Protective Gear to save your Head, Teeth and Rear
At What Speed? 20 mph = 2 story building fall, 40 mph 4 story fall.
Your best protection is a combination of following: the rules and code of conduct, lessons, correct falling techniques, and using your head! Body protection does not make you superhuman nor invincible.
Concussions:
happen with or without a helmet. Take the time to learn what to do and not to do.
1- do not take Motrin, aspirin, naproxen etc. Only Tylenol
2- take a SCAT 2 test baseline beforehand Concussion Test Take a baseline
3- take a CDC free 30 min course on head injury and concussion.
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Heads Up to Clinicians
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Heads Up to Schools: Know Your Concussion ABCs
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Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports
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Heads Up: Concussion in High School Sports
What supplements may help in concussion: Creatine beforehand , Omega 3 (EPA, DHA) Vitamin C, E, D read the article.
Why the article? I ski race and last year took a good fall. (50 feet per second, 2 G turn) Took 3 days before I could bend and three months to totally heal. This summer my right wrist started hurting and was diagnosed with SLAC wrist. A separate longer term injury. Wrist guards prevent this issue. When it is cold out the pads keep you nice and warm.
The latest in protection: koroyd.com
Questions to be answered:
Do the pros wear protection? Yes, depending on the sport, the outer ware you may not see the protection. Today over 80% of snow sports participants wear helmets.
How fast are we going?
A recent study from ASTM showed and average speed of 29 mph or 42.5 feet per second. (skiers & Snowboarders)
My GPS records 33 mph during general skiing and up to 46 mph racing.
Will they be hot, Fabrics? Ah technology has brought us many wicking fabrics. Reduces wetness by wicking.
What are the pads made of? Closed cell EVA foam, Open cell foam, neoprene, D3o, and plastic cups, and padded pliable plastic, usually for tail bone and back.
Closed cell means each air pocket cell is separate. Each cell acts like a cushion. Open cell is a random pattern of cells some interconnected. it still cushions but not as much as closed cell. It is lighter weight. Neoprene is very dense. Think of a mouse pad, the base is usually neoprene. EVA is denser then Closed cell foam and offers more protection. It is heavier than the foams but lighter than the neoprene. Plastic and foam inserts offer Spine protection and elbow/shoulder protection to spread the energy of an impact.
What devices should you consider for protection? It depends on the sport or type of competition. Slalom dictates helmet, face, hand guards, shin, and forearm. For park a helmet, back pad, hip, tail, leg, knee, elbow, and wrist.
Back in the day, before helmets were the norm, lots of us had bumps and bruises. Today with the available plastics, foams and fabric material, there is no reason not to protect yourself. For young people trust us older people, what seems like a small break or strain will show up years later as arthritis.
WARNING:
Wearing protective gear WILL NOT guarantee that injury or death will not occur. It will help lessen the injury.
” As reported in our published scientific articles, some of our more significant findings include: (1) ski helmets for children can effectively reduce the likelihood of head injury while not increasing the likelihood of neck injury in typical impacts; (2) snowboarder helmets can reduce significantly the likelihood of head injury on icy snow; (3) helmet use has not decreased the number of fatalities in snow sports, but has reduced less serious injuries;” Guidance Engineering
Helmets for skiing and snowboarding defined standards: 2010 Comparison
Snell R-98 ASTM F 2040 CEN 1077
Most helmets are covered by CE EN 1077. In the USA 90% of Helmets meet ASTM which adds more tests. Very few are Snell rated.
For the rear there are pads that are integrated into fabrics that you wear like shorts. Depending on the type the pads may cover the hips, legs, tail bone and butt bone. Some have extra plastic for more protection. The extra plastic can be removed to save weight. The plastic will allow the energy of impact to spread over a larger area reducing injury.
The usual pads like knee and elbow or shin don’t need much explanation.
Ski race suits have padding built into critical areas, but nothing to protect the back.
Today better options exist to protect your back, collar bone, ribs, and this came from Motocross. Jackets are now made with multiple types of padding to protect shoulders, upper arms, elbow, collar bone, back, and ribs.
Time to deconstruct the latest gear:
Bottom: Crash Pad 2600 Made in the USA www.crash-pads.com
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Non-restrictive design these move well and ski pants or race suit will not bind up. Slides nicely.
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Impact resistant padding
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1/2 inch thermal formed, scored, flame bonded, high density foam
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Technical moisture management Dry-Power fabric
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Covers; tailbone, side hip, side leg, sits bones and front hip pointer
Top :
Demon Snow Flex Force Pro www.demonsnow.com/
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Hard shell, removable, padded protection for your shoulders and elbows
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Dual density, removable padding along the spine
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Additional soft-padded protection for your ribs, collarbones, and back
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Four separate side adjustment straps to snug the Flex Force Pro tightly around your torso
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Full front zip design for easy on and off
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Breathable HO-Cooling fabric to wick away moisture and dry quickly
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Thumb loops in the sleeves to keep the elbow and shoulder hard shells perfectly in place
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Two zippered front pockets for your personal items
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Lightweight body armor with hard shell protection and superior range of motion