Helmet, mouth guard???

[MJO21]

Curious if any of you or especially your children wear mouth guards or helmets when they are behind the boat? My 13yo has had a couple hard crashes wake boarding, chipped a tooth once, head hurts a few times...

[UNSTUCK]

Occasionally on the surfboard the kids will put on a helmet, especially when trying something new. Always on the wakeboard. Last weekend was my 13 year old daughters first faceplant on the wakeboard, going 18 mph. Glad she had the hat on. Haven't done the mouthguard.

[macteacher2]

When my son was wakeboarding we always made him wear a helmet (he was 13-15 at the time). If you put a GoPro mount on it and a camera they like wearing it a lot more (we found)

[mikemcclain8]

Always a helmet with wakeboarding and surfing. My wife and I wear one also. Same deal with snowboarding/skiing. We found if we wear them, the kids don't protest. We also require life jackets on at all times on the boat or the dock. Don't want to wear it? No worries, sit on shore and watch the fun.

[jmcclain01]

Ours don’t wear helmets. I did a ton of research when they started riding young and made the decision not to wear them. I am by no means a doctor and am not very smart, but my takeaway from the research was the water is not what is causing damage. With or without the helmet, the concussion is caused by the abrupt stopping of the head and the brain continuing to travel and hit the side of the skull. The determination was this occurred with or without a helmet. Unlike hard surface, such as pavement, that does other structural damage to the actual skull, the water does not cause such damage rather potential neck issues if they fall and water gets between the head and helmet and pull the head from the body. After all my research I don’t think there is an absolute answer on this issue, all we can do is try to be as safe as possible and do what we can to avoid the avoidable.


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[TeamAllen]

I have read both pros and cons for wearing helmets while wakeboarding. Me crew wears them with the ear flaps to prevent ruptured ear drums. They also provide a good mount for the GoPro, as was mentioned above.

[BCRider]

I've always generally agreed with jmcclain01's statement. I don't see how on water a helmet helps. The other argument I've heard is that the helmet is adding surface area which could potentially make it worse. Over my 27 year career of wakeboarding I've had all the crashes multiple times over. Worst was a concussion when the handle ripped out of my hand on a tantrum years back which sucked because I was supposed to be going down to the wakeboard camp in Florida a couple days later. Needless to say I had to postpone that trip for a few weeks and I was messed for a couple weeks after that one.

As much as surfing is slower,much easier on the body, the potential for injury is still there. Every time I come off my surf board I do the two hand cover over my head as there have been numerous times the board has hit me. I don't know that it's enough that I feel the need for myself to wear a helmet but with the groms I could see it making sense until they become more aware of how to crash.

[jmcclain01]

I can see the advantage of ear flaps or some ear protection for sure, along with the value of a mouth piece.


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[whiteflash watersports]

Daughter wore one all the time while wake boarding and was getting really good and progressing rapidly. Decides not to wear on one run (she was 12 at the time) took a digger on a 360 and board hit her in the back of the head. Almost knocked her out. She rarely wakeboards since that happened (she is now 18) and when she does it s a leisurely cruise.

She loves to surf thankfully so she is still on the water but lost the love of wake boarding - Sad because she really loved it until that moment. Wife wears one after she ruptured her ear drum. She said it one of the most painful things she has ever done.

[MvM]

My fear is that my son will come in hot on the surf board and fall into the swim deck. Like trying a 360 and hitting the back of his head on deck. Is that even possible?


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[bsreid]

You really aren’t that far from the swim deck unless your wave is messed but even then if you’re going to fall you lose all your speed before hand so you go the opposite way.