No helmets at Sherman?!?

[elli]

I got a minor concussion doing a face plant on a wakeboard, without a helmet (caught the tow side edge). So I wear a helmet since. I face planted hard many times with a kite and never felt anything, probably due to the helmet taking the hit in the forehead.

A buddy of mine is experienced kiter, slipped walking on the beach and started to get dragged. Luckily did not hit anything. Can happen to anyone.

Doesn’t look cool? Who gives a ... No one is watching you when you kiteboard anyway. Pants over a wetsuit look funny enough that whether you wear a helmet or not is insignificant :)

[serge]

I only wear my helmet when there's a possibility of hitting my head on something ...

one of the guys that recently hit the roof at the launch at Sherman did have a helmet , you can see the indent on the metal sheet, saved his life .

you do not decide when an accident will happen and I'll take a whiplash over a fractured skull anytime.

BTW: I almost always ride a strapless surfboard and I get it in the back of the head all the times.

Tip: when crashing , look away from the potential direction of the board coming at you. Then you'll get it on the back of your helmet.

plus I personally think that boardshorts looks completely ridiculous , but a lot of people wear them , for safety ;-)))

Yeah it's a personal choice.

[baypirate]

helmets are probably not cool, but I don't wear boardshorts either (at least not when combined w/ a wetsuit) so I guess cool-wise I'm beyond hope.

Got a Gath Surf Convertible (http://www.gathsports.com/productsingle.php?id=5) recently, super light and super low profile (think wearing a sock over your head), don't really buy it that at <300g and 1/4in it would add any extra momentum when hitting the water. May feel too tight a fit for some though, and at $119 it's expensive. That said, some helmets are pretty crappy, including poor fit.

And, yeah, too bad nobody came up w/ a slick mandibular protection for water sports (early on I even bit the bar once...). In rally racing everybody wore open face helmets (as opposed to the full face, motorcycle style ones) - hot enough as it is inside the car. Until one of the greats died when hitting face first the steering wheel. Soon enough everybody wore full face helmet and a year later a neat design emerged, protecting the mouth while keeping most of face open.

As for getting too hot, I was getting a bit cold yesterday under the fog at Crissy, curiosity got the better of me and I pushed the temperature button on my watch. 49 degrees (in the air).

[a3rd a3rd a3rd]

Companies hopefully will continue to innovate in this area.

If they made them cooler looking more people would use them. And if they were less invasive (like the early, early skateboarding helmets - the kind that had the padded ribs over your head - but there is probably a reason those aren't around anymore.)

It seems the main reasons people don't wear them is comfort, hassle and coolness. All things that could be minimized with innovation.