Collecting full-face helmet references... shopping for myself, after my foilboard recently chased me down and ran me over, leading to an ER visit. It could have easily knocked out teeth.
RickI wrote: ↑Fri Aug 04, 2006 12:57 pm
zgur wrote:Does any manufacturer make a helmet with a face mask to protect the face? Back in windsurfing days, there were a few helmets with hockey like face guards to protect from the boom.....wondering if anyone knows of any water helmets with a face protection.
Yes, there have been some put together for the kayak market. I would look over the following article first and think about possible kiting variations and cervical involvment. I have no real experience or familiarity with face guards in kiting applications. Still frontal impacts and facial damage do occur in kiting impacts.
A few kayak models include:
Predator:
Alpine race helmets with chin guards seem appealing for closing the chin without adding much water drag, but I'm still concerned with the huge exposed area leaving opportunity for the board to strike my mouth.
You could add such a chin guard to just about any open-face helmet, a cheap and practical option... but perhaps with limited benefit.
A baseball face guard would offer better coverage, as an add-on to a water helmet. Could get heavy pretty fast though... would need to choose carefully.
Cricket face guards seem like the best option I've seen so far, regarding add-on face coverage. Titanium available for weight savings also.
So then the task is to pick a good open-face helmet:
$20 ebay helmet
Da Yoda wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2017 9:05 pm
unclebill wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2017 5:25 pm
They say its CE certified conforms to EN1385 2005. This helmet looks identical to NP helmet which also claims the same certification and as pointed out, EVA lining
It's the same helmet as NP's! The dead giveaways are the vent pattern, the unique pattern on the ear covers including the hearing holes, and the "twist tightening system"/"ratchet wheel".
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Water-Sports-Sa ... 3074300716
http://www.npsurf.com/products/protecti ... l#color=C1
I know of many brands that source from the same suppliers. NP is also a Pryde Group brand which is HQ'ed in HK, China, so they may have relations with the same factory.
Gath Surf Convertible
OzBungy wrote: ↑Sat Jul 16, 2016 7:03 am
Just thought I would give an update on this. Using the "least worst" NP Surf helmet I was still getting neck pain from crashes, and deafening wind noise on strong wind days. It has found it's way to the back of the cupboard.
I am now wearing a Gath Surf Convertible with a neoprene hood underneath. The bucket effect is minor compared to other helmets.
The provided ear covers really amplify the wind noise. I got around that by removing them. It's winter here and I have some surfers ear to deal with. A neoprene hood worn under the helmet protects my ears and reduces wind noise considerably. It's also a fair bit warmer.
So now, the Gath Surf Convertible is the "least, least worst" helmet. I am pretty satisfied with it. I look like a dick, but removing the helmet won't improve that much.
I know the Gath is not certified in any way, but the certified helmets are all grossly not suited for kiteboarding, and greatly amplify the more likely sources of injury.
Sweet:
The "Strutter" (open-face) has a huge visor, no bueno.
The "Rocker" model looks reasonable if the visor is removed:
joriws wrote: ↑Wed Nov 08, 2017 12:26 pm
Sweet protection helmets are nice looking, established brand and well protecting their users.
For example Strutter is baseball-cap like helmet with small volume (bucket effect) with carbon fiber shell.
https://sweetprotection.com/sp_eu/catal ... egory/157/
- web page lists only current models but from shops you can probably find older colorization themes if those suit better.
Unfortunately I can not fully recommend
buying blind, for example sweet helmets (strutter and rocker) does not suit for my head, too narrow from side. But all my friends have Sweets for white water kayaking and kiting. One uses Rocker also for winder sports (kiting and alpine).
jyka wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2018 9:35 pm
I'm looking for a full face helmet to hydrofoiling.
An ice hockey helmet with a steel cage would protect face well, but is it interfering visibility too much? A plastic visor wouldn't protect face area so well..
^ Did you end up trying a full-face?