Priorities for protective gear?

[glorat]

Let's face it, the majority aren't going to fully deck ourselves with helmet, pads for knees, elbows, shins, wrists, ankles. Unless you want to dress like a Stormtrooper, which I've thought about from time to time. But really, putting on *all* that protective gear for a commute type journey (as opposed to learning, or doing tricks) seems overkill. So what are order of priorities?

For me, it is wrist guards *always*, followed by inner shin guards more for comfort rather than protection. The rest I feel I get away with. If I'm going somewhere more hazardous, I might add the knee pads. The elbow pads are overkill. Whilst I was a beginner (or if I'm learning to ride backwards), high ankle covering shoes would be a must too. My only injury has been to ankles (multiple times - bruises and scrapes). Protection has helped me once when I landed on my wrists trying to go backwards.

What do you guys wear? Have you been injured due to not wearing protection?

As a separate question, I've seen two threads in this forum where people have badly injured themselves at the shin level. One from in front and one from behind (the poor chap who broke a bone). How do those injuries come about and is there sensible and worthwhile protection for that?

[dmethvin]

My priorities have been helmet and gloves, plus long sleeve shirt and long pants. My first serious fall, I got some really bad road rash. The second big fall, I hit the ground but barely got a scratch thanks to the helmet, gloves, and shirt.

[Paddylaz]

I wear triple 8 'hired hands' and that's all. They are 2-in-1 gloves and wrist splints. I love 'em.

At 31, and in relatively good shape, I'd like to think I can run-off (or stumble off) most incidents. Although I have a Lhotz I rarely if ever take it above 22kph.....the beeping is just too annoying.

I have some knee pads but almost never wear them.....

[Makoben]

I am older and I am just learning how to ride. I know what a pain in the but it is to get hurt, break, bruise, or cut something. I started with a full face motorcycle helmet, but after about ten minutes I switched to a bike helmet. The full face motorcycle helmet is overkill and I feel the bike helmet is not quite there. I will probably try a skate board helmet next. I live in Florida so it is very hot otherwise I would try a snow board helmet. I started with a motorcycle jacket with forearm, elbow, shoulder and spine protection, but it was so hot I went to just the elbow pads. Today was so cold(65F) I wore the jacket again. (For our Finnish riders I know that is not even close to cold.) I wear wrist protection every time. I wear some snowboard padded shorts to give me hip and but protection along with knee pads. I wear high top hiking boots every time.

What I would like to see is EU unique riding assesories like welders have, they are two long sleeves connected across the top of the shoulder. These would easy to slip on an provide forearm, elbow and shoulder protection for both arms with one article of clothing. A bottom piece could be made like a half chap that would easily pad  your knee and lower leg. 

Mike

[Nevin@Tec-toyz.com]

They have some knee guards and elbow guards that work pretty good now days that allow full motion of movement. I've been using Fox Enduro pads. Pretty pricy but well worth it if it can save you a trip to the hospital. For me, bare minimum is helmet, closed finger gloves with built in wrist guards, and aleast knee pads. 

[citiboi]

The most important part of our body to protect must be our brains. So one would think that helmets must be the most important protective gear to wear. However, for me, gloves/wrist guards are the most important protective gear. Whenever we take a tumble (as I did recently) we will usually fall forwards and instinctively, we will try to break/cushion our fall with our hands and palms. Even if we fall backwards, we will still try to use our hands and palms to break/cushion our fall. Predictably, the main injuries I suffered in my recent fall were to my palms.

In addition, because knee guards are a little restrictive and not suitable for hot climate countries like Thailand (and quite *cough* uncool *cough*), I usually wear jeans. Again in my recent fall, my jeans prevented me from sustaining lacerations to my knees. I got some minor bruises on my knees.

Regardless, it is essential for all newbies to wear full protective gear. If a newbie should need to choose, it is essential that he/she should wear at least helmets and gloves/wrist guards. Knee guards are also necessary (although not essential) to prevent injuries to the knee cap. For me, elbow guards are optional.

[SlowMo]

3 hours ago, citiboi said:

The most important part of our body to protect must be our brains. So one would think that helmets must be the most important protective gear to wear. However, for me, gloves/wrist guards are the most important protective gear. Whenever we take a tumble (as I did recently) we will usually fall forwards and instinctively, we will try to break/cushion our fall with our hands and palms. Even if we fall backwards, we will still try to use our hands and palms to break/cushion our fall. Predictably, the main injuries I suffered in my recent fall were to my palms.

