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LOOKING GOOD - *** NEED YOUR INPUT! ***

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RickI
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LOOKING GOOD - *** NEED YOUR INPUT! ***

Postby RickI » Mon Jul 25, 2005 1:50 pm

"Helmets make you look stupid."

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Really ... HOW?




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Damien looking good.


*** FOR FULL SIZED IMAGES, CLICK HERE



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Forrest Gump once said, "stupid is as stupid does" (or doesn't do, life is about choices).
Looks never even came into it, just actions.
From: http://www.svam.org/Exhibits/Macworld/s ... /index.htm



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Minda styles as she's wired for sight and sound by Kiteflix



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This guy should certainly know about helmets. You can read his story Here



Lets checkout some more riders rigged with lids,

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Andrea shreds on


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Paul Menta


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Vari from a while back



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Andy Hurdman goes to it.


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Lightwave Dave and Flash




If you are looking for a kiteboarding helmet some things to keep in mind include:

1. It should fit well and be comforable.
2. It should be light and not retain water.
3. It should have low drag and an absence of projections that could cause neck injury or inflammation.

4. It should have the best padding available and not an excessively soft variety either.
5. It should remain well secured and have corrosion resistant fastenings.
6. It should have a resilent shell.
7. Some riders like ear protection to reduce the odds of an ear drum perforation.




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So, good close fit ...



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Low drag?
Wonder how it would feel entering head first at speed from a jump gone bad from 20 feet up? Do you want something that will hit the water and load up like bill or visor or something that will cause as little resistance to water as feasible while still providing impact protection against hard objects? Kiteboarders plow in from height not uncommonly at all.
Some guys wear these helmets backwards. Have you ever had a spinning wipeout against water? What was up and down can completely change in rapid succession. There is something to be said for low drag on impact with water for kiteboarding lids. The impact dynamics can be substantially different in other activities for which helmets have been designed such as kayaking.



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Do NOT wear helmets that are too large for you or poorly fastened. Too loose a helmet could cause injury just with impact against water.



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Excellent padding, shell but man look at all that drag. You don't want to hit water going hard or fast with one of these buckets on. Next, NOT FOR KITEBOARDING.
From: http://www.thebellstore.com/



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Good padding, light, well ventilated but more drag out the wazoo. Looks like a pain in the neck for kiteboarding. NOT FOR KITEBOARDING.
From: http://store1.yimg.com/



Another reason for not wearing lids is thinking "it won't happen to me." I hope you are right but I wouldn't bet a great deal on that conclusion. Life can be full of surprises. Some accounts follow, these guys had a lot of skill, experience and time kiteboarding. Sometimes skill just isn't enough even in light wind.

http://fksa.org/viewtopic.php?t=701
http://fksa.org/viewtopic.php?t=706
http://fksa.org/viewtopic.php?t=210
Lots more where these came from sad to say.


NOTE: If your neck is sensitive a helmet could contribute to inflammation/irritation. Of couse the regular slam in's to water could do this same thing even without a helmet in kiteboarding. If you have a sensitive or injured neck think carefully about kiteboarding in the first place and talk to your doctor.


Give some thought to wearing a good helmet, whenever you ride.


"The wiseman learns from others mistakes, the average man learns from his own mistakes, the village idiot never seems to learn."
- Howdoyouflythisthing



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C.J. is even wearing lids in bars these days. Looking good!


FKA, Inc.

transcribed by:
Rick Iossi
Last edited by RickI on Wed Jul 27, 2005 4:18 pm, edited 6 times in total.

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RickI
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Postby RickI » Mon Jul 25, 2005 2:55 pm

Some of the more common reasons for not wearing a lid that I have come across include:

From a fashion perspective -
It makes you look stupid.

From faith -
I won't get hurt without one.

It is all about personal choice just as lid use once was in hockey, american football, etc. still what other reasons do people have for blowing off brain buckets?

