While longboarding is a lot of fun, it can also put you at risk of injuries if you don’t wear the right safety gear. That’s especially true if you work on tricks. Remember that needing protection isn’t unique to longboarding. Every sport requires some safety gear to keep you safe. 

Take a look at the various types of longboard protective gear that you should make sure to have on hand.

Helmet

A helmet is the most important piece of longboard protective gear. Ideally, you will buy and use everything on this list, but if you only get one item, get a helmet. A helmet is especially important because it protects your head and your brain. Remember that wearing a helmet can easily be the thing that saves your life. 

When you choose a helmet, pay attention to its certifications and the tests that it has passed. The best helmets will be one solid piece and have at least one certification from a reputable source. 

You should also always make it a point to use the chin strap when wearing your helmet.

Half-Shell Helmet

When you look at helmets for longboarding, you’ll see half-shell and full-face ones. Half-shell helmets are the minimum. These most closely resemble bicycle helmets but are sturdier. They protect the top of your head, from your ears up. They let you fully appreciate your surroundings but offer less protection than full-face helmets.

Full-Face Helmet

By contrast, full-face helmets cover your entire face. They include visors to keep debris, dust, and wind out of your face. The visor can typically be flipped open or removed, but it is safest to leave it in place.

Knee Pads

The importance of knee pads among your longboarding protective gear is pretty obvious. When you fall, your knees are very likely to make an impact on the ground. Wearing knee pads reduces the impact of the fall and prevents you from abrading your skin. 

When choosing knee pads, look for something that is sturdy enough to be protective but not bulky enough to interfere with your movements. After all, the ability to move your legs is crucial to your longboarding success. 

As an extra note, you may spot both hard-shell and soft-shell knee pads. Soft-shell pads fit better under clothes and are less obvious but offer less protection. Hard-shell pads give you more protection, especially against abrasion, but they are also bulkier, so they may get in your way.

Elbow Pads

Like knee pads, elbow pads are there to cushion your landing if you fall. They reduce the impact on your bones and joints while preventing abrasion. Essentially, they dramatically reduce your risk of injury if you fall. 

As with knee pads, you likely want elbow pads that don’t interfere with your mobility. So, you will want to find pads that strike a balance between protection and comfort.

Sliding Gloves

These will protect you when if you fall, which will inevitably happen, no matter how good you are. It’s especially likely as you learn new longboard tricks. If you aren’t familiar with them, sliding gloves, or slide gloves, are protective gloves that have extra protection on the palm so you can slide or fall on them without destroying them in a single use. 

To realize the importance of longboarding gloves, just think about how you typically fall. You likely would use your hands to help cushion your fall. But without sliding gloves, your hands and palms are likely to get road rash. 

Everyone will have a slightly different preference for slide gloves. The most important thing to look for is a sturdy material that is combined with ventilation and comfort. Some good choices include Cordura, Kevlar, and leather with mesh or cloth.

Wrist Guards

Wrist guards help cushion the impact on your wrists when you fall, reducing your risk of injury. They are sometimes built right into sliding gloves, but they can also be separate. 

The most common types of wrist guards cover your wrist and the bottom few inches of your palm, going up to about your thumb joint. There are versions that also cover your palms as well as versions that don’t. Make sure to either choose a pair that works with your sliding gloves or can replace them.

Hip Pads 

As the name implies, hip pads guard your hips. While they aren’t among the longboard protective gear most people think of right away, they are crucial. That’s because you will likely land on your hip on a surprisingly high percentage of your falls. 

This means that if you don’t have protection on your hips, you are likely to face consistent bruising and even the occasional hip injury. With hip pads, you can just get right back up instead of being sidelined. 

No matter where your longboard takes you, make sure that you’re well prepared for the event of a fall. If and when it happens, with the right safety equipment, you can avoid injury and get right back on your board. 

Final words

It doesn’t matter which longboard you use, whether it’s a regular one or an electric longboard, and if you are well experienced or a beginner longboarder, don’t forget that riding a longboard is not walking on the ground and there is some risk involved. So, to keep it fun and safe at the same time, protect yourself as much as you can.