Northwest Kiteboarding
Forum | Classifieds | Lost & Found | CGKA | Industry | Sensors | Forecast | Spots | Seattle | Decals | RSS | Facebook

Events | Photos | Search | Register | Profile | Log in to check your messages | Log in 

Protect your head! (I learned the hard way)
Page Previous  1, 2
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Northwest Kiteboarding -> Gorge / Portland / Oregon Coast
previous topic :: next topic  
Author Message
genek

Since 21 Jul 2006
2165 Posts
East Po
KGB



PostMon Sep 11, 06 10:06 pm     Reply with quote

Real sorry to hear about your injury Steve. Glad that you caught it in time, and hope that everything'll be back in top shape in 3 months. I had a nasty wipe out a couple years ago where the board hit me super hard on the head, luckily I was wearing a plastic/foam old Pro-tech helmet which may have saved my life, but still left me with 4 stitches. Since then I've upgraded to a kevlar reinforced kayaking helmet, which certainly feels safer, but I haven't tested it out on hard objects (thankfully). I've hit the water real hard with it on messed up kiteloops, etc. and have come out of it fine. If you're interested check out some blemished Grateful Heads helmets on their website at www.gratefulheads.com. You can get them for half price and I couldn't even find the blemish on mine. I figured if it's good enough for the rocks those kayakers have to deal with it's good enough for me.

Also, I was wondering what people thought about wearing helmets when you hit the water, wave, etc. I think that in general wearing a helmet's safer, unless you're sort of diving into the water/wave, in which case you might be better off without a helmet. I've heard people say this, but wasn't sure how easily you could "dive in" while kiteboarding. Maybe into a wave? Anyone have experience where you felt that not wearing a helmet helped?

View user's profile Send private message
stringy

Since 23 Jun 2006
1724 Posts
vancouver
XTreme Poster



PostMon Sep 11, 06 11:58 pm     Reply with quote

Mocean sorry to hear about your situation. I do hope you make a speedy recovery. I just spent the past 12 weeks off the water due to injury. Now that really sucked. Listen to your doctor. I have seen some helmets that have flaps that cover over the ear areas. This would help prevent water from entering you ear.

jim

View user's profile Send private message
Rollo Tomasi

Since 17 Mar 2005
983 Posts

Attractive



PostTue Sep 12, 06 6:05 am     Reply with quote

Steve,

Sorry to hear yet it sounds like you are on the road to recovery. Hope you feel better soon.

STRINGY WROTE:
Quote:
Mocean sorry to hear about your situation. I do hope you make a speedy recovery. I just spent the past 12 weeks off the water due to injury. Now that really sucked. Listen to your doctor. I have seen some helmets that have flaps that cover over the ear areas. This would help prevent water from entering you ear.

jim


I've been wearing a Protec Wake Helmet which has ear protection also. Crashed hard last year and perforated my eardrum. Painful and time off the water. Sad

View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger
blowhard

Since 26 Dec 2005
2023 Posts

Windward



PostTue Sep 12, 06 8:13 am    pearl Reply with quote

Steve ,
Quite a big deal , continue to be careful,,I lost a very good friend from those type of siezures unrelated to his injury at a later date .

Pearling at speed is a thing not to be done. It is one of my worst fears (and then have the wave land on you) I like my boards to spin out before they pearl (mucho rocker)

That said it was the biggest day of the year yesterday(triple over) and is lining up for the biggest day again today(minus tides) ,
get well soon ,
John

View user's profile Send private message
Sol-flyer

Since 21 Mar 2006
1280 Posts
Dude, where's my Bus?
Otto Mann



PostTue Sep 12, 06 8:54 am    Re: pearl Reply with quote

blowhard wrote:

Pearling at speed is a thing not to be done. It is one of my worst fears (and then have the wave land on you) I like my boards to spin out before they pearl (mucho rocker)


not to sound like a jackass, but what is pearling?

