Skateboarding is a passionate, energetic, fast-paced sport that involves speed and gravity. For a beginner skateboarder who doesn’t have the right kind of protective gears it could be quite difficult to be on the safe side.
Sometimes wearing skateboarding protective gears could feel as a burden, but it doesn’t mean that you should skating without them. We rarely see someone skating with all the protective gears they should be wearing, it’s only because they are experienced skaters. They have that kind of confidence in themselves, that’s why they do not need to wearing helmets and knee pads.
Why Do I Need Protective Gears?
If you are a beginner and aren’t that much confident on skateboarding, you must be wearing a helmet and knee pads. For additional protection you can also wear elbow pads and slide gloves. Make no mistake these protective gears are for your own safety and above all things, safety should be our first concern. Injuries and unfortunate events from skateboarding can be easily prevented by using proper skateboarding protective gears.
What Kind of Protective Gears Do I Need?
There are a great variety of longboards and skateboards to choose from, as well as different riding styles. Either you like to cruise around with your board or commute, every rider requires something to be protected. If your riding style is mostly cruising, then you’ll need to be protected in every way you can. While cruising at a great speed with your ride, if you face any unfortunate event, most likely this is going to be fatal.
If commuting or wonder around with your board is what you do than at least you are going to need a good helmet.
A Good Helmet:
First of all, every rider should have a good helmet to protect their head from injuries. Helmet stays top on our priority list, because helmet prevents accidental head injuries and head injuries can be fatal. Skateboarders should use CPSC (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) certified helmets. It is standard practice to use CPSC Certified helmets for all sports that is fast-paced and involves gravity. There are tons of style and different sizes skateboarding helmets to choose from. It is important to find a helmet from different sizes and models that fits perfectly. Wearing a properly fitting helmet is important too. Damaged helmets should be replaced as soon as possible.
Slide Gloves:
Skateboard gloves otherwise known as slide gloves is another important protective gear used for skateboarding. You’ll need to use slide gloves to protect your fingers and palms while you’re cruising or performing many skate tricks. They are made from flexible fabric and specially designed to be durable. Slide gloves also features a thick plastic puck on the palms. It helps a rider to slide out, getting back lost balance and also getting a huge curve.
Elbow and Knee Pads:
For any beginner skateboarder, it is highly recommended that you wear elbow and knee pads. Elbow and knee pads are mostly used for protecting a rider from ugly cuts and scrapes. The knee pad protects a skateboard rider against direct slams with road. Sometimes, friction burn from direct slam without a knee or elbow pad could lead to serious pain and injury. The pads must be comfortable for wearing, otherwise it’ll only be a burden. There are many pads out there, featuring a lot of facilities. Important features worthy of considering are sweat wicking liners and dual foaming padding.
Conclusion
Most of the skateboarding injuries can be prevented by wearing skateboarding safety gears and staying in good physical condition. Using headphones while riding skateboards often causes accidents. It should be avoided. It is not wise to try, riding more then one person on a skateboard. Major or minor accidents could happen while skateboarding, don’t panic. Call 911 for medical or any other assistance you need.
- Beginner’s Guide: How to ride a Longboard