There was a tragedy a few days ago, involving Natashya Richardson ( i thnk) . She was skiing on a bunny slope and fell and hit her head. Refused treatment And ended up DYING later on. I think this proves very well that we all need to wear our "BRAIN BUCKET" no matter what kind of terrain we're on. It's all to easy to bash your melon when flying "powerkites" I have a green mark on my helmet from an axle to the head in a OBE. I am a believer , I hope you are too. WG

Totally agree. I have had a mildish concussion after a good OBE that slammed me into a sand dune- that was soft sand with a helmet on! I have visual disruptions and a killer headache that lasted for several days. I can't imagine what would have happened without my "brain bucket" as you say.

Plus just think about it- your brain is worth a lot!

I have a Pro-Tec Ace Wake on order. I was searching message threads earlier this week and it seems like a good choice for water and land. I was also looking at a Gath Gedi.

Just like riding a motorcycle - it is not for if you have an accident, it is for when you have an accident. OBE is inevitable.

Wow - was that that movie star that wiped out in Quebec? It's so sad, I didn't know she didn't survive. Surely he has tons of support but my heart goes out to Liam and his family. Movie star or not - it's a shame. A sad, sad shame.

Brain buckets FOR SURE!

I had a routine physical yesterday and the doc commented that I had lost about 12 lbs since my last visit a few years ago. That led to a discussion about my new hobby in the buggy. One of his first questions was whether I wore a helmet or not. I told him every time, unless the wind was so low I was fighting to keep the kite in the sky. He said our brains are able to withstand an impact of about 15 mph. After that, things start to go wrong. That isn't how fast we go when we crash but how fast our head is moving when it hits an immovable object. I haven't hit my head on the ground yet with a kite, but I've been hit in the head by a back tire on the buggy. I was just riding along, minding my own business and it decided to dump me out the left side. Then the buggy flipped over and the right tire came down and whacked me hard in the back of the head. I was light headed for awhile after that. Glad I had the helmet on.

This Natasha Richardson tragedy hit home pretty hard for me. Like her, I'm 45 and I took a good header snowboarding with my family sans helmet about three weeks ago. Luckily, it had been snowing a lot so when I got spun around on a steep slope, caught an edge and snapped backwards downhill whiplashing the back of my head into the ground, it wasn't fatal. But it rang my bell BIG TIME! It took almost a week to recover...I was seriously worried I had done some damage.

In retrospect, not only should I have worn a helmet (which I usually do), I probably should have had myself checked. It's one thing to have an accident and check out immediately, but the slow lingering death...

Kinda gives the truly extreme sports like wingsuit base jumping a certain appeal. If you do blow it, you're probably not going to be too aware of the final outcome. On second thought, I'll stick to kiting with a helmet.

Bottom line: WEAR A HELMET!

Someone mentioned here adding a "neck nut" to their protection gear.

I added a "mullet" style helmet to my trunk. I wonder if these, or neck-wrapping motorcycle style helmets, will actually prevent whiplash and serious neck injuries?

great advice!on a secondary note, i dont bang my head on the bar as hard as i used to when doing max squats and deadlifts anymore....i guess its time to mellow out a little.....RATS!!!

+1 AD72.....Dress for the wreck not the ride.

It only takes one time!! I ALWAYS wear my helmet!

Was talking with a friend about getting into power kiting, she asked if i wore a helmet and I said every time. And then I commented that if her son was gonna give it shot, he wasnt going to touch a single one of my kites without a helmet on... There are some things you just cant play around with...

In junior high i used to laugh about the helmet thing. "aw mom, do i have to?"
Then I had an accident when I went over the handlebars and landed on my head. Helmet probably saved my life.. Never joked about it again...

Well lets see...

1986 250R three wheeler ATV, snapped an axle around 70 mph catapulted 50+ feet landing head first. Full face helmet saved me, 3 days 3 nights in the hospital with a serious concussion and a broken collar bone.

1990 750 GSXR vs S-10 pickup that wanted the lane better than what I did won that hands down. Full face helmet and leathers saved me, not without toll though. Broken femur, radius and ulna +2 months in the hospital I'm still here to talk about it.

Bottom line is safety gear, sure living on the edge is cool and all but I would rather be here tomorrow still talking about it.

Quote:

Originally posted by WELDNGOD I have a green mark on my helmet from an axle to the head in a OBE. I am a believer , I hope you are too. WG

You need to replace that helmet now. They are only good for one hit. After that one hit, not much point in wearing it as the protection factor is no longer known. (Helmets protect you by reducing the amount of energy transmitted to your skull. The helmet absorbs the energy by the creation of fractures in the helmet material.)
If there is visible damage, you certainly need to replace it.
Your helmet has a working life of only a few years. Exposure to sunlight, sweat, and minor knocks all work to reduce the the fracture energy of helmet materials.
S

Good point, Scud
it is no longer in use. I got a full face motorcycle helmet I use for buggyin' now. You are very right, any helmet or hard hat that is subjected to a blow,is supposed to be replaced ASAP.

copied from the flexiforum
("I won't wear a helmet, it makes me look stupid" "I don't like wearing a helmet, it ruins my hair" I never wear a helmet, they don't look cool")

I like Bell helmets because they will replace a helmet after an accident for a nominal charge. You just have to send in the one that got whacked with an explanation of what happened so that they can use it for R&D.

I wear helmet at all times for kite buggy sport plus snow skiing as my second hobby in the winter season. Never know the mishaps... Pro Tec helmet is my favorite as light/comfy/full head cover and use paragliding / hang glider full face helmet for going faster or in race. Hang glider helmets have more wide open view around the face to see the whole blue skies (of course - where's kite at while riding) and lighter than motorcycle helmets.

I too ALWAYS wear a helmet! I have very rarely not worn it in light wind days but as it was pointed out to me that that sets a bad example for kids in my area. Since I have always worn one full face at that no matter what the wind is doing.

Has anyone been using a sausage? A little roll around your neck that prevents massive movement of the helmet in an accident. Every OBE I have had I ended up on my head with the buggy on top of me. I have thought about one I figure it would be truly sad to be saved from major brain thing but end up with a broken neck.

I fly w/ handles and unharnessed mostly. When I OBE ,I'm usually supermanned and then the buggy lands on top of me!:wee: