ISSA - International Slalom Skateboarding Association

Im looking for a good helmet,the only thing i have is a full face motorcycle helmet.

Barry,
I use a Giro Semi. Giro make a great light weight helmet that will protect your mellon. They were to come out with a helmet called the Zen or something like that that was even lighter and had more vents that looked good and would probably be my next. Hope this help. Go to a bigger sporting goods store and check them out. You might like the Pro-tec, who knows it is kind of a personal decision too.

Pro-tecs are just plain crap! At least that is the case for the standard ones. They use a one size fits all plastic shell and then vary the amount of padding to get different sizes out of it. Don't waste your time looking at these Pro-tecs unless you need a size Small. The largest sizes have like only 3/16" padding inside.

Good point Wes E.; Helmets not to get. I've seen Pro-Tec’s and did not think they looked that bad, but I've never used them personally so I don't really know. Do you know of an incident where they did not work?

But speaking of bad, don't get one of those vintage Flyaway helmets. Now those things are really crap. I saw David Hegstrom hit the back of his head and that helmet did nothing at all. Worst helmet to wear period IMO. Except if you want look vintage.

People wouldn't be able to get Flyaway helmets unless they were looking for something vintage. My Flyaway helmet probably has more padding than a currently-produced Protec helmet of the same size. I had a good Protec in the mid-'80s, so I went looking for another one in 2001 at local skateshops. Unfortunately, by that time, Protec had gone to a one-size-fits-all shell and even the mediums were unsafe to my standards. Have they changed since 2001?

my protec has saved my head numerous times, and i've had it for over a decade... head first down a 15 stair set, with no bruises/cuncussions/etc.. qualifies as a damn good helmet to me..

Wes, I did not know you personally wore a Flyaway. I was just going on what I saw 15ft from me during the Elsinore FCR race. That Flyaway of Hegstroms just shattered. He had a bump on the back of his head bigger than any I've ever seen before, about as round as a Gumball and near 1/2" tall. It was bad. Even he said he'd never wear one again.

Maybe Hegstrom liked the “vintage look” more than the safety prospect of his particular helmet choice. If so, he may not be willing to admit that his helmet was not structurally fit. Fiberglass can deteriorate. I'm guessing that it would start to feel structurally soft before a failure such as Hegstrom's.

Anyone know anything about this (cause I'm curious)?

How about you, EricW?

WesE,

The thing about fiberglass (with motorcycle helmets, that's all I know about) is that you can only crash and hit the helmet once. With a F/G helmet when it hits the ground the F/G will crush and absorb the inpact without hurting the mellon!! The head is fine but your wallet has a big hole in it, like 600+

I think what we need is a helmet like the football players use because it covers the whole head and the ears.

I have quite a bit of fiberglassing experience and real life fiberglass impact/stress experience. I started making my own surfboards in Capistrano Beach at 17yo. I've made around 45 surfboards and 10 windsurf boards for myself and friends since then. I started working on boats doing fiberglass repair and modifications at 19yo with a boat builder in Dana Point, that was how I got into boats as a living. At 21yo I sailed to Hawaii where I ended up working as a captain and head of maintenance at Trilogy Excursions in Maui from 1979-94, and besides helping build two 50+ high-tech composite catamarans on Maui, Trilogy II(the first ever epoxy composite vessel certified for charter by the USCG) & Trilogy IV, I did most all of the glass repair work and modifications during that time. We did everything in-house for our fleet of four multihulls. These boats never sat idle, they saw their fair share of stress and impacts. When I came back from Maui I worked for a year in Capistrano Beach with my friend who built the practice catamarans for Dennis Conner’s when the America’s cup was in San Diego, we built four 45ft custom Scarab’s. I'm still working as a captain, one of my jobs is with Vessel Assist, and I see the results of fiberglass impacts fairly often. But not from my steering of course


I looked at his helmet. The glass on it was not that thick for the impact he had. He said it had never taken a hit before. A big portion of the problem was the lack of having a complete covering of good foam padding where the impact was. Any Flyaway that I've seen would not withstand that impact without crushing the glass if all Flyaways are the same thickness. They are just not that thick. In Hegstroms helmet there were only "areas" of padding not a complete coverage of padding on the inside, this I think was the problem.. There was padding on either side of the impact area. It was prime for “collapsing” in that area given the hit it took. Those old Flyaways were probably made with Polyester Resin; it might get just slightly more brittle during its life span if it never saw the sun. Not soft. Polyester/fiberglass “shatters”. It is only as strong as it’s thickness of interwoven glass strands. My feeling is, had Hegstrom’s helmet had solid covering of high density foam inside to “absorb” the impact and "support" the fiberglass he’d have been better off.

Glenn,
You really have it going on with what sounds like a really good job.I bet you love you love it!! Ive been a transmission mechanic for about 23yrs so i can pretty much work on anything,but i havent learned to work with fiberglass and ALL the cool thing that go with it. So you think the F/G helmets arnt all that good do to the thickness or the lack there of? What do you wear? I see alot of helmets that say there Snell aproved, sahouldnt that count for protection? wheelworld.com has some helmets with fullface that might be good.

That’s it. I want something with at least Giro protection now.
The only thing that I didn’t like about the Giro Semi were the straps. They seem rather bargain-style in that they are only adjustable on one side. After I adjusted it for security, the buckle was right under my chin and this doesn’t feel right. I wonder if there is a skate-style (covers the back on the head and is round) Giro with straps that are adjustable on both sides.


Barry, I think Snell-approved would definitly be good. If it’s good for riding a motorcyle, then it probably provides enough safety for slalom and other downhill skateboarding.

