Surfing Waves

Is there a helmet one can wear that might reduce the risks of a head blow? The reason I ask is - I'm moving back to the beach so I can surf again and... I was in a car accident where I got a concussion, and I talked really slow for months. I was also really stupid for a couple months. Its been a painful recovery, and I still slow down mid-sentence sometimes and my speech changed a little.

Which is to say that I'm somewhat afraid of bonking my head on the longboard - which has happened a few times. Doc said if I get another concussion I could be looking at permanent damage worse than I got now. I don't want to be stupid.

Is there some kind of streamlined soft helmet I can wear? I do what I can to protect my head - but xxxxx happens. I know this is a funny question, but I'm serious.

Im not sure if any sort of water cap would be able to give you alot of protection. But look outside of Surfing when your looking for a helmet.

howzit bru - to give you a bit of help - there's a helmut called a gath - big with goatboaters, whirlybirds and matts that charge reef breaks - I'd CERTAINLY suggest you use one - that injury sounds very serious

I had a similar vibe surfing last year - hit the side of my head so hard on an underwater rock that my right ear was severed off and my eardrum burst - also massive concussion - typically we were surfing a secret spot up the south african west coast - no mobile signal, no cars, no roads, no people - just us ... and a 45 walk back to the car - which ended up being a 3 and a half our stumble/crawl

also had the slurred speech issue - took about 3 weeks tho - I dont think my injury was a bad as yours - long and short - look after your pip dude - get a gath!


link to a gath: http://www.bossbi.com/boards/gath/gath.php

themathteacher wrote:

Neat helmet! Is that for real or photoshop?

You can get a kayak helmet. They wear them when white water river rafting in kayaks. Should work in the surf without coming off. I was thinking about using one if I go to reef breaks.

sorry to hear about your injury. Ive seen some posts on msw about a woman who got hit on the head by a board and was realy really hurt - think she now wears a gath helmet as already mentioned. Try one of those - think that what Kitesurfer has for kitesurfing, I wore it at the weekend for a kitesurfing lesson from him and didnt really notice it on my head after a bit - not too obstructive at all.

the gath helmet is the one to go for even though theyre pricey. kayayking helmets tend to be a bit too bulky for surfing.

i cracked my head open not so long ogo fin went across my head( nice scar there now) i don't waer one but would say go for the gath too.

Some kayak helmets are not too bulky for surfing. In fact, Gath is one brand used for kayaking! If you are broke, you can use your bicycle helmet. It will work too.

I saw a guy wearing a helmet last Thu at LM... it's sth like a motorcycle type with open face. just to let u know that u r not alone...

If you get one, better put that thick skin on when the whole line up is staring at you. It's not uncommon to see gath helmets on surfers up in pipe or even down in town. Most of the people I've seen wearing them were asian if that means anything to anyone .

raekwon chef wrote:If you get one, better put that thick skin on when the whole line up is staring at you. It's not uncommon to see gath helmets on surfers up in pipe or even down in town. Most of the people I've seen wearing them were asian if that means anything to anyone .

that's very encouraging for fellow surfers with medical history.... n i wouldn't say most hawaiians r racist just 'cause u r from oahu...

travel wrote:
that's very encouraging for fellow surfers with medical history....

The truth hurts sometimes buddy. When people wear or do something out of the ordinary, the latter have this uncanny urge to stare.

travel wrote:
n i wouldn't say most hawaiians r racist just 'cause u r from oahu...

One half satire.

Here in San Diego there is a guy in the lineup that wears one even in 2ft chop. I dont' make fun of him, but he does kind of stick out.

bern makes good wakeboarding helmets, so does capix, they would probably do the trick, plus they are stylish haha

check out sweet protections line of ww kayaking and snow boarding helmets. especially their strutter model (a playboating helmet) it's damn light and pretty slim line.

I'm doing a study about helmets used by surfers for the university of technology in holland
is there anyone with any experience using a helmet?
don't they float too much or absorbe too much water so its getting too heavy?
are there any discomforts?

I always use a Gath helmet regardless of the size of the surf, and have been doing so for the past 13 years The lid has saved me on several occasions.

Gath helmets are excellent to wear and I have no issues with them at all.


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RoyStewart wrote:I always use a Gath helmet regardless of the size of the surf, and have been doing so for the past 13 years The lid has saved me on several occasions.

Gath helmets are excellent to wear and I have no issues with them at all.


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Aye Roy - but you are kind of special riding huge wooden logs!

Anyways....wear a helmet if you need or want to - who cares what folk think. I reckon in time more and more surfers wil be wearing them.