I'd recommend a helmet to anybody. I am using a leash at the moment and have been clubbed a few times in the head... with helmet on. The Gath seems to be the post popular. (I know a majority of people I have talked to say to stay clear of the leash)

Being rendered unconscious in the drink after any incident is not the ideal situation.

My two cents.

3 of my mates wear them.

I think there's something about having kids that makes guys get helmets. They all have kids.

I guess they make sense. Kiting's the last sport in the world you want to get knocked out while you're doing it.

Stay well away from leashes. Or, if you do have one, wear full body armour and a motor bike helmet.

Yeah Helmets are good!

I saw a really good rider fall bad the other day after doing a trick and smashed his head hard on the sand. He was knocked out for about 15secs. He wasnt wearing a helmet.

Apparently the Gaths dont have much impact protection. The Protecs have heaps of padding which is better if you get a couple of knocks. Better to get a helmet that has as much protection as possible.

I have a board leash. I wear a helmet and an impact vest. I'm too much of a spaz to risk not protecting myself.

Nobody really cares if you wear one or dont. Its just safer if you do. I dont care if I look a bit dorky, Cos once I'm on the water I start to worry bout other stuff.

The physics involved with a leash are such that if you are being pulled rapidly down wind after a crash, the board in some cases will 'submarine' resulting in a snapped leash or snapped rider. They also take your concentration away from the kite and thats a bad go..

Thats why they are hated :).

having just been a beginner and now being able to stay upwind etc, board recovery is the easiest thing a beginner can learn. after a stack it's always gonna be 5-15m upwiond of you. get ur kite under control look straight back to spot it then a couple of 15 second drags and you're back to it!
so simple and a good skill to learn anyway.
as for losing it, i remember reading a post by ian young (good advice) to just drag forward and back for about 20-30secs each side and eventually you'll find ur board.
much better than copping the board in the back of the head, i know from experience (not that this occured because of a leash mind you) when a wave dumped the board on to my head. ended up with 7 stitches and a dent in my board from my head!

another thing people often forget about is bursting your ear drums - happened to a mate and can happen at anytime in high impact water sports - doesn't take much to do it, just being hit in the ear at the right angle.

will put you out of the water for a good few weeks and can even permanently damage your hearing if its a bad one, if your wearing a helmet then i reckon make sure it covers your ears also.

I use a Gath and a pair of Oakley water jacket glasses with my prescription in them. The glasses have a head strap which I do up tight, then gath over the top - the whole thing is bomb proof. Have used this for several years surfing, windsurfing, and now kiting, and it has survived the good old beginners down wind overspeed wipeout. The gath has certainly saved me some knocks to the head.

I'm surprised more kiters aren't using eyewear...with the usual glare from the water and sand, plus often glancing up at the sky, it is a great environment for development of pterigia on the eyes. I guess some of the younger crew haven't been out long enough yet, but most surfers / kiters / divers I know in their 30's with alot of ocean time under their belt are having trouble if they haven't been wearing sunglasses. The operation to ge them removed is very painful. Food for thought.

Its weird .. I only get konked in the head when I wear a helmet!?! The gath got an outing today as my eyes were "sunburnt" from 3 hours out the other day.. the visor saves the eyes.

Purely by coincidence, the board smacked me a good one on the head! Each time the gath gets put on, it gets used! Left wondering if I got hit because I had the helmet on, or if it encourages recklesness? haha

...anyways... my eyes are still grateful.

Does anybody know if the gath visor has a UV filter or if it's just tinted perspex?

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Originally posted by barongreenback

What's with the board leash having such a bad wrap... If you're wearing a helmet, the worst you'll get is a few battle scars.

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unless your board hits you in the neck

neoniphon, good advice about sunnies, ive yet to find some that are worth the cash though... i hear seaspecs do ok tho

Hi Jan...I have bought many pairs of shades......over 2,000 once. the only ones that I find that work are Sundogs from SOS. Bought the last pair a couple of days ago, they sell like hot cakes.

This year I also bought a rubber hat at SOS which has been the second best purchse in my short kiting life. Best buy for me has been the Surfire Spreader bar..... use it with all my kites.

Nick

Another real risk with kiting and the cummulative hours of sun exposure involved is skin cancer. I've had a few keratoses and bcc's zapped and cut out now after spending my youth at the beach surfing and frying in the sun. A helmet may or may not save my life from a knock to the head but I'm sure as anything the sun protection it gives is going to save me from further sun injuries to my head ears and face. At least consider wearing a hat if you don't like helmets.

quote:

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Originally posted by Fitzy

The ones wearing protective gear have all had bad experiences.

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only takes the one to permanently change your approach. Or in my case two - one for the helmet, and one for the impact vest

quote:

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Guess the older you gat the smarter you get.

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Not sure I'm ready to agree with this one though

The Gath hat is a conversation killer.

On the beach, I don't bother talking to the helmet-wearers cause they can't hear me.

What did you say ?
What did you say ?
What did you say ?


Ahhh, forget it deaf-head !


Regards
'slave

A friend helped me modify my old visorless gath to incorporate a home-made visor - works really well - very little distortion, and excellent sun/eye/face protection - wouldn't be without it. The biggest downside is I look like Dork Vadar... but on the positive side I'm sure many kiters have had a good snigger at me...
R