Wes, that is a good point about the Giro. My Semi is the same. It needs strap adjustability improvment. I currently have it adjusted as tight as it goes and the snap is near the side of my chin.

I'd highly doubt that a Flyaway is snell-approved or has the quality and glass thickness of current motorcycle helmets that are. Not to mention the quality and coverage of inside foam.

I've also thought about a Giro Semi or Switchblade but I think I read on their site that they are single impact usage. That makes it a pretty expensive helmet but maybe worthy if that one fall on any other has dire consequences.

I had a fall over a year ago on a Protech type skate helmet. It was the carbon look helmet I got on eBay for like $10. It had full styrofoam padding on the inside and soft foam for form fitting. Anyhoos, the helmet did it's job. I was probably doing about 30-35mph when I hit a patch of sand. The board went into a slide and upon clearing the sand, locked up on contact. It pitched me about 15 feet and the first inpact was on the helmet just above my left eye. The foam shattered in that area and the rivet holding the foam cracked out. The outer shell pretty much stayed intact.

The only abrasions I received were from around the orbital eye socket and ear. Just light road rash the healed away in a few weeks. I did not feel any nausea or heasaches. No light headiness or anything, so my conclusion was no concussion. Well, my buddy Alan said it might have knocked some sense in me. I now own a full face for that hill (Hardhead helmets).

I, too, like Glen having experiance with fiberglass, polyesters and some, but limited, experience with epoxies and composite fibers. Most of my experience was with repairing offshore powerboats. We'd cut out holes in the fiberglass hulls and fill with kevlar and epoxy. Often those materials are used for thier light weight vs strength applications. We were only concerned with shear brute strength. We'd often reair a hole to twice the thickness of the original specs of the fiberglass hull. In offshore racing, those hulls flexed and it wasn't for a crappy repair job to pop out. Our only concern was too much weight and it's effects on hull harmonics.

As for the Flyaway helmets or any other that uses fiberglass or even carbon/epoxy materials to make the outer shell, it would have to be pretty damn heavy to be sufficient to protect a head for any direct impact. That is why I think a good poly outer shell like Protec with plenty of styrofoam inside is the best all around materials for skating.

Does anyone know the actual specs of the Giros?

I'm still thinking of the Giro Mid??

In closing, 2 areas that concerns me on regular skate helmets like the protecs is the bottOm and back of the skull and the face area.

This helmet might be a worthy look...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 2453551092

I'd also think a Ski racing helmet would work well for skating. I know they are lighter and better ventilated than motorcycle designs.
Some like "Boeri" have optional visors and jaw bars and the hard outer shell should keep it intact in the event of a good slam against the car if one were in a foul mood after losing a race.

Had a bad realization at the Worlds slalom cross. The 80's Flyaways are retired and I'm back in my Giro Semi and Josh in his Switchblade.

How about this helmet? It will definitely be lighter than the Bieffe
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... gory=42325

Here is the new Giro Xen that I was thinking about. These go for near $150 new!!! Yikes!!!

I got my Semi on sale for $19 from a post here that Gary Holl posted I think.

But I think these go used/mint on eBay for around $75+. I'd like to have this one. It is basically a Semi but with more vents. I'd like more vents.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... gory=42327



Or here is a great deal for a S/M Semi: S/M Giro Semi deal (click here)

I went to Bieff's web site yesterday and looked through their stuff. You can get a decent helmet for around 50 bucks and up. The thing is they are bulky because they are M/C helmets. Most of the S/B helmets look like ABS plastic, is that right? I'm going out to the local S/B shop and see what they have. I'll be looking for one that has full foam or whatever that stuff is, inside my Arai.

Looks like that Semi deal I posted above sold out. When I posted it yesterday it was showing as still available. It was a good deal.......did anyone here get one of them?

I've been using the 80's style reissue of the Flyaway.
Has anyone had a bad experence with these?
I know that they are not the best fitting. They do have plenty of interior foam. They look pretty damn cool. I also have a newer pro-tec and thats crap. Im keeping for the foam inside. I'll transfer it to the Flyaway once it starts to rot.

thanks

WesE wrote:People wouldn't be able to get Flyaway helmets unless they were looking for something vintage. My Flyaway helmet probably has more padding than a currently-produced Protec helmet of the same size. I had a good Protec in the mid-'80s, so I went looking for another one in 2001 at local skateshops. Unfortunately, by that time, Protec had gone to a one-size-fits-all shell and even the mediums were unsafe to my standards. Have they changed since 2001?

I have a large that I must have bought around 2000 and it has a good amount of padding. I'm currently looking for a new helmet and I've seen pictures of the new Pro-Tecs and they look like the have much less padding. I have yet to see a new 04 helmet in person I'll let you know if they have more or less padding than the older ones.

I just got a chance to see some of the new Pro-Tec helmets and they have almost no padding compaired to my 1999/2000 helmet.

I took a slam today at the bottom of the hill I was foot breaking, when I got the wobs. I went down on my side landed on my shoulder and got some roadrash on my left hip. On the impact I felt my head hit the asphalt. Just a scuff mark to the side of the helmet. I am glad I have learned over the years never to ride without safety gear. Eddy Texas Outlaws.

this is what happens when you dont use a helmet.

Or, it's what you get when your Girlfriend is a better Boxer than you are!
I say this as a Brown belt who's dated Black belt chicks. Say 'Thank You Sinsei' and drop, give me twenty!

Either the karate theory works or perhaps he wore those pink capri's out bar hopping.

I think he mighta just got caught between the Asian girl's cans!

She could sneeze and knock you out cold. All with a smile on your face.