That guy is dangerous

[kgb]

Wearing or not wearing the gear isn't going to make a kite boarder more or less cool.

Ha... finally, bang on the money. I don't think this concept is even conceivable to the all knowing one.

There it is! That is when you know you have struck a sensitive little nerve - "all knowing one". And I call BS on kgb's statement. We have multiple posts in this thread that, while somewhat rolled back by their authors, have flat out said stated "look out for the guy with a helmet and seat harness because he is a kook noob". Yes, safety gear does make you look less cool because you are trying to be safe. Not using safety gear makes you look more like a "rebel". That is why barney badass motorcyclists don't want to wear helmets, but the government stepped in in many cases and mandated it.

My primary motivations for being vocal on this issue are:

1. Saving lives of kiteboarders, innocent bystanders, and preventing loss of beach access is a noble cause. Many here make BS excuses for not wearing helmets. And this may influence some kiters who are on the fence with the issue and they could be swayed/endangered by those false claims.

2. I am not a fan of Government mandates for safety gear. They often cause new problems that can actually cost lives. The US Coast Guard SUP life-jacket rule is on instance where a governing agency got it wrong and is costing lives. Specifically making a rule that you have to wear a life vest while SUP'ing, without any provision for using a leash instead, has at least likely claimed one life I know of in my area. If the rule was that you could use either a leash or a life-jacket, at least one SUP'er I know of would still be with us. He was not wearing a required life-jacket, but would have used a leash if that would have fit the requirement. High flotation life vests can also be dangerous in certain breaks preventing you from ducking under a wave in certain shallow water conditions. So I do not want some desk jockey making a rule that endangers kiters lives in the break.

Personally, I believe in self regulation and freedom of choice. But the viral ideology of "looking uncool if you wear safety gear or kite safely" has to be stopped to keep us alive, others alive, beaches open, and the government from making the choice for us.

The only motivation for those not wearing helmets to argue against the safety of helmets is that they want to personally justify their behavior. This goes to the root of the OP's first post about why kiters do stupid things. The answer is that they are trying to look cool. Personally, I don't care how I look. I try to be safe, conscientious, not ride like an idiot, not put my self in a position to harm others, and I do what I can to help kooks make better decisions. I can't make those decisions for them. Only the government has the power to force people to do anything, and I don't want that.

Kite boarding would actually have to be cool in the first place for your theory to hold water.

It isn’t.

Safety gear or no safety gear, we are all still kooks. Even you.

[grigorib]

Well, the moment you see a rider at endless chest-deep waters of OBX wearing a helmet and floatation vest, you’d most often will also see a retractable board leash and occasionally a GoJoe.
You see guys at the Real slick wearing a helmet and you look around where the ramp is

[Matteo V]

Freestylers crash 50 times a session we know what hurts and causes more spinal damage helmet or no helmet. Your the ignorant one here matteo do some research

Sooooooo.......where is the evidence that someone received more of an injury wearing a Gath or other similar close fitting helmet floppin in the flat water? I could be wrong, but I am guessing that there is no evidence to support your excuse for not wearing a helmet so you "look cool". Or maybe you are just one of the "monkey see, monkey do" kiters - again, proving my point.

[Matteo V]

Well, the moment you see a rider at endless chest-deep waters of OBX wearing a helmet and floatation vest, you’d most often will also see a retractable board leash and occasionally a GoJoe.
You see guys at the Real slick wearing a helmet and you look around where the ramp is

Yeah, well we have all been there. Just ditch the leash as soon as possible. But if you want to use one when you are still better at kiting than body draging, go ahead. Just understand that real dedication to the sport is shown by learning body dragging before you can actually ride. Go Joe's???? No problem there if it helps you get to your board and out of my way quicker. Heck, I'll shake your hand and help you out if you are that considerate of other kiters (who may be kooks,,,,,or experience "A" hole kooks) enough to use one when it actually helps you. You would be braver than anybody out there not using a helmet because they think they look uncool.

[tautologies]

"A trumpet you can blow
And a book of rules
On what to say to people
When they pick on you
'Cause if you stay with us you're gonna be pretty Kookie too"

[prop_joe]

Wearing or not wearing the gear isn't going to make a kite boarder more or less cool.

