Don’t care how trolled I get for this but; I’m coming up on 30 soon, skiing since I was 10 and park rat since 19. I got into park pretty late compared to all the little groms you see throwing down today. When I got into it I was far more athletic than I am now, and could take the constant falling part of learning new stuff and throwing down. Now that I am way out of school and have a livelihood to maintain I Ski much more conservatively than I used to. I still lap park. But I don’t push it too hard. I am in pretty bad shape now relative to when I was learning park and any help I get from some pads is a great thing for me. I broke my back skiing, a few ribs and many of the usual bruising and sprains etc. I now wear a poc back protector. I won’t ski with out it because it really is that comforting to know it can help lessen the damage of an impact but also makes the smaller sliding out falls almost have no toll. I wear their elbow pads as well. Why? Ever hit your elbow on a rail? Ice or a rock? Shit hurts. I need my arms for my job and the amount of protection these afford are well worth the minor inconvenience wearing them. I also have some demon crash pads. They make sliding out to your hips on ice or a rail much more tolerable. Also a plug for slytechs race mitten, super warm and has a wrist pad that helps with impact to that area. No I am not falling all the time any more but I stand by this gear especially for aging newschoolers. If I had the back protector on I probably wouldn’t have broken my back. They aren’t a magic bullet but IME they have helped me keep doing the sport I love. And I’ll stress it again, if I was in the shape I used to be in and could take the average falls as well, I would still wear a back protector atleast. Broke it in the woods getting caught up on a buried tree branch and landing on a rock. All has been worth every penny and I would say are quite effective in reducing pain a noticeable amount in various situations. It’s cool to be in school and be able to basically be injured but when you gotta earn a living it can be a major buzzkill. I know a lot of my friends who were die hard park rats are all over, some ride without any protection, some have moved out west and only rip pow and BC now. Gear up if it helps you progress or participate in the sport.
tldr: I’m old and pads have helped me keep skiing park. Not for everyone but can be a good investment.
**This post was edited on Jan 23rd 2019 at 3:18:58pm