In addition, because knee guards are a little restrictive and not suitable for hot climate countries like Thailand (and quite *cough* uncool *cough*), I usually wear jeans. Again in my recent fall, my jeans prevented me from sustaining lacerations to my knees. I got some minor bruises on my knees.

Regardless, it is essential for all newbies to wear full protective gear. If a newbie should need to choose, it is essential that he/she should wear at least helmets and gloves/wrist guards. Knee guards are also necessary (although not essential) to prevent injuries to the knee cap. For me, elbow guards are optional.

I wear volleyball knee foam guards daily and they fit under my jeans. They are quite comfortable and you can move them down to your shins when in the office and wear them on the knees when riding. Of course, as you have mentioned, wrist guards for me are the most important and I never forget to use them.

[AlanR]

Agree with @SlowMo wrist guards have taken the most hammering with my falls. They didn't really help when going backwards - hip copped a pounding despite some wrist propping!  Except once when I hit a road bollard [my fault] the others were due to BMS shut-off!  So far 9B1E+ has behaved itself.

[Jag_Rip]

I wear wristguards for almost everytime I ride and I just ordered a helmet for my commute. I hit my knee once while overleaning on a cheap EUC, but I have no kneepads or shinguards. My shins dont even touch the device anymore while riding, hence I dont need these anymore.

[AlanR]

True @Jag_Rip shin guards were essential at the beginning - couldn't believe I'd ever ride without them. Still wear knee guards because my second fall ripped my knees [& jeans].

[SlowMo]

I recently ordered 2 pairs of 187 Killer Skateboard Wrist Guards which are mostly used for roller derby.

http://www.amazon.com/187-Killer-Skateboard-Wrist-Guards/dp/B019P832DE/ref=pd_sim_468_12?ie=UTF8&dpID=41FFyIxdtBL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=0RRA7T0NA93DTSGCS6KR

[Jurgen]

absolute minimum for a commute

1. helmet: brain cells don't regenerate and you only have 1 brain; working, relating, and living is dificult with brain damage

2. wrist gards: weak joint/bones that are more prone to impact damage than f.ex. knees; very important in daily life, 2 broken wrist mean no more typing, taking care of your private parts yourself, etc

full gear for the funny stuff

 

[Obly]

Wear a helmet. Your 'ability to comprehend this sentence' thanks you!

A helmet is a good idea at all times, but I know lots don't like them. I'd say at least give a thought to what you'll be sharing the road with. If you're going anywhere near moving objects with more mass and/or velocity than you, or things that behave unpredictably (e.g., your standard cars, bicyclists, and pedestrians), protect your noggin.

It's important to wear the right helmet too. If you ever ride faster than you can run, you should probably wear a helmet that meets mandatory CPSC safety standards (that's a US standard; I assume there are equivalents in other countries). In the US, any helmet sold for biking has to be CPSC certified. Most skate helmets don't meet these standards; in fact there aren't any mandatory minimum standards for skate helmets. So it's not necessarily true that they offer more protection--an assumption I've seen being made on these boards.

Of course you can find the groovy look of a skate helmet with the safety of a bike helmet if that's what you want. It's what inside the helmet that's important. If you like going fast, you probably want a helmet with an inner construction of hard foam; that's the kind designed to crush on high-speed impact to save you from skull fractures, after which the helmet must be replaced. The soft foam in most skate helmets are designed to absorb multiple, low-speed impacts instead, so they won't help you much if you crash at speeds any faster than a normal skateboard.

Just remember that even a helmet won't protect you from overly risky behavior. No helmet can completely protect you from concussions, for instance; just ask American football players.

[MetricUSA]

Caution on wrist guards, the bigger the better... I have two makes one from when I broke my left arm, a good support made by OPS, medical supplies, the other I would not recommend, a 'sports' make by mcdavid, at local sports store, and it was sold one at a time not pair, maybe that was a blessing, but was over priced and thumb support too short cuts into hand....

[SlowMo]

On 1/12/2016 at 3:12 PM, SlowMo said:

I recently ordered 2 pairs of 187 Killer Skateboard Wrist Guards which are mostly used for roller derby.

http://www.amazon.com/187-Killer-Skateboard-Wrist-Guards/dp/B019P832DE/ref=pd_sim_468_12?ie=UTF8&dpID=41FFyIxdtBL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=0RRA7T0NA93DTSGCS6KR

My Killer Pads just arrived. That was a fast 7 days delivery! 

[Scott Irwing]

I wear my skateboard safety gear like 70% of the time and that's s1 helmet and pads like from the pictures bellow. I also use gloves but got them from a local store and can't find images of em. All 3 parts are comfortable and make me more confident when i am up for performing a risky stunt.

