skateboard helmet
MATERIAL
Cheaper skate helmets come with an interior protective liner glued into a pre-molded exterior, rugged ABS (Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene for chemistry skippers) hard plastic shell. The ABS plastic provides relatively good impact protection for an economical price. However hard shell skate helmets are usually quite heavy and don’t offer much venting.
With more expensive skate helmets the bucket-shaped exterior shell is made of light-weight ABS plastic, carbon fiber, fiberglass composite or kevlar. This exterior shell gets molded together and fused simultaneously with the interior protective liner which makes them significantly lighter, durable, more protective and enables better venting.
The interior protective liner of cheaper skate helmets is generally made of a soft, cushiony foam. This protective liner can resist the impact of multiple light impacts associated with frequent slams at a slow speed when learning tricks in a skate park. However if you are skating halfpipes or Danny’s megaramp with slams at a higher speed and more hazard you might want to go for a more expensive skateboard helmet with a light, but stiff styro-foam a.k.a. EPS foam. This interior protective liner is supposed to break upon a single heavy slam, but then your skull doesn’t have to.
CERTIFICATION
Most quality skateboard helmets are certified against high safety standards by an independent testing institute. However even some established manufacturers don’t certify their complete product line as every skateboard helmet certification costs money. Hence you may find good skateboard helmets without certification.
SAFETY
A skateboard helmet must fit securely and always be buckled. Even with skateboard helmets conceived for multiple impacts, it is very important to examine the exterior shell and the interior protective liner after each slam on the head. Replace the skate helmet if there is any damage apart from scratches or abrasion.
SIZE
Good skateboarding helmets come usually in different exterior shell sizes plus several sets of removable fit pads to achieve a snug yet comfortable fit on the inside. Watch out for the manufacturer’s sizing table (e.g. on the skate helmet box) and match your head circumference with a helmet size.
The front of the skateboarding helmet should sit a thumb’s width above your eyebrows. A skate helmet too large will dangerously move whenever you move your head whereas a skate helmet to tight will limit any head movement.