21 Mar Pad Check: Jorden Guth
Wearing helmets and pads is always a personal preference. Some swear by them, some couldn’t care less. Jorden Guth is one person that swears by his pads, and I can’t think of a time that I saw him riding seriously without some gear on. When someone is strong in conviction over something, it’s usually with good reason, and he’s woken up on the flat bottom of a ramp on more than one occasion. I wanted to hear from him why he specifically runs the gear that he does. Click to read more from Joden Guth and his safety gear check.
I guess I should mention i’m not the most consistent rider, and this might be pad overkill for alot of riders. I like it, it keeps my body less mangled so I can focus on being angry about not landing any tricks.
Helmet: I grew up with my parents telling me to wear a helmet, and I’m definitely thankful for that. I’ve bounced my head off of my helmet allot and I usually try to replace them every year or so just to get some fresh padding and avoid cracking. I know i’m not street but who cares. People who make fun of helmets are dumb. I respect the riders that don’t enjoy wearing them, I am not preaching to wear your helmet, but its hard to argue that its uncool to be concussion free. Krusher helmets are pretty much the best thing ever.
Mouth Guard: Basically a really bad concussion landed me in the dentist’s chair making sure I didn’t break any teeth. The dentist recommended a mouth guard for helping with concussions (apparently caused when your jaw locks and your brain does a jello shake on the inside). Later my doctor told me it was pretty much a necessity if I wanted to keep biking and not turn brain dead, so now I wear it all the time.
Knee Pads: I think I started wearing knee pads all the time after I split open my knee hitting my stem. They are sweet. I have a pair of Team Blowin’ it ones that is a small little company Nate Wessel started. They sit nice, are light, and keep me going.
Shin Pads: Way back in the day I ran the original Odyssey twisted pedals. The aluminum ones with pins that were a couple millimeters long. One day I slipped a pedal and opened up two deep cuts in my left shin. I didn’t want stitches so I had my friend peroxide the gashes and bandaged them up.. And then I bought shin pads. Right now I have been running the same Fuse shin pads for about two years. They are super good, but I think they are just about ready to be replaced.
Ankle Pads: These King Kong things i picked up in Germany. super awesome when you do a bunch of whips and it doesnt make your ankles weak/depend on them like lace up ankle braces
Elbow Pads: I carry elbow pads in my backpack with me for those days when nothing seems to be going right or if I’ve already destroyed one and need some protection from more swell-bow. They are an extra safety net too! I also have an elbow tensor bandage but thats mostly for keeping scabs, cuts, or stitches from opening up again or getting worse.
Insoles: These aren’t really pads, but man do they feel awesome when you land on your heals. Rich Redmond persuaded me to get a pair and I’ll never go without them again!
Just for extra measure, here’s an edit Jorden put together of a bunch of his riding over the last year.