Ha... finally, bang on the money. I don't think this concept is even conceivable to the all knowing one.

There it is! That is when you know you have struck a sensitive little nerve - "all knowing one". And I call BS on kgb's statement. We have multiple posts in this thread that, while somewhat rolled back by their authors, have flat out said stated "look out for the guy with a helmet and seat harness because he is a kook noob". Yes, safety gear does make you look less cool because you are trying to be safe. Not using safety gear makes you look more like a "rebel". That is why barney badass motorcyclists don't want to wear helmets, but the government stepped in in many cases and mandated it.

lol... you're the only one banging on about this sh*t and you openly admitted to thinking certain gear makes riders cool, you seem obsessed. The riding is all i'm interested in. You kinda remind me of the crazy liberals screaming racist at everything, their so blinded by their race lenses and can't seem to see that not everything is necessarily about that. You claim to know things you cannot possibly know... like what's inside me/frank82 and some other's heads or like what safety gear i do not use when i havn't mentioned it or kited with you, so i think 'the all knowing' one was reasonable, after all you seemed to know i meant you pretty quick. In your last one which i believe i was one of a number being referenced you'd changed the point into something completely different, you're disingenuous and hypocritical. ps - your self congratulatory insults are cringe as f**k lol

[Ozone Kites AUS]

Freestylers crash 50 times a session we know what hurts and causes more spinal damage helmet or no helmet. Your the ignorant one here matteo do some research

Sooooooo.......where is the evidence that someone received more of an injury wearing a Gath or other similar close fitting helmet floppin in the flat water? I could be wrong, but I am guessing that there is no evidence to support your excuse for not wearing a helmet so you "look cool". Or maybe you are just one of the "monkey see, monkey do" kiters - again, proving my point.

Gath helmets are not designed for serious impact protection, they are ok at protecting you in the surf from a bump for yours or anothers surfboard. They are primarily a closefitting sun hat. If I see someone wearing one with a visor, I stay upwind of that person as they have cut off a lot of their peripheral vision and spatial awareness.

Helmet-Introduction.png (39.08 KiB) Viewed 750 times

[Adventure Logs]

My opinion: whenever I choose or not choose to wear safety gear is my and only my concern. Worry about your own issues and decisions. Some people are so far up everyone else’s asses it’s sickening.

[Frank82]

"look out for the guy with a helmet and seat harness because he is a kook noob".

Total kook^



^Probably just finished his first lesson^



^Give this one a wide berth, definitely not safe on the water^



The KING of all KOOKS!!!

Helmets make perfect sense in foiling because of the high risk of hitting a hard object (the foil/board), they sure do look cool indeed

Big air/freestyle/wakestyle are very different disciplines to foiling.

[Kozzie]

Mattewo you need to drop this whole cool thing your stuck on

I use to wear a helmet kiting but after talking to profesional sport and spinal surgeons and rehabilitators i was literally told not to wear a helmet if im going to be catching back edges when kiteboarding. They explained to me about the added weight to top my head and with how the impact occurs and then the added damage cause by the even more sudden stop due to the larger smooth surface area of helmet.

Im amazed you think paid profesional and sponsored athletes with coaches dieticians and support crews etc would let theyre athletes not wear a helmet. No one even trains with one on off camera because its so much more dangerous due to fact the injuries sustained and forces are greater when slamming your head into the water with helmet on then without.

Mathzo the saddest part about all this is if you went out tomorrow and caught a back edge and slammed your head into water with and without a helmet you would instantly know.


What displaces more water? Helmet or not helmet? Think of that extra brakeing power the stopping power the energy involved... Now think about your neck and spine and the entire length of your body... Wheres the weak link?

Go get a broom handle wack the water. Now put a flipping basketball on end of same broom handle and wack that water again which impact damaged the stick more matheo?!?!

I cant get any dumber for you. If you still cant understand consult someone with crayons

If you actually cared about safety you would be wearing a neckbrace not unsimular to one rally car drivers wear