Reddit mentions of Protec Classic Helmet (Matte Charcoal, Large)

SAFETY

Safety is a pretty massive issue in longboarding, especially when you're a beginner. Don't be dumb, wear a helmet. It's cheaper than the hospital bills, I promise.

At first, feel free to just use whatever you can get your hands on - my first couple of weeks skating was with my mountain bike helmet! ^^#SWAG

However, unless you want to look as cool as me for that first few weeks, get a...

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HALF SHELL HELMET!

There's tonnes of these out there, and each will name their innovations with funky names and cool logos. In the end, though, the most important thing is what will protect your noggin the best - and that means getting an EPS foam helmet. Look for "CPSC", "ASTM" and "Dual Certified" lids - they've been rigorously tested.

Below is a list of certified half-shell helmets.

^Note: ^Most ^of ^these ^are ^linked ^to ^ChainReactionCycles, ^a ^biking ^site. ^It's ^often ^worth ^checking ^cycling ^stores ^for ^'dirt ^jump' ^lids, ^as ^they're ^exactly ^the ^same ^as ^skate ^helmets, ^and ^can ^be ^cheaper!

|<$30|<$50
|:-|:-
|Speed Stuff Comp|IXS Hammer|
|Bell Faction|Speed Stuff LTD
|Pro-Tec Ace|TSG Evolution
|661 Dirt Lid|Triple8 Brainsaver EPS
|Pro-Tec Classic|Giro Section
||S-One Lifer
||Bern Watts EPS

SLIDE GLOVES

Slide gloves are a pretty awesome bit of kit, and can really boost your confidence levels - Plus, you need them for Coleman slides.

Below is a list of premade slide gloves, but first, consider making your own! You can even just buy the pucks, and attach them to your own gloves bought from a hardware store.

However, if you're not very DIY-minded, here's a list of premade gloves - all of which include pucks.

|<$40|<$60
|:-|:-|:-
|Landyachtz Bones|Blood Orange Knuckles|
|Landyachtz Freeride|Rayne Idle Hands|
|Sector 9 Apex|Sector 9 Downhill Division
||Landyachtz Leather|
||Madrid Trojan Leather|

KNEEPADS

Let's face it. Knees suck. They're absolutely amazing, biology-wise, but they're one of the most fragile pieces of our body - and if you don't know already, it's only a matter of time until you find out that falling on your knees is really easy on a longboard.

Hard kneepads will allow you to bail out of most falls, and just slide to a stop while kneeling - pretty nifty.

If you only want to go slow, consider some G-Form pads - but know that if you bail and slide on them, they're gonna get cheese-grated.

If you think there's a chance you'll fall on your knees while going faster, look at some of these below:

|Pads
|:-
|187 Fly
|Sector9 Gasket
|Smith Scabs Elite OR Hypno
|Pro-Tec Street|
|Pro-Tec Park
|187 Pro


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I hope that helps some of you out!

This was designed to be linked in the sidebar for newcomers to see, so if you notice any spelling, grammar, formatting or hyperlinking mistakes, let me know!**

Once again, this guide isn't designed to be comprehensive. There's hundreds of skate brands out there, all clamouring for your attention - and most of them are good - so shop around, do your research and try as many boards as your local shop/friends will let you!

I'm gonna go skate now - see ya!

Keep it sideways,

Squidifier.