At 17 it’s harder to imagine serious injury or death so good for you for figuring it out! Smart people riding down steep, rocky technical (and some other stuff) wear helmets.
If you are, you don’t realize you’re already a nerd for being on a unicycle.
Like I said above, smart people wear helmets in those dangerous conditions. Everybody else is just cool.
I have ridden unicycles a lot more than 1000 times, which I guess means I’m way past a 1:1 chance of a brain injury. That’s why smart people wear helmets. It’s for that one time, not all the other times. Like a seat belt. You have to put it on before the accident, otherwise it doesn’t do you any good.
BTW, a severe brain injury can happen without smashing in your skull. All it takes is for your brain to slosh around really hard, or get rotated within your skull, and it can be enough to kill you. I lost family member that way (car). Also I work with people with developmental disabilities. Some of these people have had brain injuries and are now permanently disabled; in some cases barely able to do anything for themselves.
Someone always has to bring this up, like it’s a rule of helmet conversations. Yes, a small chance. If it were a big chance I might not do the activity. A small chance I’m willing to take, but I’ll be smart about it. A helmet is overkill for most car driving situations. The car is like a giant multi-ton helmet. Unfortunately my brother was an exception to that rule. Walking down the street? Be my guest.
This is a good point for riders of Trials, Big Street, and steep, rocky descents. Bike helmets are designed for the vast majority of bike crashes, which are to the front (often over the bars). Riding a geared 36" on the bike path, for instance, fits with the bike helmet design. But for riding around on miscellaneous obstacles, where you might fall in odd positions, a skate helmet is a much smarter choice.
BTW, this basic theme has been repeated dozens of times on here. If people on either side of the debate want to quote pre-written stuff, it’s there to be found… 