 

 

[Mono]

On 11/01/2016 at 4:27 PM, glorat said:

I've seen two threads in this forum where people have badly injured themselves at the shin level. One from in front and one from behind (the poor chap who broke a bone). How do those injuries come about and is there sensible and worthwhile protection for that?

I think we don't know what exactly happened. It seems plausible that the wheel could hit the lower leg hard enough to cause a bone to break. Hard shin guards might prevent some such injuries, but probably only a smaller percentage. I would think that active safety/prevention is more effective than passive safety/prevention, in particular but not only in this case. 

[Cerbera]

On 12/01/2016 at 9:22 AM, Jag_Rip said:

My shins dont even touch the device anymore while riding, hence I dont need these anymore.

That's not what shin guards are for  We need those to avoid painful shin bangs should our wheel ever fold / twist under us unexpectedly and then get caught in our legs as we fall... 

Also they protect our vulnerable shin bones from heavy metal pedals that can come unstuck when we're carrying it ! My old Airwheel was terrible for that (rubbish magnets), and my shins were black and blue most of the time until I got some protection there.

Having said that, shin guards are still a long way down the list of armour priorities. Wrist guards are No 1 in my book.

[Mono]

On 11/01/2016 at 4:27 PM, glorat said:

What do you guys wear? Have you been injured due to not wearing protection?

I bought the entire gear including mouth protection (OK, excluding shoulder and back protection) when I started riding. I stopped wearing any of them very quickly. The longest I kept wearing was some sort of shin protection for the comfort. I still get every other week a painful hit to the lower leg, but never got more seriously injured. My focus is on active safety. For example, I have set the maximum speed to 24km/h rather than 30km/h. It is often a good idea to plan ahead and like this prevent oneself making stupid decisions in heat of the moment.

This poll also gives an overview of what people use as protective gear:

3 of the 23 people who filled the poll were so seriously injured that they had to take a break from riding for more than 30 days! 

[Bob Eisenman]

Most recently: Helmet, knee pads and wrist guards.

But since day1 of riding:  Helmet only

I gone five thousand kilometers wearing just a helmet and work gloves. The several (2-3) wrist and kneecap impact injuries that occured during that time left me wishing those areas had been protected. So....

I bought knee, wrist and elbow pads recently. The kneepads fit comfortably underneath baggy pants and in winter are not uncomfortably hot or snug. The wrist guards are of the same type as when I was an active inline skater. I haven't had a fall to determine if the wrist guards work but I tend to agree with the 'bigger is better' thought in terms of wrist protection. One humorous downside to wrist guards is when making a stop at the vending machine, where the wrist guards make grabbing a vended soda an issue because they obstruct reaching for the vended treat. Recently at the postage stamp vending machine my stamps didn't appear to vend after paying for them. The woman next to me commented 'we have the same wrist guards' and proceeded to reach into the stamp vending machine, successfully grabbing my stuck stamps with the tips of her fingers. Hummmm...

I don't wear elbow pads while riding my EUC but when I was an active inline skater (about 4 years ago) I once banged the tip of my elbow in a obe time backwards fall. I wish I had worn elbow guards then because the injury recovery time was long and elbow mobility is so important for so many daily tasks.

Perhaps it is time for me to think more about the Ninebot's owners manual statement 'forbidding' riders over age 60. Potential for hip fracture? Traditional Chinese respect for older people? Corporate liability in China? Just a fair warning?

Great topic thread! Many responders!

[Chris Westland]

21 minutes ago, Bob Eisenman said:

Ninebot's owners manual statement 'forbidding' riders over age 60. Potential for hip fracture? Traditional Chinese respect for older people? Corporate liability in China? Just a fair warning?

It's their lawyers talking ... just ignore .  I've never (touch wood) banged my knees while riding.  Typically my falls have been elbows, shoulders, hands and head.  I always wear a helmet (ski, since that is most like riding an EUC ... I just happened to have a couple around, and they cover more of the head than bike helmets) and gloves.   I'm starting to wear a jacket after searching for one that provides protection but isn't too restrictive.  I have a lot of motorcycle racing gear around ... 5 full face helmets, Dainese full leathers and Arlen Ness kangaroo leather 2-piece, 4 sets of boots, undersuit, mesh jacket, etc. etc.  I've tried most combinations talked about in the forum, but generally motorbike racing gear is overkill.  Motorbikes go up to 160mph on the track and you can fall off from 20 to 100+mph so they are over engineered from a standpoint of EUC riding (except for @EUC Extreme who I notice wears full motorbike gear).  Definitely leather motorcycle jackets are good, but they tend to be heavy, and designed for a forward leaning sportbike position.  I purchased a lighter perforated AGV (pictured) cafe racer jacket that works well while standing on an EUC.

