Helmets: Which are best? Which do you recommend?

[Mr Jo Macdonald]

What about American Football helmets?

[kjelleren]

I always wear a helmet. Learned the hard way windsurfing (with no leash). I use a kayak helmet with the vents and earholes taped off. I mean really taped. The amount of duct tape makes it a challenger for the ugliest helmet award. I'm proud to wear it, cause it I don't want to be taken as too serious about myself. I really taped the thing up to keep warmer and prevent eardrum rupture. If you could see some of my dramatic wrecks, you would understand why.

I would never go witout, even without the leash. This is my fourth season. I go very big. I sometimes come down very hard. My launch site sucks. I land in bad places. There are other people out there that do stupid stuff. People in motor boats don't have a clue. THere are still chunks of ice in the water where I am sailing. A very modest blow to the head can turn you into a veggie. Its hard to swim when you are out cold. Heat loss through your head can easily be 40% of total. I want to be ugly. If I had a Gath, with full visor, I'm certain that I would feel like a wayward Space SHuttle guy. It might make me seek orbital jumps. I alrady go too high. Bad Idea. I will stay ugly..

Gary

[laurel]

Aloha!
I am currently testing 2 types of helmets of helmets here in Cabarete, Gath and Pro-tec

I prefer the Gath, they are comfortable and stay in place. The pro-tec although it has more padding, has the chance of sliding off the back of your head if you are being dragged underwater and choking you.

This to me would be the most important thing, make sure you get a helmet that will stay put.

Also Gath makes some really cool custom designs like skulls and flames, or for girls like me, pink leopard print!

Good luck and safe flying
Aloha
Laurel

[Arcsrule]

i've paddled a whitewater kayak since '90 and have banged my head many times. i've taken hits that cracked my fiberglass helmet. I've seen the gath and no way would i trust my head in that thing--not on the rivers i've paddled anyway. the drop that cracked my helmet did give me a concussion, but with a gath i would have died! i've also hit my head on the bottom while kayak surfing on big closeouts. that sand bottom hurts!!! so if you honestly want good head protection, buy a whitewater helmet. they're designed to take many repeated hits. i've posted the brands, prices, and websites on this forum before so you should be able to search them out if interested.

[RickI]

What about American Football helmets?

There are not a lot of helmet types out there that are suitable for the frequent high speed impacts on water, associated drag forces. The quantity of helmets that are not suitable far exceed those that might be appropriate.

I would think that an American football helmet would be bad becaue of weight, potential drag and water retention characteristics. The helmet has to protect your head against impact while not injuring your neck from excessive impacts caused by water weight in the helmet, water forces (drag), on the helmet or from the weight of the helmet itself as your head is whipped around. Another example of this would be a motorcyle helmet. It would have superior impact protection but would be way too heavy, contain too much water weight and have entirely too much drag. I would think a motorcycle helmet could do some degree of neck injury or irritation in short order on the water.

Be careful about lower cost, marginally padded helmets. In the same way of using just "any" kite, using just "any" helmet may well let you down on the performance side. Helmets with soft, mushy padding are not likely to offer much significant impact protection. Styrofoam can offer some better protection but often at the cost of excessive drag and weight of the overall helmet. The attachment and secure fit of the helmet is critical as well. It can't readily slip or fall off on impact or during dragging through the water. Not a lot of perfect choices out there but it is worth researching and selecting a good helmet for your self.

Helmet are not proof against injury, they may help to avoid or reduce injury in some accidents. Some kiteboarder's lives have already probably been saved by wearing helmets while many others have avoided or have reduced injury.

[Guest]

...Another example of this would be a motorcyle helmet. It would have superior impact protection but would be way too heavy, contain too much water weight and have entirely too much drag. I would think a motorcycle helmet could do some degree of neck injury or irritation in short order on the water...

Believe it or not, Rick - last November in Hurghada I saw a Russian trial-and-error kiter-to-be with a motorcycle helmet... He was lucky as he leant quick enough, although the hard way of course, to stop his "learning strategy"...

Wolfgang

[Petro9]

Pro-TEc Wake is the helmet.
It has plenty of holes to let the water flow through, and plus it actually has padding.
The Gath has some tiny, tiny padding which would not absorb anything.
And guess what the Gath cost ~$100, while the Protec will run you $40.
Gath has managed to market their helmet as a K-surfing helmet and have used avidly one of the 4 P's of Marketing: PRICE!!!

[tux]

tux

[Guest]

Does anybody have experience with the Gath Helmet + Visor? I always use a Kayak helmet with sunglasses (for sun + contact lense protection) but have the problem that the sunglasses get foggy real quick. Does the Gath Visor avoid this?

Peter

[Hernan]

Buy a cheap kayak helmet because you won't be using it long. When you get better, you'll stop using the leash and helmet. I wouldn't buy the expensive and thin Gath. I don't think it would protect you from a heavy newbies board flying at your head. It's made to protect surfers from feather light surfboards, or reef hits.

This is your first time wrong. Surfboards are not so light, they have big fins and reefs are not friendly at all.

A friend's girlfriend has a severe accident beeing hard knocked by his board doing a railey, (yes full bindings, no leash and the board still at her feets.

Any helmet would do a big difference here. (skull fractures)