Crash, bam, . .. .protection ordered

[Neverdull44]

What types, brands, of crash protection do you wear?

I wore none, but have been thinking about it.   A lady at my rink was run into by other skaters, had her legs pulled out from her, but was wearing that biggish fur/foam halo around her head.   It is what saved her from a nasty head injury. 

Since I bought new skates, I know that I am going to fall.  I started wearing the gel knee pads and a ski cap.  I just ordered a Forcefield headband, but am skeptical because it is thin.  Those gel pads are rather expensive!   Have you found anything that works good, to protect the bones?

[AgnesNitt]

When I was at Lake Placid there were three women wearing ice halos. Last year, there weren't any. I have one, but I don't wear it.

Anyway, I swear by skatingsafe gel pads. I know they're expensive but I've had some major falls and just felt nothing. Magic. Worth.Every.Penny.

I also do the Pad in the hat in the winter.

[skategeek]

Right now, Cracshe middie (still not sure how much I like it, may switch back to the Ribcap), Bunheads knee pads, and low profile wrist guards (finally figured out it works better to put them on over my thin gloves rather than stretching the gloves over them).  Thinking about elbow and hip protection, but haven't done that yet.

But I still haven't fallen, so none of this has been tested in action...

[Meli]

Only the gel knee pads for now, probably getting wrist protection when the jumps get bigger. I figure the knee pads are cheaper than a trip to the ER.  I've had a couple hard falls and I'm a hefty gal, so it was well worth the investment.

[rd350]

I'm wearing Se_Ku ProTech pants.  I've fallen twice and didn't feel much but they weren't bad falls.  They are comfortable.

I'd like to get knee pads and the RibCap for winter.

[PhysicsOnIce]

I use Jerry's Padded Protective Shorts under my skirts. I call them my "old lady shorts", just to make things funnier for the little girls on the team. They work generally well, although they don't cover my prime falling area (left thigh just below the left hip) but they do cover the hips rather nicely... But I do think that might be because they are a bit too big for me. I use them mostly for working on jumps.

[lutefisk]

I wear d3o knee pads (one pair from Se-Ku the other pair was made by Musto, an English sailing gear company). I also have Se-Ku padded skating shorts and  similar REI snow boarder shorts, both with d30 padding.  I wear Mcdavid foam elbow guards and "flexmeter" wrist guards from snowboard secrets.  From my experience the items from Se-Ku are very spendy compared to REI for example.  Plus, the Se-Ku folks seem to have a problem designing for the male body--the padding in my REI shorts seems better positioned than in my Se-Ku shorts and my Musto brand knee pads both fit and stay in place way better than the Se-Ku equivalents even though I had a long winded telephone discussion with Se-Ku and an even longer wait while they "adjusted" their knee pad pattern.  You can google d3o if you want to learn more about that particular alternative to the more popular gel padding.  I think d30 got it's start in bullet proof vests for law enforcement and has since migrated over to sporting equipment.  I give both d30 and the Flexmeter wrist guards high marks after several full monty falls.   I have no experience with safety head gear.  I occasionally wear a fedora or a tweed "newsboy" for style and warmth.

[Live2Sk8]

Ice Halo.  Haven't hit my head since I bought it (knock on wood!) but someone at my rink did fall with one on and said it really helped.

[fsk8r]

I wear d3o knee pads (one pair from Se-Ku the other pair was made by Musto, an English sailing gear company).

Is the price differential in favour of the musto pads?
I'd like to get d3o knee pads, but I don't like Se-Ku prices so am trying to find the sport with the cheapest alternatives. I didn't know sailing had them. I had found d3o for volleyball with one company. I'm guessing the amount of padding around the knee must be similar.

[lutefisk]

Is the price differential in favour of the musto pads?
I'd like to get d3o knee pads, but I don't like Se-Ku prices so am trying to find the sport with the cheapest alternatives. I didn't know sailing had them. I had found d3o for volleyball with one company. I'm guessing the amount of padding around the knee must be similar.

The ones from Musto can be purchased via Annapolis Performance Sailing:  http://www.apsltd.com/c-7304-d30-knee-pads-by-musto.aspx

At $60 bucks they are only slightly less spendy than Se_Ku's (~$65 bucks) but for me they stay in place where as Se_Ku's tend to slip down which kinda defeats the purpose of offering protection for my knee caps.  The Musto knee pads are bulkier but I figure my knees are important (at least to me) so this is one area where style takes a back seat to safety.  Other sports like mountain bikes or motorcycle motocross also have d30 gear.  I don't know if the safety products for those sports are cheaper or not.  The snowboard padded shorts from REI are about $60 which is less than a third of what Se_Ku charges for shorts that don't fit (me) as well.

[Query]

My Eyes! 

[irenar5]

I wear soft volleyball knee pads over my leggings.  I wanted to try the crash pads, so I bought them recently and hated them- the feel on the skin was so unpleasant!  I know some people wear them between tights, but they say the pads sometimes slide down- that would drive me crazy!

I wore a helmet for a while after falling on my head twice in one week:-(  I did not hit my head wearing the helmet, so can't attest to its' effectiveness.
https://www.triple8.com/shop/category/Helmets

For tests and competitions I have  bunheads knee pads- they offer a lot less protection than my volleyball ones, but they are practically invisible under the tights.

[Gabby on Ice]

I wear rollerblading knee pads. I broke my kneecap on the ice back in early 2013, and I've hit my knee on the ice a few other times, so I wear the pads to prevent future knee injuries. But I do take them off for tests and competitions.

[Neverdull44]

Update:

I ordered several headbands, and the Crasche headband for figure skating is by far, the best.  It is extremely comfortable, doesn't mess with peripheral vision, lightweight, isn't a problem on spins or jumps.    It even has a cut out for a pony tail.  Going to buy a few more of these.

I also ordered REI snowboarding pants.  They fit well, and the padding isn't large.  At $49, the price can't be beat.    Bu, I'd prefer something in all black.  The orange stripes, make my already big butt look bigger.    Probably going to ask Santa for the Se Ku pants . . .

The snowboarder wrist protection from REI works great. That I like.

[Query]

The cheapest alternative is to take bubble wrap and attach it with duct tape - not my idea, someone else on this forum. You could duct tape fabric straps to the bubble wrap, so you can re-use it.

Or you could go to a used sporting goods sports (like Play It Again Sports), and buy some old football (American Football, not soccer) and hockey gear. It is supposed to be very effective.

A lot of people cut up foam mouse pads and put them under their clothing.

All these things are bulky. The "stylish" padding advertisements say they aren't - but the problem is, it is precisely the thickness and compressibility which is protective. That may not seem fair if you are looking for style, but from a physics perspective, you need to decrease the rate of deceleration from the impact, by decelerating over a longer distance, by using thick compressible padding. In principle something like Kevlar or something with a rigid outer shell could be somewhat thinner and still somewhat work - by spreading the impact over a larger area. But otherwise, thickness and compressibility are all that matter.

Bubble wrap probably should work the best, because there is so little extra matter to get in the way, just the compressible air which does the work.

Someone should sell a "bubble wrap suit" that covers everything but your eyes.   (Call it the Burqa Suit.) It would keep you very warm too. We'd have to change the fashion standards of figure skating just a tiny bit. 

Hope that helps!

[Neverdull44]

I love both duct tape and bubble wrap!   That might just work!

[chowskates]

I just came across this new company Live Kuhn (http://livekuhn.com/). Anyone tried it?