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Best windsurf helmet with visor and ear protection

 
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combs



Joined: 01 Apr 1997
Posts: 129

PostPosted: Tue Mar 13, 2018 3:05 pm    Post subject: Best windsurf helmet with visor and ear protection Reply with quote

I realize there is another post on Gath helmets, but wanted to open up the discussion a little.

I am interested in a helmet with visor for sun protection and ear protection.

I have narrowed it down to the gath gedi helmet:

https://www.murrays.com/product/52-15/

Or the sweet protection rocker half cut:

https://coloradokayak.com/products/sweet-protection-rocker-half-cut-kayak-helmet-closeout

Does anyone have any feedback on either of these particular models?

Are there any other options out there with sun visors and ear flaps??

Thanks!!
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U2U2U2



Joined: 06 Jul 2001
Posts: 5467
Location: Shipsterns Bluff, Tasmania. Colorado

PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 8:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I cant help you with those 2. I feel for our activity that they are overkill , in protection. They remind me more of a motorcycle helmet, more substantial for a harder impact. If you were sailing at very high speeds YMMV. I dont like the visor sticking out , it could be effected by wind.

The swing weight might be factor as well, potential to cause neck injuries.

I wear a helmet , 95% , except when very light wind on a windsup.

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nw30



Joined: 21 Dec 2008
Posts: 6485
Location: The eye of the universe, Cen. Cal. coast

PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 11:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Been wearing the Gedi w/ ear protection (helps keep the ear plugs in), and the visor (more of a bill) for a few years now, best one yet for me, my third helmet. In the Fall when we sail straight into the sun, I wear goggles under the visor. It comes with vent plugs which I use, makes for a warmer and a more quiet session.
I got used to w'surfing under the quiet of a helmet and ear plugs about 20 years ago when I started plugging my ears to arrest my surfer's ear.
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mamero



Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Posts: 380
Location: Vancouver, Canada

PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 12:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I currently have a Protec Ace from 2-3 years ago. These ones had a more noticeable lip. I find even the visor(lip) on it too much at times. I believe the newer Protec helmets have a less pronounced visor. The visors on the helmets you mentioned would extend way too much for me. They are huge! They would catch a lot of wind and water when you crash. I find the Protec is sometimes hard on the neck on a stronger crash. It would be nice if the helmet companies could design a soft neoprene visor that could be zipped or snapped on the a helmet for sun protection and shading the eyes.

I'm the OP for the other thread and am considering the Gath RV as an upgrade to the Protec Ace. There is no lip but it does have an adjustable face visor which is very useful for sun and eye protection. When people think of helmets they usually are concerned of protecting their head from impacts. However that is just one part of it, if you like to sail a lot you should also be doing what you can to minimize sun exposure as well as protecting your eyes. It can be bright on the water especially with the UV bouncing off the surface. I love windsurfing but not at the expense of skin damage or cataracts, let alone a bruised noggin. Even if I'm not wearing a helmet I always wear a sailing hat and sunglasses.
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U2U2U2



Joined: 06 Jul 2001
Posts: 5467
Location: Shipsterns Bluff, Tasmania. Colorado

PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 6:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

mamero wrote:
I currently have a Protec Ace from 2-3 years ago. These ones had a more noticeable lip. I find even the visor(lip) on it too much at times. I believe the newer Protec helmets have a less pronounced visor. The visors on the helmets you mentioned would extend way too much for me. They are huge! They would catch a lot of wind and water when you crash. I find the Protec is sometimes hard on the neck on a stronger crash. It would be nice if the helmet companies could design a soft neoprene visor that could be zipped or snapped on the a helmet for sun protection and shading the eyes.

I'm the OP for the other thread and am considering the Gath RV as an upgrade to the Protec Ace. There is no lip but it does have an adjustable face visor which is very useful for sun and eye protection. When people think of helmets they usually are concerned of protecting their head from impacts. However that is just one part of it, if you like to sail a lot you should also be doing what you can to minimize sun exposure as well as protecting your eyes. It can be bright on the water especially with the UV bouncing off the surface. I love windsurfing but not at the expense of skin damage or cataracts, let alone a bruised noggin. Even if I'm not wearing a helmet I always wear a sailing hat and sunglasses.


The PROTEC ACE, AFAIK has no peak/lip/bill. The PROTEC TWO FACE does.

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techno900



Joined: 28 Mar 2001
Posts: 4161

PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 7:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wear a protech ace, no ear covering and no visor, but I wear a baseball cap under the helmet for the visor (take the button off the top of the cap), prescription sun glasses too. The glasses have never come off, but I rarely have big crashes and I don't go in the surf. At least 15+ years with the same helmet.
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U2U2U2



Joined: 06 Jul 2001
Posts: 5467
Location: Shipsterns Bluff, Tasmania. Colorado

PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 10:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The ACE , WAKE version has some ear flaps.

FWIW, the motorcycle industry advise to replace the helmet in event of impact.

Having a helmet like the ProTec or Triple 8, very similar ,both on the low end of cost protection, I replace more often , the sun probably has some effect on durability if nothing else.

Generally i get a new one every 2 years .

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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 4:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just one of scores of posts surfaced by searching the forum with keywords helmet or helmut:

I quickly forget the softball/baseball/Protec bars in my field of view, relying on my subconscious to move a bar out of my way if I ever need to see a very small object. IOW, I fuhgheddaboutit very quickly. Even if it bothered me, it beats the hell out of the broken teeth, noses, and lips I've seen, the crushed orbits and eyeballs I'm certain mine averted, and the MANY facial dings I've averted over the years.

I've not tried the hockey screen pictured. It would interfere with facial access for munchies, eyeglasses, sunglasses, "nasal maintenance" Smile , picking bugs out of our teeth, fiddling with a hood, etc.

But while cages are important only when hit in the face, I love the batter's helmet visor every moment I'm on the water. Without a visor, squinting gets OLD, direct sunlight on crud on glasses or shades interferes more with vision than the cage bars do, driving rain and hail are just noise when wearing the visor, it blocks the low sun in mornings and evenings, and it adds very significant protection against skin cancer and cataracts, both of which are likely to become rampant as barefaced WSers age.

The downside: insecure people may worry because the visor and cage look dorky.

In >30 years of sailing with helmets, I have yet to have the snap-on chin straps come unsnapped, even the couple of times the helmet has gotten ripped off my head in full-speed, feet-first, skipping dismounts.


Just one of countless models and colors is



I cover the ear holes with UPS tape for eardrum protection, and use the softball face mask for minimal view interruption.
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U2U2U2



Joined: 06 Jul 2001
Posts: 5467
Location: Shipsterns Bluff, Tasmania. Colorado

PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 6:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Reflections on a theme. ISO

Civilized until your compelled to write:

THE downside: insecure people may worry because the visor and cage look dorky.

Hope you are well get to sail this year.

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