The Adult Skater's Guide to Protective Gear

Protective gear is the subject most adult skaters resist and most physios insist on. The physios are right.

The logic is simple: at 45, a wrist fracture takes 6–8 weeks to heal. At 16, it might have been 3–4 weeks. At 50, a head injury has consequences that don’t exist at 20. The risk calculus has shifted.

Here is what to actually buy.

Helmet: the only non-negotiable

Any helmet marketed specifically as a skateboard helmet and certified to CPSC (US), CE EN 1078 (UK/EU), or AS/NZS 2063 (Australia) will protect your head.

What to look for:

• Multi-impact foam (EPS + EPP). This handles multiple smaller impacts without the helmet needing replacement after each one.
• Full coverage at the back. Many cycling helmets leave the back of your skull exposed — not ideal for the backwards falls common in skating.
• A fit that doesn’t wobble. A helmet that’s too large offers less protection.

Brands that consistently get good reviews: Triple Eight, Pro-Tec, S1 Helmet. Expect to pay $50–100 for a quality unit.

Wrist guards: the most important purchase after the helmet

Adults fall forward and sideways, onto their hands. A broken wrist is the most common serious skating injury among adults returning to the sport. Wrist guards with a rigid splint — not just padded gloves — are what prevent this.

The downside of wrist guards is that they change how you catch yourself when you fall. You need to learn to fall on the guard, not try to grab or grip with your hands. This takes some getting used to.

Brands worth buying: Triple Eight Hired Hands, Pro-Tec Street gear, Hillbilly Full Finger.

Knee pads: two types, different uses

Slim/low-profile pads (like 187 Killer Slim or Triple Eight KP22): work for flat ground and mellow park skating. They provide impact protection without restricting movement much.

Full cup pads (like 187 Killer Pro): the large plastic cap pads designed for learning to fall at skateparks. These let you “slide out” of falls on transition — essential if you’re learning to drop into a ramp or skate a bowl. The foam-only pads don’t slide and will cause you to dig in on concrete.

If you’re skating any kind of ramp terrain, use the full cup pads.

Elbow pads

Often skipped, occasionally important. If you’re working on drops or steep transitions, elbow pads are worth wearing. For general park and street skating, most adult skaters skip them.

Hip pads

Niche but useful for bowl skating or any session where you’re working on new maneuvers with a high fall rate. Hip fractures in older adults are serious. Companies like Demon and Hyperlite make padded shorts that look like regular shorts.

What to skip

Ankle braces: useful if you’ve had an ankle injury, but not a substitute for building ankle strength through skating. Wearing them long-term can inhibit natural ankle development.

Mouth guards: appropriate for aggressive bowl skating or vert, but overkill for the returning adult who’s learning to cruise and carve again.

The one rule

Wear your helmet every time. Not just when you’re “trying something.” Adults who get head injuries while skating were usually not trying anything dangerous — they were just pushing along and caught an edge or had a momentary lapse of attention.