[Rehab1]

48 minutes ago, Bob Eisenman said:

Perhaps it is time for me to think more about the Ninebot's owners manual statement 'forbidding' riders over age 60. Potential for hip fracture?

With the advances in quality of life and health conditions in China, the population has been experiencing aging, and osteoporosis has therefore become an important public health problem. The incidence of hip fracture has increased by 200% in Hong Kong over the past 20 years: about 10 elders fracture their hip every day. The mortality rate for hip fracture patients is 20% while 70% remain permanently disabled. 

If you are concerned have your bone density checked to see if you may be a candidate for calcium supplements. 

 

[Mono]

6 minutes ago, Rehab1 said:

If you are concerned have your bone density checked to see if you may be a candidate for calcium supplements. 

Right after I learn the numbers of how much the supplements actually reduce the risk of a fracture I will start considering whether I should be concerned 

[Bob Eisenman]

One thing I noticed about riding an EUC is how easy it is to ride once it is mounted, despite injuries. Since the hands and arms serve no purpose in vehicle control, as they do in bike riding, these injuries pose only a recurring threat should the rider fall off again. Since leg and knee flexing is most important when mounting the EUC, superficial knee injuries pose little problem to a rider in motion.

A rule of thumb in terms of EUC riding seems (unsafely so) to be :

If you can mount the EUC you can probably continue to ride it despite minor injuries.

I spent a season in the 1980s as a ski coach for a private school. Helmets were not seen it required during that period. On one day of practice (six days a week for about two hours) one of my top racers dumped in a term, rolling like a log another few feet as both ski bindings released him from his skiis. He lay motionless for a moment and I thought for a bit if I would be held responsible. After a few seconds he was back on his feet and headed back down the slope (Mt. Wachusett).

A few years ago I took the motorcycle safety course (learners permit in pocket) hoping to learn, get my license and transition to the street without ever having ridden a motorbike before. The instructor emphasized buying 'at least a $200 helmet. Over the ankle boots and gloves were required for the two day on bike part of the course. During the final riding test for the license a 'quick stop' was required from maybe third gear (of 5 gears?). Upon command to stop from the instructor (retired state police guy) I pulled in both the clutch and front brake, stomping on the rear brake pedal (right foot) and dropping the gear pedal to first. It took me 15 feet to stop. The instructor said 'Robert... This is supposed to be a quick stop'. After the course, while handing out licenses the license distribution ended without me receiving one. When I asked the instructor if I would get a license (about a $300 course) he said talk to the office later. I did get a license (mailed certification) but also got the thumbs down in front of my group. So...I'm licensed, don't own a bike and have not either purchased a $200 nor  a bike similar to a Honda 250. It was following a retirement agreement with an employer. I had thought I would get a license, buy a bike and venture to Alaska. Contact with the office of then Alaska Riders (now Motoquest Tours) in Anchorage resulted in a response which more or less said that the Alaska Highway poses tremendous challenges in terms of mud, ruts, washouts, bike maintenance, etc and that only riders with three years if riding experience should attempt the journey.

When the EUC riding opportunity became real after purchase of the gizmo it became a safe substitute for my Honda250 plans. I still own the leather gloves gear $100.

I was riding the EUC during the summer when, near a major highway, cars were backed up on the exit ramp. A few hours later a news story was broadcast about a motorbike accident on that highway. The rider was killed, his passenger critically injured and a picture of the demolished bike, less the front wheel was published with the news story.

The EUC injury risk (without safety gear)seems in the nagging recovery with pain category but not in the potential for loss of life category as with motorcycles.

1 hour ago, Chris Westland said:

I have a lot of motorcycle racing gear around

 

[Bob Eisenman]

1 hour ago, Rehab1 said:

With the advances in quality of life and health conditions in China

Your knowledge of events in China is impressive. Perhaps you remember the 'one child policy' for families until 2015. I got an unexpected Ninebot App message from a rider 'friend' in China the other day. It says he went travelling during Chinese New Year.

Given state if the art advances in DNA sequencing (as predictive neonatal tools) where I assume you already know the meaning of NGS techniques, you might find this website to be of interest

https://www.genepeeks.com/science/

As far as osteoporosis goes I've been eating a lot of yogurt lately and hope that my osteoclast - osteoblast cells are doing their job.