I have come clean about my bad habit of not using killers. I did this weekend
I NEVER go out without a helmet. I see folks like these all the time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4bz1iOqnnw
Why on earth would a person use kite killers and not a helmet. Please don't try and tell me these kids are worried about folks around them any more than they are about themselves.

You folks that don't use helmets please explain to me why on earth you don't + do you use killers ?

Nick, Barnes, I'm intersested in what you think from well......
a younger perspective !

Funny thing is I grew up never using a helmet now I can't imagine feeling safe without

Is it just me or were those guys just plain crappy jumpers. I mean it was almost like watching "Jackass" on MTV. I agree with the helmets- Buggies- a positive yes- Static well- if you can at least try to jump so you do not land on your head it would help! I do not wear a helmet when I fly static and I do jump a good deal. I also do use killers to prevent injury to others. I also do not want to let go of my kite and have it sail into the next time zone!

So- the killers are used to protect others and protect my investment. I fly on the beach on soft sand and have never taken a digger even close to those guys in the video. I feel I can control my jumps and actions enough that I do not need a helmet. When I buggy though it is a must!

great post.

I normally dont wear a helmet or ever used kite killers ... having said that.

I do use a helmet on the playa or at sunset beach. however i find myself this season that i'm wearing my helmet a lot more, even if i'm just going turtle speed. only reason i could think why, is because i just got a new full face helmet.

i could be getting older / responsible or because i'm a dad now.

I think the safety gear shows others that these are not toys. I'm not sure if you all have seen the movie "Benny & Joon" - it's from years ago. Anyway, there was this chick who had some mental illness that made her uber-paranoid whenever she left the house and the only way she would do so is with a helmet, scuba mask and snorkel and something else. I plan on adding snorkel gear to my kit bag once I hit the water ; )

Seriously though - the gear does illustrate the seriousness of the sport to others and no, you'll never look like Joon - even if you think you look silly. Safety first. I ride a bike and even when I find myself riding in the states that don't have helmet laws - I wear one. I'd rather sweat myself to death in full leathers and survive than be dead with a tan.

Looks like that was about 3 cents worth.

If I'm jumping on hard ground with much wind at all, I have started wearing a helmet. I've got knee and elbow pads if I feel like I'm going to get some air. I usually don't have enough wind to worry about the helmet and pads though. Lots of times I'm trying to fly with 4mph winds. Lucky to keep the kite in the air with a good tug every once in awhile.

I think it really depends on the conditions, location, etc. So far I've basically only flown static and never worn a helmet. However I was out last Saturday with some very gusty inland winds. I didn't have a meter on me, but my guess was 15-20 MPH with gusts up to the low to mid 30's or so. I was flying the little Profoil 1.5 and it wasn't really pulling too hard so I launched my Beamer 3m. It was giving me some nice little scuds through the snow. I started working it through the zone a bit more for some more pull and a few minutes later as I pulled the kite up through the zone a gust that must have been 30+ mph hit the kite and shot me off my feet. I let go of the handles (my killers were securely fastened) but I held on long enough to get launched upwards and somehow ended up landing on my back. It all happened so quickly that I'm unsure how high or far I went or really how I got yanked on my back (I think I let go of one handle before the other and got spun). The back of my head cracked off the ground and I'm pretty sure that I had a mild concussion as a result. I was pretty dazed and felt sick to my stomach for about 6 hours after that :barf:.

I was lucky because I was wearing a wool hat that went all the way down to my neck and because the ground was covered in a few inches of slushy snow so I didn't hit the frozen ground. With a helmet on I'm sure I would have jumped up and said "holy s%*t" and gone on flying with a bit more caution (and probably the smaller Profoil). Instead I had to pack up and go home and sit on my couch all afternoon while the wind blew.

I was not out there trying to jump. I was flying a small, non-lifty kite. But the wind was unpredictable and nearly cost me a trip to the hospital. Also, I was flying on a nice athletic field that belongs to a local private school about a mile from home. I've never been questioned about my flying by school personnel, but I bet they wouldn't have allowed me to fly there again if I had left in an ambulance.

So, will I be wearing a helmet out on the beach this summer when flying in nice gentle winds? Maybe not. But the next time I put a kite in the air in strong or gusty winds, or actually *try* to do some jumping I will be wearing a helmet. I should also note that part of the reason I got as much air as I did was my rookie mistake of working the kite up through the zone rather than down which likely would have put me on my face, but without so much gravity involved.

Also, this is the first time that my kite killers were deployed besides to test them and I'm sure glad I had them. There was no one around who could have been hit by the kite but there is a pretty good chance that it my kite would still be up in a tree without them. I don't use them every single time, but always when people (or roads, or powerlines) are around and I was wise enough to put them on because of the gusty winds this day.

So I don't have really have a point, just sharing my learning experience. Just remember that the most important thing is to go home in one piece so you can fly another day.

In a buggy in any wind, I always a helmet, as much to protect as to show an example. If on the land board or snow board, same thing. Static, only when it is gusty or I have a rather large kite up for conditions. As KiteNH said, things happen fast and it is a stupid way to die.

For me it's a bit like a seatbelt. I have a nice comfy one. It's always on the top of my bag and I put it on without thinking now.
The one day I left it at home last year I was unreasonably scared the whole time out.
Very often I'm riding in a stunt kiting park and feel it's extra important that I conduct myself in a safe manor or lose it for the rest of us.