SKATE SAFE
THINK SKATE
Safety First
Remember you are a “Warrior of the Stoke” and like all good soldiers you need armor! So wear your Safety Gear !! Wearing protection is essential in a sport like ours, where hard tarred roads meet new victims every day.
The most important items of safety gear one can own are:
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Helmets
Ones head is the most important part of the body, a central computer controlling and monitoring your every move. It just makes sense that you would want to protect something that is so important. If only there was some way of doing this relatively easily …… Wait there is, wearing a Helmet !!
Helmets come in all shapes and forms, designed for different disciplines:
Full Face Helmets
Used generally for, but not restricted to Down Hill skating and race events. Full Face Helmets provide full protection of the head and are considered the safest type of helmets. Some helmets are specifically designed to help streamline the rider and the visor provides protection for the eyes at high speeds. The only disadvantages of a full face helmet are that they can be hot at times and are costly, but besides that if you can afford it they are the safest type of protection.
Half-Shell Helmets
Generally used in freestyle longboarding and trick skating, half-shell helmets are not recommended for super fast Down Hill skating. Favoured due to their cheap price and relatively non restrictive fit, they allow the head to remain cool and provide unhindered vision, ideal for precision freestyle skating. The disadvantages of these types of helmets are that they do not offer any chin or face protection and are not designed for high speed impacts.
Bicycle Helmets
Not really recomended for skating as they are designed for cycilists, however if you have nothing else rather protect you head and use it. You may look like a bit of a fool but remember you can never be a fool when it comes to saftey!!
Shoes
This ones simple.. just wear them !! Your feet are your most common point of contact with the ground while skating and therefore the most at risk, protecting them is not just a good idea but common scene. Make sure you use a closed pair of shoes that are comfortable and that you don’t mind getting wrecked. The last thing you need to be worrying about while skating is whether you might scuff your new kicks!
Things to look for in a good skating shoe are:
- Flat bottomed soles - Flat bottomed shoes are important in order to provide full contact between your shoes and skateboard deck.
- A solid sole - This is a good place to start when choosing a skating shoe, as a thick sole provides increased tread for foot braking, meaning you shoes will last longer.
- The grip of the shoe - The grip on the boards surface/grip-tape is a very important consideration before selecting a shoe.
- Extra ankle support - Shoes that provide added ankle support are also favored by some skaters however they are not a requirement.
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Slide Gloves
When one falls our natural reaction is to try and brace ourselves using our hands. This reaction is instinctive and helps protect your head and face from being the first part of you body to make contact with the road. Without gloves, falling on your hands can result in some nasty and seriously akward roasties. Luckily there is a quick and easy solution to prevent your hands from becoming mince when you fall. They are called Slide Gloves.
Don’t be fooled by the name, you don’t have to be sliding to wear slide gloves, they are also an important piece of safety gear!! Gloves can provide a lot of confidence for new riders, as falling onto your hands while wearing gloves has very little consequence. The main purpose of slide gloves are to provide a friction-less surface on which to support your upper body while sliding, allowing the rider to remove weight from their board surface, making sliding easier. Gloves also allow the rider to use their hands to stabilize themselves through corners at high speeds, allowing a tighter line.
Slide Gloves come in two main forms:
Freeride Slide Gloves
The name is pretty self explanitory….. freeride gloves are used for freeriding and consist of gloves with both palm and finger pucks. Having finger pucks allows the rider to use his whole hand to support himself while sliding.
Racing Slide Glove
Again its all in the name…. Racing slide gloves are generally made without finger pucks as one tends to use the hand less frequently while racing. Finger pucks can also become awkward and distracting which is why they are less preferred when racing, as one can not stop to readjust them.
All and all slide gloves are all very similar so don’t stress yourself out trying to choose a pair. One thing I can suggest is to go for leather as it tends to last much longer. Just remember your gloves are going to take a beating while you skate !! Knowing this…. Sliding gloves can be expensive, so don’t shy away from making your own DIY pair for a fraction of the price, which will work just as well!! Check out our page on how to make your own (coming soon).
Knee & Elbow Pads
No matter how good you are, or get at skating, you are bound to come off your board at some point sooner or later and why not be ahead of the game and be ready!! There is nothing uncool about wearing knee and elbow pads… if anything they can provide a rider with more confidence as you are more willing to charge harder as you know you are protected. Once familiar with your knee pads, it is even possible to “learn to fall on them” and avoid nasty roasties and injuries.
Knee and Elbow pads come in all shapes and sizes but all provide similar functions, the two main differences are soft and hard layered pads.