View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
blowhard

Since 26 Dec 2005
2023 Posts

Windward



PostTue Sep 12, 06 9:31 am    legit question Reply with quote

dude you can't be rude to be uninformed ,
to pearl is to look for shiny things on the OCEAN FLOOR
over the front ,
usually hard

View user's profile Send private message
pjc

Since 06 Mar 2005
649 Posts

Addicted



PostTue Sep 12, 06 10:23 am     Reply with quote

not to be rude i really wonder how much a helmet would have helped this type of injury. rapid deceleration of the brain is just bad.

not to rag on helmets - by all means go ahead and wear one. just don't think that you're "cleared for take off". pearling at high speed could be bad news no matter what you're wearing.

those kayak helmets are very nice. their is a newer model that is being sold at cost by the family of a deceased kayaker whose helmet didn't stay in place. the helmet has extra staps and stays very secure. i can poke around and find a link if you want.

but really the "target injury" for a kayak helmet is 10mph into a rock, not 30+ mph into water.

best luck steve.

View user's profile Send private message
genek

Since 21 Jul 2006
2165 Posts
East Po
KGB



PostTue Sep 12, 06 12:04 pm     Reply with quote

Thanks for the info. Some extra straps would definitely help out.

I'm not sure how MUCH a helmet would have helped either, but I think hitting water at high speeds mimics hard objects to some extent, especially if you're slamming into it instead of diving in. If this is true then the helmet should provide an extra cushion for your head and lessen the impact. The shallow water described by Steve doesn't help either and could've made the impact worse. Finally, you're never cleared for take off regardless of your safety gear. The best it can do is improve your chances slightly and you still shouldn't do anything you're not comfortable with just 'cause you're wearing a little extra padding. That's just my 2 cents.

View user's profile Send private message
kt

Since 16 Mar 2005
759 Posts
Portland, Or
Opinionated



PostWed Sep 13, 06 10:55 am     Reply with quote

pjc wrote:


those kayak helmets are very nice. their is a newer model that is being sold at cost by the family of a deceased kayaker whose helmet didn't stay in place. the helmet has extra staps and stays very secure. i can poke around and find a link if you want.


yes, please see if you can find a link. i like the kayak helmets but, could never find one that fit right for the $125 price. i wear a pro-tec wake right now but, would like something a bit beefier.

thanks
kt

View user's profile Send private message
pjc

Since 06 Mar 2005
649 Posts

Addicted



PostWed Sep 13, 06 11:51 am     Reply with quote

i'm pretty sure this is the lid

http://www.whitewaterhelmet.com/index2.asp

i'll dig out my kayak stuff tonight and double check that this is the one i have.

if so it stays pretty secure. it has a variety of padding inserts to adjust to any sized head. it's pretty comfy but still you always see paddlers taking their helmets off as they float through class I-II.

the breakthrough these guys were looking for was a helmet that wouldn't slip around, esp while an upside down kayaker was being given the washing machine treatment. not really targeting steve's type injury, but it could've made a difference (certainly wouldn't hurt...)

they might even given you $20 off ... http://www.whitewatersafety.com/

View user's profile Send private message
Mocean

Since 21 Sep 2005
343 Posts
Newport
Obsessed



PostWed Sep 13, 06 12:41 pm     Reply with quote

After my accident and before being grounded, I was using the Gath surf helmet. I had previously used this years ago when I was using a surf leash. One nice thing about the Gath is that it has a neoprened flap that conforms to your forehead whereas the visor style could get pulled on by water force, especially where you're taking whitewater in the face with your kite up in the air.

Like snowboarding, it seems that most of these helmets are designed for hard impact or grazing blow injuries to the skull vs. sudden decceleration contrecous injuries which cause contusions to the brain.
'
That's a good looking kayak helmet though and worth looking into. Thanks!

These last days of September are what we live for here, and today is producing big time - 8-foot swell and wind picking up to 20+. Late afternoon is getting that golden light appearance and some awesome looking backlit waves. I'm going to try and talk my wife into taking me down to check it out this afternoon. Hopefully there's some takers out there.

