I bought a white Gath years ago and it’s never been a joy to use so I added some paint and a mount for a GoPro. I’m not keen on using a selfie stick or a board mount for a camera.
I never got one but I thought about it seriously when a friend hit his head surfing and died of a brain aneurism the next day. Is it comfortable while surfing?
They come in various sizes with molded foam inserts. Really comfortable, light as, easy unclip and the ones without visors are cheap, 2nd hand-$50. The new ones have different ear holes for more sound to get in but I drilled out a few holes already on this old version.
I always take it Foiling or if I’m going out on the reef. Saved me from getting belted by my own board a few times so definately worth the $50 many times over. Protection from the sun too.
Not a lot of art available but that makes them perfect for customising.
I used to wear a wide brimmed surf hat but I lost too many of them.
I’m guessing Ambrose would have something stylish to wear in the surf ?
Just the other day the wind was freezing and I forgot my hood. I did have a wool knit hat that I crocheted and so I paddled out wearing that. My ears and head stayed warm the entire time, even after a duckdive or two.
I’ve been wearing a Patagonia bucket style surf hat for several years and never lost it once. Amazed at how long it’s lasted.
When the weather/water gets cold I wear a wool skull cap under it. Wool, warm when wet.
Brett,
I can see the value of head protection.
But it always seemed to me that the helmet’s foam filler would make your head feel weird during a duck dive.
Who knew wool was warm when wet ?.
The foam is in thin slices and just sits right on my melon. Everything takes a bit of time to adjust but they’ve done a good job of designing the Gaths.
I wear a hat to keep the UV light from directly hitting my eyes. I have a bad pterygium in my right eye and I want to try to avoid operating on it as long as possible. My go to was the FCS Bucket, but recently during a small swell my hat was ripped off my head and the straps tore off. I think the jerk to my head also had an impact on my spine because I had pain in my upper back that was definitely nerve pain. Pain is going away, but for several days it was intense when I moved a certain way. So far I’ve lost one of the bucket hats from a bad wipeout, and now one doesn’t have the straps to keep it secured to my head. I’ve found the visor on baseball type hats are too long for me to see when I paddle.
I also wear a hooded rash/sun guard. It has 50 SPF protection and a visor to help block the sun from my eyes.
Sharkcountry, I think the bucket hat is standard for anyone over 40 or who has had skin cancer problems. The hats are great but like you say they can get ripped off your head.
I read a SJ story about an Aussie guy living in Bali who never wore sunscreen years ago but now looks like a beetroot and can’t surf at all due to his lack of sun care.
Bummer.
Just hit 60, and I’ve been surfing for over 50 years. There was a time when I loved the sun and tan, and my skin shows it. I don’t use sunsreen, I haven’t found one that stayed on, or didn’t get in my eyes and hurt. Been using long sleeve rash guards for a while, but my eyes don’t get protection. I’ve tried sunglasses, swim goggles, diving goggles, etc. Some work well for a while, but all have a tendency to eventually become a vision problem for me, or they get broken/ripped off my face. The helmet with a visor would probably work best, but I’m not ready for the helmet yet. I have friends who use the Gath because of past accidents. The photos of me were taken from a GoPro mounted on a Gath helmet.
I figure during the next decade of my life will be when cancer will show up if it’s going to attack me.
The intensity of the sun is much stronger than ever. Even with the rash guards and the SPF protection they give, I can feel all the radiation I’ve absorbed after 3-4 hours of midday surfing.
You’ve tried all the techniques to protect your eyes, probably not helped by living in a sunny paradise where it’s all outdoor sports.
For skin cancers there’s now several topical creams that you rub on your face or anywhere else and it’s a chemo drug that attacks the fast reproducing cancer cells before they turn into Cancers that could kill or need to be surgically removed
I tried it for 3 weeks and you get lots of spots where it’s attacking the cells but afterwards my skin is great, clear of so many sunspots , even broken capillaries gone and I’ve now got the soft and clear face of an office worker rather than looking like dessicated human seaweed as I usually do.
