was young and tricking on a wakeboard, he wore a helmet. It greatly reduced the headaches from slapping the water after an edge catcher fall. It was a Pro Tec model designed for wakeboarding. The foam was much softer than a typical bike helmet or even most jump helmets. If you have any brain susceptibilities, absolutely look at that helmet. It was magic in that situation.

 

If you are just aging, well - helmets make my scalp itch. I don't like to wear even a hat. I do use a helmet on my bicycle - biking is way too risky. Racing on hard snow I use a helmet but normally I won't snow ski with one (or a hat - icicle dreadlocks).

 

Helmet use in snow skiing has grown greatly in recent years. The brain injury rate hasn't changed much. Whether it's people taking crazier risks, higher average speeds or helmets don't often help - helmets aren't magic. With that said, they are truly magic in certain specific situations. Hopefully helmet use in waterskiing will remain a personal choice.

 

I do trick with a neck brace and have for decades.

 

Eric

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I think since your username is @yardsale a helmet should be a requirement for you when doing anything on the water...In all seriousness: if you do opt to wear a helmet, make sure it doesn't restrict your vision and you can still hear while wearing it. Break-away linkage on the chin strap is a must since you don't want to break your neck. Keep in mind with the Hydrogen helmet, it's a "one and done" helmet as it dissipates energy by breaking/cracking - which can get expensive quickly. Wakeboard helmets may be better suited to your needs.
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@ral‌ I made a neoprene sleeve with velcro on the ends. I filled the sleeve with ensolite salvaged from an old ski vest. The brace is about 8cm (3in) wide and about 2cm (3/4in) thick going around the entire neck. I velcro it comfortably snug. It allows a lot of movement. It helps me avoid nasty whiplash both front to back and side to side but it does not give lots of support. It just takes the edge off those neck tweakers.

 

I have substantial arthritis in my neck. It was diagnosed decades ago. The neck brace has helped me keep skiing despite that. If my neck is sore it gives me comfort as much as real support. But if I trick without it, I get a sore neck afterwards if I take any nasty falls. I don't use it often in slalom - but I don't seem to take falls that stress my neck slaloming.

 

@Horton‌ will tell you I have a thick skull. Helmets? Perhaps I'm a pencil neck so I need a neck brace.

 

Eric

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@eleeski When I was air chairing I purchased a neck brace that is specifically aimed at air chair use. It may work for slalom. It looks like a foam horse collar with a elastic strap that goes under your vest and shoulders. They now sell this http://skyski.com/store/universal-neck-brace.html It might be an alternate neck brace option. When the lake opens up I will get into my old air chair stuff and take a pic if anybody is interested. I also used to use a surfing helmet that is made by GATHSports http://www.gathsports.com/productsingle.php?id=5 . Not sure if these would work for slalom. I used it a few times when I ruptured my ear drum and did not want to slam my ear sideways into the wake again.
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@yardsale: the added mass of a helmet will add to the neck injury risk. It will help the brain impact side. RAL brings up a good point on the potential for water catching and thus increased deceleration which you do not want in a fall. To determine true effectiveness I would think a helmet would be beneficial only if the water viscosity is greater than the brain fluid viscosity as brain injuries occur when the brain hits the skull (any medical experts able to comment on my theory?).
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The link listed above "http://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/8384/any-helmet-recommendations-for-slalom" links to the discussion on this I started last year.

 

My wreck may have been a freak accident but I will never ski again without my helmet and neck brace. Not sure the face could be repaired again if it were to take another hit like it did last spring. The new sub-dermal hardware has taken some getting used to and injuries of this kind are known to mess with your vision.....this has been no exception for me and its been a long road back to normal....with a ways to go yet.

 

Personal preference really....I never would have thought I would come so close to loosing an eye skiing, could have been worse. I'm sold on wearing a helmet skiing and believe the neck brace limits the danger of an induced neck injury.

 

This picture helps me remember why the helmet is important to me. Screen shot of a cat scan of my face after the first of two surgeries depicting the installation of some of my titanium plates. Helps to remember there is more out there to hit your head on skiing than the water.

 

Bring on spring, I for one am ready to hit the lake again!

 

plates 1

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We had this discussion years ago as jumpers when helmets became mandatory. Most helmets double the surface area on a head first impact causing an exponential torque on the neck. They also have the overhang that can cause bucketing if caught from the bottom.

 

I was on a trip Down Under and came across a Gath surf helmet. It worked great as a jump helmet because it has a snug fit, but will protect against impacts from the water as well as a ski. It likely wouldn't help if you hit the ramp or a dock, but that isn't the point.

 

I have used it several times for slalom due to eardrum issues and it works great. Looks like the new ones have adjustable ear holes you could open to increase awareness.

 

http://www.gathsports.com/productsingle.php?id=56

 

It won't help what happened to @billbert's face - ouch!

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I wore an Ace Wake helmet for several seasons after about 4 ruptured ear drums from OTFs and barefoot falls. Then I ruptured my ear drum brutally even with that helmet (with ear flaps and all) on with an OTF in 2007. After that, no more helmet. Now I just wear Doc's Pro Plugs to protect the ear drums.
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@ral The ensolite is pulled out for show. It is quite soft and comfortable. Maybe not so much support. But I am always willing to wear it.

 

@DW The head can decelerate quickly when impacting the water. The brain continues to move until it impacts the inside of the skull. The helmet Kirk used did a good job of reducing the deceleration and stopping the headaches. I'm not sure it would have given enough protection in @Billbert‌ 's fall.

 

Helmets are designed for certain parameters. Of course the helmet manufacturer won't get sued if the helmet gives you a headache but certainly will if you die from an impact that stiffer headache inducing padding could have prevented.

 

Eric

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