Anybody recommend a good helmet adaptable to surfing? Anyone here use 'em anyway? Been thinking on these 2x overhead days would be good to get one, especially with the crowds. I am fond of keeping my brain instead my head.
Anybody recommend a good helmet adaptable to surfing? Anyone here use 'em > anyway? Been thinking on these 2x overhead days would be good to get one, > especially with the crowds. I am fond of keeping my brain instead my head. – Gath Helmets: (http://www.gathsports.com/index2.html)
yeah Alex, the gath is the ticket.when you buy one avoid the one with the visor-it is great if you are an albino at uluwatu but otherwise is kinda in the way.When my son started surfing,at the insistance of my wife we started wearing gaths-we used 'em for a while then kinda stopped. Now, we just were them in big,crowded conditions. I find them warmer than a squid lid and it also protects your ears from the wind but i felt kinda kooky wearing one(i’m kinda kooky anyway).Some of the better surfers wear gaths here in santa cruz.I hear rumor of other brands being marketed but yet to see one.
A carved pumpkin works well, but is only good for a wave or two before it falls apart. Plus, it’s non-polluting to the environment. Another option would be to wear a turbin like Osama Bin Laden. Other than that, Gath makes helmets. I have had a couple times I wish I had one (when kooks bail their boards). Just make sure that when you paddle out that you don’t interrupt someone’s wave. Paddle really wide, or take the whitewater on the head. Paddling up the shoulder of someone’s ride is uncool and, in my experience, causes most of the accidents. Some people are too lazy to duckdive or too impatient to wait out the set on the inside, so they paddle straight back out and get in everyone’s way. It happens more often than not.
This afternoon I was talking with a friend from Santa Cruz, CA who for years has had increasingly serious ear problems (infections, surgeries, etc., i.e. nothing seemed to work) related to surfing, greatly aggravated by bacteria-laden water, especially in the winter months. His final solution was 5 years ago: he purchased a (Gath helmet, minus visor) (http://www.gathsports.com/index2.html) and began using it in combination with Docs Pro Plugs. No more flush-outs and he can still hear o.k., plus an extra measure of safety while surfing. After getting out of the water, he lightly flushes his ears and nasal passages with apple cider vinegar (less harsh than isopropyl alcohol) via a plastic nose spray bottle. That was the last time hes ever had any more ear problems! Have a safe and happy New Year! Dale