Safety Gear
On the East Coast, with the sometimes icy conditions, you need a helmet. They range from head toppers to whole face masks like a motorcycle helmet. I like the head toppers with a mouth guard like the kicker on a football team wears. It is just enough to protect your mouth from a handrail.

I must caution you to choose your helmet carefully. If you are a beginner and use a motorcycle or some other heavy type of helmet, you can seriously injure you neck in a whiplash fashion.

I got a "snowboard" helmet for Christmas one year, and it was heavy enough that when I fell, I strained the muscles in my neck so badly I couldn't move my head around, much less ride for a while. Get one from the shops that we list on this site and you will be straight.

I always wear wristguards and generally go through 1 pair per year. Better them than your wrists, right? There are all types, any type works. I will tell you that the neoprene kind that go inside your gloves will begin to stink so badly, you will be embarrassed to take your gloves off, so some Fabreeze is in order. They also make some that fit on the outside of your gloves, as well as gloves with built in wristguards.

I always wear buttpads, You will land on your behind. No question, I ride freestyle and find myself falling out of the air from pretty good heights onto the ice all the time. Beginners will find themselves on their butts all day. A tailbone injury will put you out. Some of these will also protect your kidneys Of all the gear I recommend, this is #1 on the list.

Kneepads, whether you are just learning, or learning to ride rails, you may find you need these if you are falling on ice or rails knee first. A good sign you need them is if your knees are full of fluid, colorful, swollen, and miserable to fall on.

Shingaurds - if you hit your shins really hard on the rail or are learning a new rail trick, use soccer shinguards this is an easy way to save yourself a lot of pain.

Ankle braces and knee braces are smart to wear if you have or have had an injury which has left a joint weak. Generally, the boot will hold your ankles pretty well unless it is broken or sprained. If this is the case, I know that these braces can keep you riding with these injuries. You be the judge of whether you think you are risking a long term injury in this situation. It's always better to ride another day than not at all.

See some of the snowboard shops for more information >>