Ice Halo update

In the recent past when I visited the Ice Halo website I could not find mention of their products complying with any test standards.  People told me that this statement of fact was buried somewhere on the site, but try as I might, I could never find it.  The other day I went back to the Ice Halo site and there it was right on the page which describes the standard Halo: "All our Ice Halo Products are tested in one of the top impact testing facilities in the world, using the Hockey Helmet Standard (CSA Z262.1-09 (April 2009) Annex A, Impact Drop Testing). Our products pass the standard requirements for front, side and back impact."  I guess enough others must have voiced their hesitation such that the manufacturer of the Ice Halo decided to place the test statement in a more prominent position.  But don't take my word for it, see it yourself.  

CSA stands for Canadian Standards Association which is a non-profit organization dedicated to product testing for consumer safety and protection.  The CSA is much like the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials.

Knowing that the Ice Halo complies with a reasonable standard (one deemed appropriate for hockey helmets) gives me a little more confidence to try out this product.  As I pointed out in an earlier post my current skateboarding helmet while adequate does tend to draw my eyes towards the ice rather than ahead and one must cinch the chinstrap fairly tightly in order for the helmet not to move around on the head.  So, I will now place an order for an Ice Halo and see if I like that any better than the  Bern Watts helmet.  Stay tuned.

No good deed goes unpunished dept.

 

I skated the Friday afternoon public.  It was lightly populated and I actually got in some useful Canasta Tango practice.  S. a free-style skater whom I know from power stroke class, was also on-ice, working hard.  She's a strong adult free-style 4 skater who's been working like forever to escape to FS-5.  The only thing holding her back is that she doesn't quite have her axle.  She tends to two foot the landings.  Anyway, we were both doing our respective thing when out of the corner of my eye I saw her go for it and actually land cleanly.  Wonderful to see after months of unrewarded work.  I skated over to give her a thumbs-up but in doing so I was very inattentive to my skating and managed to trip over my own "toe peeks".  In the process, I managed to deliver myself at her feet in a spectacularly inelegant, full on belly flop.  I have a very small sense of shame so it was not a big deal.  I looked up from my prone position on the ice and said "this is absolutely the last time I'm ever giving you a thumbs-up, so enjoy it!"

Now one point I'd like to make from this little admission of clumsiness is that when I skate my personal value literally increases several hundred dollars just in d3o ballistic padding alone; knee pads, butt pads, hip pads, tail bone, wrist guards, you name it--I'm surprised I haven't been "jacked" in the rink parking lot just for the value of my protective gear.

Honey, let me tell you--all that stuff earned its keep on Friday.  My fall must have looked just as stupendous as S's axle landing, judging from the reaction of a very concerned ice monitor, but I quickly staggered to my haunches and felt pretty good all things considered.  And unlike other incidents which I've blogged about this one didn't define the rest of the session (or following months).  I quickly got back to productive skating and finished the session none the worse for the wear.

So, if you've been on the fence about protective gear, this post is your heads-up.  Get some good gear--this is one area not to scrimp--and wear it--at least during practice sessions.  The lumps and bumps to your otherwise slim, trim, sleek and racy lines are way better than the lumps and bumps you'll be sporting courtesy of orthopedic appliances if you bust something.  Like other life-style choices, this is one that can help you avoid or at least reduce the effects of an otherwise nasty outcome.

Here endeth the lesson. 

Decisions, decisions...

My last few outings to the rink have been fought with a number of "crash and burn" incidents.  Some of the falls have been minor annoyances but others have left their marks.  No new broken bones (yet) but some mornings, apres-skating, find your old diarist feeling every bit his age.  Most of the falls have come from biffed jump landings but one particularly nasty fall was the result of clicking blades together while doing alternating back crossovers down the long axis of the rink at speed.  All this has your diarist searching the archived posts on the skating forum for hip, knee, and tailbone crash pad recommendations.  It appears the best choices fall (haha) between Skating Safe's "Ultracrash" gel pad technology and the D3O pads marketed by Se_Ku.

Ultracrash pads seem to use the same gel technology that one sees with Silopad ankle protectors.  D3O appears to be sterner stuff with typical applications being bullet proof vests for law enforcement officers, protective gear for moto-cross riders, etc.  One of the drawbacks for male skaters attempting to use Ultracrash pads is that we generally don't wear tights and tights are important for holding the pads in place.

Ultracrash pads must be correctly placed and once positioned must be held in place for maximum protection.

Female skaters rely on tights to  keep the pads from moving.

The D3O pads on the other hand are available both as separate pads like the Ultracrash products or sewn into a pair of shorts.  Se_Ku lists men's extreme training shorts that have D3O pads sewn in to protect both sides of the hip trochanter region and a separate butt pad for protection of the coccyx..

Se_Ku's training shorts for men.

Neither product line is inexpensive (the training shorts are $205!) but both are cheaper than a hip replacement.  Both companies also offer knee pads at eye watering prices.  But, again, compared to the cost of a preventable injury they've got to be worth it.  So don't be too surprised if you see an old male geezer skater who looks like he's got a butt the size of a Metro bus .  This may not be the chicest look to go out on the rink but it has to be better than stuffing vast quantities of bubble-wrap down my shorts--and much better than an injury.  Does anyone have any other ideas or feedback on these products?