Hi guys. I've been lurking for a while, but have only just joined the forum. First my question and then about me.

I went deep into the forums, but didn't see a topic about this. I am all for safety first. It has served me well in work and sport. I need to know what is preferred in terms of a helmet and knee/elbow pads. Is a skateboard helmet ok, like a Bell? I don't need a helmet for water use. I'm going to be on my feet at first and then be on a mountain board, hopefully.

I bought a Ozone Pure 4m de-power and an Akoni Kama board set from a reputable shop for a great price. They look like they were used once and given up. I have a Snapshot 1.9 that I have about 40-50 hours flying on. I have healthy respect for the power kites can wield and know very well about flying within the window. I have been practicing with the Ozone for about 8-10 hours in moderate wind and am ready to move to the next step.

I am on the edge of western chicagoland and several open spaces I can fly and board on luckily, but I hope to be able to ride on some of the flowed farm fields. We have soy bean fields everywhere that are realtively smooth after tilling. I would like to fly all through the winter and early spring if the farmers don't have a problem with it.

Hey, welcome to the forum.

I don't wear knee/elbow pads, I've heard that 661 mountain bike ones are good, and if I were to get some, I would get those. (look for knee/shin pads in one.) Helmet wise, the majority landboarders wear pretty standard skate style helmets. Bern is popular brand for those kinds of helmets, so could give them a look.

I never used a helmet for static flying (flying the kite by its self) I wore a skate style lid for landboarding, and for a bit in the buggy. I now spend most of my time in the buggy, so have recently upgraded to an icaro full face, paragliding helmet. I really love it, and would reccomend paragliding helmets! They're light, very strong, comfortable, and have a really good field of vision, so you can see the kite, and where you're going at the same time. So you could look at them if you wanted.

I'm sure you'll get more advice from more expericed / knowledgeable people (there are a lot !) but thought i would let you know what i think

Tim

Not much to add to that actually!

I use Bern helmets and they are really good quality and really comfortable. Be aware that apart from lots of diferent designs and colours they make "Hard hats" as well as "helmets" A hard hat will offer some protection but does not have EPS foam in it and does not conform to the the same safety standard as a "safety helmet" designed for snowboarding, MTB etc.

I use a brock foam one for kite surfing and a EPS one for snow/land.

As a general point on choosing a helmet, make sure you get one with good protection over the back of your skull as this is where most of the impacts will be if you are land boarding.

I'm a fan of 661 armor and helmets. Saved my bacon once or twice.

Most skate lids are the same. Slight variations but almost all come out of the same taiwan or china factories with just different branding.

I find skate helmets get too hot and don't offer the true fit of a more advanced helmet. I ride with the 661 Recon or Fox FLux. They have custom fit systems and venting. Essentially the same helmet from either company just slightly different venting specs. Same pads same harness system.

I personally wear a helmet almost 100% of the time. Even static flying. Some of my closest calls have been while catching a nasty random gust static flying. I'm very much safety focused when I kite or ride my bike or whatever. It's not a big deal to wear protection and I hate long recovery times.

I like the Bell Bike helmets. They are light and cooler in the hot Georgia spring and summer. If you suffer an impact, Bell will replace the helmet for a nominal charge if you send the old one back for inspection with a story of what happened.

I look for ones with not just the ANSI certification, but Snell as well, since it meets a higher standard for safety.

Thanks for the advice. Getting safety gear ASAP to get most possible time on the board before ground starts to freeze up. I'm holding off on getting a snow board since snowfall the last few winters has been hit or miss. I hope to be able to board most of the winter.