Snowboard Safety Gear for Everyone
Snowboard safety gear: the six essentials
Acquiring some snowboard safety gear could help change the following statistic: nearly 25% of injuries occur during a rider's very first snowboarding experience, and almost half of them happen during the first season of snowboarding.
So the perils of snowboarding mostly fall to the newcomers, but what I get out of that statistic is that 25% of snowboard-related accidents or injuries happen to experienced riders!
So having some snowboard safety gear is not just a good idea for beginners -- we should all have at least these items:
1. Snowboard Wrist Guards are probably the number one item that will prevent injuries, since one of the most common injuries is in snowboarders' wrists.
2. Knee pads are another practical snowboard safety gear item to have - whether you collide with another rider, or go down on your knees, they are quite vulnerable.
3. Snowboard hip pads are another handy bit of snowboard safety gear -- especially since they're worn on your bum, and help protect it and your tailbone, too.
4. Your list of snowboard safety gear should always include a helmet -- quite simply, a head injury from impact with anything -- a rock, a tree or another rider -- can kill you. You wanna take THAT chance?
5. A safety leash is a strap that stays wrapped around your leading leg to keep your snowboard from accidentally 'getting away' if your binding releases for any reason. It could be a long limp down the slope (or an impossible one!) if you are injured, and your snowboard is already down there 'somewhere.'
6. The final, but not by any means the least important, item of snowboard safety gear that we all should have is goggles. They'll cut down on glare so you can see better, protect you from the harmful UV rays of the sun, and keep you more alert because your eyes won't tire as easily.
None of us is immune from danger or injury -- but you'll decrease your chances if you have this list of snowboard safety gear on you before you push off.