View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
jahmbi

Since 28 Jul 2005
622 Posts
MORE HUMAN THAN HUMAN
River Troll



PostThu Sep 14, 06 8:36 pm    Re: pearl Reply with quote

Sol-flyer wrote:
blowhard wrote:

Pearling at speed is a thing not to be done. It is one of my worst fears (and then have the wave land on you) I like my boards to spin out before they pearl (mucho rocker)


not to sound like a jackass, but what is pearling?
IT,S WHAT YOU GIVE YOUR GIRLFRIEND Laughing Laughing Laughing FOR GOOD LUCK...TROLL
_________________
It's Never To Late To Realize What's Important In Your Life..

View user's profile Send private message
Mike Hawk

Since 20 Mar 2006
179 Posts
say that 3 times fast DONT FEED THE TROLL!
Stoked



PostThu Sep 14, 06 10:08 pm    Pearling Reply with quote

My Girlfriend love the pearls in Mike Hawk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearling_%28body_modification%29

_________________
the porn star brother of the famous Tony hawk

View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
blowhard

Since 26 Dec 2005
2023 Posts

Windward



PostFri Sep 15, 06 7:57 am    t, Reply with quote

T Tommy Troll the terrible mofo ,,
you GIVE your girlfriend a PEARL NECKLACE

View user's profile Send private message
ricki

Since 30 Jun 2006
26 Posts

 



PostWed Sep 27, 06 4:29 pm     Reply with quote

Hello Steve,

Good luck with your recovery. I hope it comes on fully and fast. Thank you for taking the time to spread the hard won lessons from your accident.

Take care,
Rick

p.s. - be sure to ask your neurologist about Secondary Impact Syndrome and any precautions he might suggest in that regard, e.g. time off, reasonable protections (helmet, sounds like you're on with that already). Welcome to the converted, I regret the path that brought you here but am glad that you made it.

_________________
FKA, Inc.

Transcribed by:
Rick Iossi

View user's profile Send private message
tinyE

Since 21 Jan 2006
2004 Posts
not really an
XTreme Poster



PostTue Apr 29, 08 7:42 am     Reply with quote

just getting over a major sore throat... ear infection too... when the doc was inspecting my ears, he asked if I surfed a lot... I've been asked it before, but mine seem to be progressing... he said I was about 50% closed up.

Not too late to save them with ear plugs, but I do have an excuse for my selective hearing now. Smile

View user's profile Send private message
pdxmonkeyboy

Since 16 May 2006
6081 Posts
forever labled as the
retired kiter & motorhead Unicorn Master



PostTue Apr 29, 08 7:53 am     Reply with quote

This information kind of relates to this thread and involves being able to diagnose a stroke or a seizure. I recently read a pretty cool article that really emphasized the ability to diagnose if someone is having stroke or other brain issue. As the story goes, a lady at a picnic suddenly tripped and fell, she felt weird and off balance for about 5 minutes and continued about her day. It turns out she was having a stroke and didn't know it, she died during the night on the next day. !!

If someone feels dizzy or feels like they are going to fall down or pass out. Ask them to do the following things.

1. Smile. If your suffering a stroke your smile will be lopsided.

2. Ask the person to speak a simple sentence. People suffering from a stroke often can't piece a sentence together, even something as simple as gee, its sunny and hot today.

3. Stick your tongue out. A person suffering a stroke will have a hard time sticking their tongue out straight, often having the tongue come out at an angle.


I'm not a doctor but it seems pretty straight forward. Time is critical when your suffering a stroke, seems like a simple way to help a friend or family member out and avoid suffering permanent brain damage (like me) LOL.

_________________
Bury me standing cause I won't lay down!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVvAw2VFR4Y&feature=PlayList&p=FB7233C37686AC79&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=34

View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Northwest Kiteboarding -> Gorge / Portland / Oregon Coast All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Page Previous  1, 2
Page 2 of 2

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You can attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum