VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

I was curious what you guys do for head wear in the cold months?
I have a hooded 5/4/3 wetsuit, and am trying to find a helmet that fits over the hood (i get hardcore neck chafe with the hood down)
I have a 60cm melon, so the thickness of the neoprene appears to put me over the XL limits for most of the helmets I've looked at.

I wear a helmet over my hooded wet suit year round

What helmet do you wear?
It could just be that I have too fat a head and need to look for something bigger :p

http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Paddling/ ... unisex.jsp Just go into the shop & try the helmets over a neoprene cap.

Some WSfers use XL Gath in winter to go over the neoprene, L in summer. I wear the same Surfhat L/XL and just add a thin MEC liner for $20 which makes a huge difference and has no added head movement restrictions like a full hood does. Win-win.

I am amazed how not more kiters complain of neck injuries considering the crappy helmets they use and many use none at all.....which is totally stupid IMHO but I guess ya gotta be cool....well, really cold actually soon Those shred ready, hockey or skate helmet types and protech ones just cry out for neck injuries but perhaps the wipe outs are somehow different on the kite boards than they are from windsurfers. I had serious neck injuries and whiplash when I wore those, never looked back after the Gath's, don't even know ur wearing one.

Before you ask, I have no XL's in stock right now, perhaps a L Gedi tho has enough room for your bean. It is also the version most recommended for kiting, tho I prefer the SurfHats for their aquadynamics and tigher fit.
http://www.gathsports.com/

Hey Kus: just curious....what is it about the gath design that substantially lessens whiplash?

The obvious reason appears to be no holes or just small slits in the shell, the round shape hugging the head and cheeks, the neoprene seals on the surfhat improves that further, and the edges/ridges not giving much surface area for the water to twist/providing resistance during impact. Also they are far lighter in construction. But to each their own I guess (better to wear a bulky helmet than none) all I know it worked wonders for me

KUS wrote: I am amazed how not more kiters complain of neck injuries considering the crappy helmets they use and many use none at all.....which is totally stupid IMHO but I guess ya gotta be cool....well, really cold actually soon Those shred ready, hockey or skate helmet types and protech ones just cry out for neck injuries but perhaps the wipe outs are somehow different on the kite boards than they are from windsurfers.

I wear a Shred Ready helmet kiting and have never had any issues with it despite a lot of crashes over 4 years of kiting.

Last winter I was in La Ventana for a month without a helmet and it was only on the really epic days that I missed it.

Although I wear a helmet most of the time when I kite I assess the risk of a head injury as lower than other sports I do such as MTBing or snowboarding. Again excepting epic days like kiting in storm conditions or a particularly dangerous launch.

So far I haven't seen any head injury saves due to helmets amongst the people I kite with. OTOH - I've seen a number mountain biking during the same period.

I wouldn't tell anyone not to wear a helmet kiting, but I also wouldn't suggest not wearing a helmet is stupid. The risk for a head injury at spots like Nitnaht and La Ventana don't seem to be particularly high in my opinion for an experienced kiter on a typical day.

I'm wearing one now

I won't be not wearing a helmet after this incident in the middle of the summer:


I was wearing a lid, and the board hit just below it, but it could have just as easily been an inch higher and hit on the helmet, which would have equated to 1 less concussion and 4 less stitches. (After having had several concussions I don't want to risk any more either).
Thanks for the head up Kus, I never realised how low profile those gath units are.

Vik wrote:I wouldn't tell anyone not to wear a helmet kiting, but I also wouldn't suggest not wearing a helmet is stupid. The risk for a head injury at spots like Nitnaht and La Ventana don't seem to be particularly high

there are a few people in our group who would beg to differ due to nasty experiences and there are lots of near misses all the time.... tho agreed, our pros and together with the new kites and their excellent safety features now limit that risk....and yes, I am talking about those inexperienced, in storm or gusty conditions or when getting big air.....not necessarily mowing the lake lawn in 12 knots But hey, it's the same argument for SUP-ing in waves....our expert SUP-er friend Chubbs from Gold Beach is still not right.....then he moved to Florida....case in point

Whatever your opinion is, fine, whatever. IMHO not wearing a helmet when you push yourself 30' above your board, reef or the beach or ripping at IV/Klover in 6 inches of water for exampe not too clever

and yeah

SmallWaveSteve wrote:I was wearing a lid, and the board hit just below it, but it could have just as easily been an inch higher and hit on the helmet, which would have equated to 1 less concussion and 4 less stitches. (After having had several concussions I don't want to risk any more either).

sure seems you always get hit somewhere else but I know it saved my life probably in Florence in 2009 after piling into my boom from probably 20'.....I had a severe concussion, puking etc. but I wasn't knocked out because the helmet took the majority of the hit....never without, cut down the odds

i find with the Gath surf hat, mine fits fine over my wetsuit hood if i just rotate it back slightly, so the forehead gasket sits just above the hood visor. it is snug but quite tolerable. the low profile of a gath lets you pierce the water at speed with less deceleration than a bigger helmet - though to be fair i have whiplashed myself quite nicely with both pro-tech and gath helmets. i'll pick a chance of whiplash over a potential knockout anytime.

KUS wrote: I know it saved my life probably in Florence in 2009 after piling into my boom from probably 20'.....I had a severe concussion, puking etc. but I wasn't knocked out because the helmet took the majority of the hit....never without, cut down the odds

Windsurfing sounds dangerous. Good idea with the helmet when you have all that stuff to fall on!

Vik wrote:Windsurfing sounds dangerous. Good idea with the helmet when you have all that stuff to fall on!

I'm not a helmet nazi, actually I generally dislike wearing them, including hard hats on construction sites but hey, I gotta and that's another story.
I recall, perhaps it was last winter, Gareth caught an edge at IV inside, 1' of water, the kite fell and then powered up. I chucked my gear and started running immediately as he was getting ragdolled several times, head first into the beach each time, neoprene hood.....he somehow punched out or otherwise stopped....I just kept running. I thought about how I could do C-spine, orchestrate an evac or even a basic lift in the break with loose sand and rocks ...and not have him drown before that...if he was even still alive. Pretty freaky.....he got up, had a bump n bruise is all. Gareth is a skilled kiter and overall waterman. He did pick up a Gath lateron, not sure if he ever wears it.
On another day last year I was at JR. Some guy I had never seen before was kiting. No helmet. Later he was walking around with a bloody head and his suit absolutely covered in it....The kite was nowhere to be seen. I didn't feel as charitable or concerned that day, he seemed ok if not a bit disoriented but he had some buddies there. Wondered what he fell on
I see skilled kiters ripping along the Clover reef all the time on a westerly. There are two large boulders and one smaller 2' rock that protrude above the rest of the reef on high tide and you cannot see them. I have sailed there many many days and can never figure out where they are. The concrete ramp and rip rap, the rest of the reef are right there, just below the powered kite.....wonder how that would go if you hit one of those rocks at full speed powered up or if a helmet might help a little on impact as you try to punch out of the kite with 20' to spare.....just sayin'

Your correct Kus, but, it's a No brainer if U know what I mean.