Experienced riders have discovered multiple longboarding ways. The most favorite and popular among the people are Cruising, Carving, Commuting, Dancing, Downhill Riding, and Freestyling or Freeriding. Therefore, I had to deeply inspect all the riding styles to answer, “Do you need a helmet for longboarding?” As an old longboard rider, I’ve ridden my longboard for almost all purposes and concluded a few critical points about the rider’s safety.
First of all, the importance of a helmet and other safety gear for longboarding has always been a hot topic for debate. Our research says that a helmet for longboarding is not always necessary. It depends on how do you want to ride your longboard. If you’re going to ride your board down the hill or use it for racing purposes, you must protect your head with a strong longboarding helmet. On the other hand, if you wish you cruise or use your longboard for college, you may not need to wear a helmet.
Do you Need a Helmet for Longboarding
We will clear all the rumors running in your mind about the importance of helmets and gloves while you are on a longboard or skateboard. We will be discussing all the popular riding styles one after another to understand their steps and the significance of safety gear. Therefore, you must know your riding style before you conclude if you need a helmet while longboarding or not. Moreover, longboarding experience matters a lot before deciding to wear something protective or not. So, choose your riding technique from the below ones.
Helmet for Longboard Cruising
Longboard cruising is one of the most admired and liked riding styles among the longboarders and skateboarders. Luckily, no stunts and tricks are required to cruise around the city on your board. In terms of safety, we have got two different scenarios. Firstly if you are a newbie, you should wear a helmet to bring more confidence to your rides and repel the chances of being injured. Secondly, if you have been riding a longboard for a long time but love to cruise, you can go for a ride without a helmet.
As BoardsOnTop is a skating community, we know many skaters who don’t use any safety gear, especially when cruising. So, it shows that it depends on your experience of longboarding. You should not roam around the city without protective equipment as a starter. On the other hand, experienced riders can ride anyway.
Commuting and Helmet
In longboarding, covering longer distances of miles on a longboard is called commuting on a longboard. After analyzing this specific riding technique thoroughly, we learned that wearing a helmet is not necessary for a straight-going ride. For both newbies and pros, while commuting, we don’t consider the helmet an essential piece of equipment because there will be no technical steps to apply when you commute.
Freeride Longboarding and Safety
Freeriding is all about performing tricks and discovering newer ones to add. Many of the tricks are achieved when the board moves at a slow speed; still, you should protect your head with a helmet. Freeride longboarding obtains numerous styles that pro riders have been performing, and we notice they like to use safety gear. So those who were asking, “Do I need a helmet for Longboarding” should protect themselves whether they are beginners or not.
Dancing and Freestyling
Longboard dancing has become one of the primary reasons that attract the viewers a lot and insist them buy a longboard. Freestyling is somehow the same as dancing, but both have different steps to apply. If you don’t know, people love to freestyle at skating parks, ramps, or bowls. We highly recommend wearing a solid helmet whenever riding on such surfaces. If you love to showcase your skills on the street, you can skip this option.
Dancing on the deck means you rotate your body parts in different positions. BoardsOnTop recommends you preserve your sensitive body parts with suitable equipment if you are a newcomer. It will help you a lot in the learning process when you know your significant body parts are secured with helmets, gloves, and pads.
Downhill Riding and Use of Helmet
Many people ask, “Do I need a Helmet for Downhill Longboarding.” Most of the time, these people have not ridden a longboard down the hill before and want to try. Imagine how dangerous it could be for both newbies and advanced skaters going down the hill at 40-50mph speed. So, it is never recommended to anyone to go for a downhill ride without helmets and other safety gear.
Most importantly, downhill rides are not straight, but you have to take turns without losing the speed you have gained before. Therefore, turning your longboard at 40mph requires skills, attention, and your body parts to be kept safe. In short, you will not even see an advanced-level skater riding his longboard or skateboard down the hill without knee pads, gloves, and a helmet.
Helmet and Longboard Sliding
Longboard sliding needs a lot of skills at once, such as stopping your longboard at higher speeds, balancing skills, weight distribution, and body positioning. My opinion says that sliding on a longboard is as dangerous as downhill longboarding. In sliding, you will have to bring maximum speed to your ride and then try to decrease the pace with different sliding techniques. For techniques, visit “Longboard Sliding.” Reaching 40mph or above means the use of the helmet is utmost in your rides, and sliding is unachievable without pace.
Conclusion
There is no doubt longboarding is an adventure and a great way of excitement. On the other hand, some of the riding styles in longboarding require a lot of confidence and protection, like downhill riding, sliding at higher speed, and freestyling. Therefore, people often ask, “Do I need a helmet for longboarding.” So, the answer is simply that it depends on your riding manner and your longboarding experience. We request you to define your longboarding experience and your riding technique so that we can tell you how important it is for you to wear a helmet. Above, you will find multiple riding methods, find yours, and see the importance of safety gear. Happy Longboarding!