FKA, Inc.

transcribed by:
Rick Iossi

oceanplay
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Re: LOOKING GOOD

Postby oceanplay » Mon Jul 25, 2005 3:07 pm




Image
Low drag?
Wonder how it would feel entering head first at speed from a jump gone bad from 20 feet up? Do you want something that will hit the water and load up like bill or visor or something that will cause as little resistance to water as feasible while still providing impact protection against hard objects? Kiteboarders plow in from height not uncommonly at all.
Some guys wear these helmets backwards. Have you ever had a spinning wipeout against water? What was up and down can completely change in rapid succession. There is something to be said for low drag on impact with water for kiteboarding lids. The impact dynamics can be substantially different in other activities for which helmets have been designed such as kayaking.


I have been using it for way over a year and took many hard and fast spills from high to low at the speed of light :wink:

Never had any problem with drag, but you are right it could happen. Just as easy as some thing hitting you in the face or neck.

The thing is sweet very light and comfortable, helps keep the sun out of your eyes and is so comfy that you want to wear it.

That is what makes this a great helmet, no helmet will protect you from all the problems out there but you have a better chance if you wear it.

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Postby Toby » Mon Jul 25, 2005 3:26 pm

OP: that's a cool helmet! pls state more info!

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Postby Tone » Mon Jul 25, 2005 3:39 pm

that is the same lid i wear when on the water, its from a company called Sweet, its called the "strutter"

i have come in super fast from 20ft a few times and only had it get pulled back a littlebit.. normally i face down when hitting the water to stop it doing it.

its a great lid and i would rather have that on than not!

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Postby Tone » Mon Jul 25, 2005 3:41 pm

also i have seen someone come down really hard with a Gath on and the water rushed in the sides so hard it nearly choked the poor guy!

i tihnk the Pro Tec is one of the best helmets out there, but i like my sweet lid as it also stops the sun going in my eyes :)

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Postby oceanplay » Mon Jul 25, 2005 4:13 pm

phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2303375&highlight=sweet+helmet

Not sure how to do the linking of post but not that much to say but tested very well, used it for a long time now had it on in double over head surf kiting. Used it in nuking wind with kite size waaaay to big, crashed so hard at times with this on that I had to stop kiting for a time to get my head straight, let the pain stop and no problems.

Is it the best one out there NO as with kites there is NO best anything, some thing will come out better. But on the other hand it's super comfy, super light even wet, fits great, help keep the sun and water out of your eyes and looks good.

You will want to wear it that is what makes it great they don't do shit is the car.

People always ask cool helmet, that makes you want to wear it more, it will not keep you safe. You need to do that, but it will make you safer.

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RickI
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Postby RickI » Mon Jul 25, 2005 7:03 pm

Sweet makes heavily engineered helmets with high tech composite shell, multiple foams, an inventive attachment system, they make a quality product. I was even thinking of buying one of the Sweet Rooster helmets as it has lower profile/drag than some of the other models. Still, it is a bit pricey at 269 Euros ($325. USD) on the Sweet website. If it were purpose built and designed specifically for kiteboarding with a long track record of T & E in our sport, I would probably still buy it. I have bought more expensive lids for hang gliding (because it's worth it and they have evolved specifically for the demands of hang gliding/paragliding). In time I may still pick a Rooster up. http://www.sweet.no/

The Strutter shown in the photos above is a bit less expensive at 189 Euros (about $230. USD). Still, I have always tried to use helmets with as little drag as possible. The Protec Ace Wake lacks the degree of engineering sophistication of the Sweet helmets but it is fairly low drag and costs quite a bit less at around 50 Euros ($60. USD). When I slam into water hard from 20 to 30 ft+. up I potentially FEEL the impact all over and have particular concerns about my cervical (neck) area even with the Ace Wake. On the other hand, if I hit something hard other than water I would prefer to have the most sophisticated well padded engineered helmet that I could get my hands on. It is something to think about.

More importantly, seriously consider wearing a lid in the first place. Accidents happen, believe it or not, even to guys like us.

FKA, Inc.

transcribed by;
Rick Iossi
Last edited by RickI on Mon Jul 25, 2005 7:58 pm, edited 3 times in total.

oceanplay
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Postby oceanplay » Mon Jul 25, 2005 7:44 pm

Hay rick

You can get the strutter for around 170 usd$ I think at shops on line.
That's what I paid for it.

I had put up up post for the web site some time ago.

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Postby jakemoore » Tue Jul 26, 2005 2:06 am

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