Neck braces

[TravisNW]

I see a lot of skiers using neck support for jumping and I am curious what products are out there?

[smalor]

I’d be very interested also. Recovering from disc issues in my neck. Picked up one of these.

https://aexos.ca/

Would love to hear from others

 

[Zman]

@smalor I would be very interested in what you think of the Aexos.

Do you feel it provides good neck support?

Comfort?

[smalor]

@Zman

I just got it. Will be skiing with it this weekend hopefully and can provide impressions next week . I’ve tried it on. Appears to be good quality. It is comfortable and seems like it would help prevent or mitigate some whiplash injuries.

[Zman]

@smalor Thanks. Sounds good.

Don't forget to fully test it, like a half gainer over the front. Or, a good OTF through the wakes. :smile:

[ToddL]

I have arthritic-fused facet joints in my neck. I ski with a Barefoot Central neck collar. It really is a bit of a placebo. In that it doesn't add that much support. In a modest tumble, it may add a little rigidity. I let go before things get out of hand. I also don't jump any more.

 

I find that it helps the most when I wear it extremely tight. With no blood or oxygen getting to my brain, I seem to ski a lot better. (just kidding, well only sort of)

[TravisNW]

 

I was thinking this shaped collar, i pulled this off another thread when I quickly followed up on Todd’s BFC neck collar suggestion. This one is originally marketed for football I believe.

[Jetsetr]

As someone who goes really fast surrounded by 4130 chrome moly on a regular basis and who wears a HANS device, I see several issues with the pictured neck braces...

 

There is nothing to keep the brace from riding up and not providing any support. The HANS I wear is held in place with a 3 inch wide, 7 point harness attached directly to the chassis and the HANS is also attached directly to my helmet. At the very least a rig similar to a parachute rig would be required to keep everything in place. Also, the jumpers helmet would need to be attached to the brace/harness to keep your head from snapping forward. That’s where the majority of neck injuries result from (at least in high speed MVA’s)

 

My data recorder shows -9 G for .2 seconds when the chutes deploy as the jet de-accelerates from 285 to 150 in less than 1 second. Neck brace made a huge difference in “next morning neck and shoulder stiffness”, not to mention if I had the misfortune of hitting something hard at those speeds.

 

I’ve seen some pretty cool jump gear (impact jacket/brace combo) being used but there’s still nothing to keep your head from snapping forward. A foam neck collar does absolutely nothing to prevent a neck injury, they just compress and you’re kidding yourself if you think it will prevent an injury.

 

Maybe there is gear out there like that, if there is I’m sure it expensive, but well worth it. My custom F1 HANS was over a G note...

 

JMHO....

 

[Rednucleus]

I might also be concerned with water force pulling on the neck brace upon impact and doing more harm than good ...

[TravisNW]

Good insight @jetsetr. I definitely see where a HANS device is much more robust and effective for neck related injuries.

 

@Rednucleus I good point, during an off crash it could definitely bucket.

 

My personal whiplash occurs during landings, if I am too far back my head snaps back upon landing like being rear ended in a car, these are jumps I ski away from but suffer from pain and weakness in days to follow. I am hoping that a combo between helmet and collar device can limit the range of movement of my head and neck and decrease or prevent whiplash.

[Zman]

@smalor Any thoughts on the Halo from Aexos yet?

That looks like one of the most promising neck braces.

[Jetsetr]

@TravisNW ok...understand your issue is with rearward movement vs forward...I still see an issue with nothing to keep everything from moving, thus defeating the purpose of a brace. I would think a forward movement would the direction causing the issue (and maybe it can be) wasn’t really thinking rearward movement. Regardless of which direction, the brace can’t be allowed to move.

[disland]

I use a cowboy collar. It helps for backward movement and does not bucket or catch on those landings you describe. Does nothing for forward. I tried the rigid motocross ones. It didnt work for me because its designed for motocross helmets which are much bigger than waterski jump helmets.

[smalor]

@Zman

The Halo may be fine for someone healthy who wants to lessen the chance for whiplash injuries. I slalom and have no experience with jump or trick. The Halo is for “head back” scenarios, there is nothing on the front side. It is comfortable and not intrusive on slalom skiing.

 

I’m not far enough removed from a disc injury to rely on the Halo yet. I will most likely switch to it down the road a bit. In the meantime, I’ve been wearing a foam collar as I feel a bit more protected with it. My injury was in the c5-6-7 area.

 

I’ve ordered the barefoot central collar to try and compare.

 

I don’t think comparing any collars to a HANS device is fair. That is a system which includes an appropriate full face helmet.

 

It seems like we are on the cusp of a step forward in technology in this area. People are becoming more aware of the cumulative nature of whiplash/concussion/brain/cervical injuries.

 

[dkhubb]

my son and I started using this collar for jumping this season - doesn't catch or hold water and prevents over-extension