Inline skating (rollerblading) has a unique injury risk profile. If you are just beginning to learn how to inline skate, or have more experience but are beginning to skate faster and in more crowded areas, then good protective gear is a must.
- FIRST PRIORITY IS A INLINE SKATE HELMET
The consequences of suffering a serious head injury make head protection your first priority. While learning how to Inline Skate, you tend to fall down a lot. Then, as riders gain experience, they typically begin rollerblading faster and in more congested areas of streets or parks. Depending upon your speed, distance to the ground, ground hardness (falling onto a wooden ramp vs a concrete barrier), presence of other large moving objects (like a car), and other factors, you can suffer a serious head injury.
Get yourself a good quality inline skate helmet. Make sure you get one that fits well, feels good, and looks good. That way, you'll actually wear it and reduce the chance of a serious head injury. We strongly recommend buying a helmet certified to the CPSC bike standard for inline skating, rollerblading, or roller skating use. Why? See our Helmet Certification Guide for more info.
- YOUR NEXT PRIORITY IS INLINE SKATE WRIST PROTECTION
Wrist injuries are a very common inline skating injury. Picture yourself as you begin to fall. Your natural instincts are to reach for the ground and break your fall with your hands. Unfortunately, what you may end up doing is seriously injuring your wrist.
The good news is that you can help prevent a wrist injury by wearing good quality wrist protection. There are two basic types: inline skate wrist guards that have no fingers on them, and inline skate gloves with integrated wrist guards already built in. Both have strong metal splints sewn into the leather material. The metal splints help absorb the force of the impact and reduce the chance of a wrist injury. Good quality wrist protection is a smart decision, and one that will help keep you rollerblading all season long!
- OTHER POPULAR INLINE SKATE PROTECTIVE GEAR
Go for these items after you've got your head and wrists protected properly. Our most popular inline skate protective gear (after helmets and wrist guards) are:
- SKATE KNEE AND ELBOW PADS. Definitely get yourself a pair of knee pads and elbow pads. They will help absorb impacts, as well as prevent nasty abrasions from sliding on rough surfaces. They are relatively inexpensive and provide great protection.
- INLINE SKATE PADDED SHORTS. Chances are, you're going to fall down a lot. Padded shorts help protect your butt, tailbone, hips, and thighs from impact and abrasions. Trust us, you'll really appreciate padded shorts after a day on the street or at the park!
- INLINE SKATE ANKLE AND SHIN GUARDS. Again, if you plan to ride hard at the park near rails, structures, or other hard things, consider some ankle and shin guards to prevent big black and blue spots from appearing all around your lower legs.
We hope these recommendations help you select the right inline skate protective gear. Have fun, and protect yourself!
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