Now I want to care for my skin and always cover up.
Here’s the product I got from the Dr. It really works.
It’s funny… my wife and a co-worker used to tell me how bad my skin was. My co-worker would put some of her lotions on me every now and then, but they were mostly made for women. My wife has bought several moisturizing lotions that I use occassionally. I’ve been taking somethig called BioAstin, which has Astaxanthin. The guy that created the version locally produced here in Hawaii from Algae is a surfer and we talked about it for years before they finally got FDA approval. Supposed to be beneficial to the skin, is an antioxidant, and does a few other things. I also try to see a dermatologist annually to make sure I catch possible outbreaks of skin cancer early. So far, I’ve been OK.
Funny how something that brings so much pleasure has so many ways to kill you.
Just like marriage.
REgarding I protection I like the following sunglasses:
https://triggernaut.com/products/transmission?variant=35800184332
I got them with real lenses (-3.25 dioptrien). The advantage of those glasses is, that the ear holder are excangeable, you can clip on a head belt or the holders, as you like. The belt in combination with a bucket hat works great. As you can see in the pictures there is a clip-on cushioned inside foamy frame too, which should be used if inside the water. At the beach you just war them as normal glasses
But… they have a problem if the water is cold, even with some antifog, it does get cloudy. I used them in the tropics, no problem at all, but if the water is below 20° C and the the air is much higher, i have to use contacts.
Facinating! The same stuff can be used for colon cancer and other cancers.
That tube according to google costs $834USD though?
$834 a tube ???
Wow, here in Australia it was only $50 for the prescription and I got 2 tubes.
All scripts for a lot of people here in only $6.20 and the government coffers pays for the rest.
There must be some way to get it cheaper, it’s an amazing product.
Lotta good points here. I’ve spent a lifetime in outdoor activities. Since I started surfing again 9 years ago, I’m strictly a dawn patrol guy. If I haven’t gotten my waves by 7 or 8 thirty, then I’m not gonna get 'em. Don’t want to expose myself to midday UV if I can help it. Always try to wear a hat in outdoor activities.
I have taken older prescription sunglasses and added straps to keep them on my head. I’ve lost 2 pair after bad wipeouts. On my third pair now. They give me very good vision in the water, but after a while the water drops will be annoying. I take a small ziplock bag with a tiny amount of dawn dishwashing solution to wash off my glasses every now and then. It’s OK if the waves aren’t intense. I also have used regular swimming and diving goggles, and had pretty good luck with the larger swimming goggles. But, again the turbulence takes it’s toll on the goggles, and I’ve lost the lens from one set. I have 2 new goggles that I’m planning to use, one is for diving and large, the other is about the size of the Barz surf goggles. I like goggles that keep water out, but they tend to get foggy. I just don’t want to spend the money Barz cost, then lose them, or find they get fogged up.
I wish I could find the silver bullet, but I don’t think I will.
As far as limiting my surf time to the early or late sessions… I really don’t like the crowds that show up for dawn patrol or the after school/after work surfers. The mid day surfers are mellower, and sometimes I can be all by myself off to the side enjoying whatever comes my way. I really don’t like hassling for waves anymore, but the cost for that is maximum sun exposure, and often less than optimum conditions.
The US medical system is so F’d up, and our Congress is trying to make it even worse. The fight to get a medical system that is comprable to what many other countries have is not looking good.
In the US medical care is not about taking care of people by curing them, but masking problems with expensive drugs that you’ll need to take for the rest of your life. No money in curing problems, but a lot of money if people have to keep seeing you and buy prescription drugs to stay alive, or out of pain.
90% of the time gath helmets are actually detremental. The added surface area to your noggin turns what could have been a wave fountain your head is going through into a guillotine for your neck. A local shop use to and still may provide these helmets for cost. The big wave crew used them for a session or two until their neck almost got ripped out of their socket. Not natural at all but could arguably be useful in certain breaks and situations. Most situations totally unessesary and arguably more dangerous as noted by the non existant use in large surf.
