Would post pic of course if Laurie would let me
After 4 sessions with "surf sunglasses" splurged and got the gath helmet with retractable smoke visor. Far superior to the sunglasses option.
Plus pull the visor right down and the ancient longboarder dinosaurs don't know who to blame

I used to have one about 20 years ago - one thing I remember was that the visor tended to distort your vision riding waves - so pull the visor up before you catch one. Second thing was that sand would get between the visor and the slot it retracts into - so could scratch the visor - beware of this one.

20 years ago......wow!!! Maybe technology has advanced a little since then. I find there is a magic spot where you can have the visor in a position that is giving great eye protection against glare and stuff......and if you lift your head a little more you can see under the visor without looking through it....great for avoiding shortboarders and other less evolved species commonly found lurking inconveniently in the take off zone

Less evolved than what exactly???

Your wearing a helmet for a non impact sport where the worst thing that could happen is if your hair gets wet.

This take off zone seems sketchy to say the least. Red leader standing by..

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NoBS said...
Less evolved than what exactly???

Your wearing a helmet for a non impact sport where the worst thing that could happen is if your hair gets wet.

This take off zone seems sketchy to say the least. Red leader standing by..

I will.send you a pic of what a board can do to you. Non impact.....until you get nailed. Glad it was my leg not my head.
Gizzie your a kiwi living in enzed,your point about evolving is invalid

Turn it up Bra!!!

The only way you could possibly injure yourself on a SUP is if you get ran into by a kiteboarder.

Or you are sailing into the shore in 30 cm waterline breakers and your pretty Unco.

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NoBS said...
Turn it up Bra!!!

The only way you could possibly injure yourself on a SUP is if you get ran into by a kiteboarder.

Or you are sailing into the shore in 30 cm waterline breakers and your pretty Unco.

That's funny. I thought only flowers grew on trees until I saw kite boarders dangling from them. Maybe they are better in WA
Even funnier you said bra....mahalo and aloha bruddah

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NoBS said..

Less evolved than what exactly???

Your wearing a helmet for a non impact sport where the worst thing that could happen is if your hair gets wet.

This take off zone seems sketchy to say the least. Red leader standing by..

Actually lost the plot and forgot to take helmet to beach this morning......was kind of nice to feel the wind blowing through my hair.
But a couple of waves I chickened out of whereas if I had my gath on I would have soldiered on.....feel a bit naked after 3 or 4 years of doing the helmet thing.
Not so worried about getting the hair wet......more worried about getting incapacitated when the only surfer in the water.
Paddled out in dark this morning.....only surfer in water for about an hour.
When I came out a shortboarder with a helmet replaced me.
Looking good for the morning.....14 second wave period.......where's towball.....and lets not even consider sunday yet lol

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GizzieNZ said..

NoBS said..

Less evolved than what exactly???

Your wearing a helmet for a non impact sport where the worst thing that could happen is if your hair gets wet.

This take off zone seems sketchy to say the least. Red leader standing by..

Actually lost the plot and forgot to take helmet to beach this morning......was kind of nice to feel the wind blowing through my hair.
But a couple of waves I chickened out of whereas if I had my gath on I would have soldiered on.....feel a bit naked after 3 or 4 years of doing the helmet thing.
Not so worried about getting the hair wet......more worried about getting incapacitated when the only surfer in the water.
Paddled out in dark this morning.....only surfer in water for about an hour.
When I came out a shortboarder with a helmet replaced me.
Looking good for the morning.....14 second wave period.......where's towball.....and lets not even consider sunday yet lol

Look Bro..

A Surfer is a Surfer...

A Supper is a Supper.. Please dont confuse the 2..

www.marineweather.co.nz/forecasts/makorori-point

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chrispy said..

NoBS said...
Less evolved than what exactly???

Your wearing a helmet for a non impact sport where the worst thing that could happen is if your hair gets wet.

This take off zone seems sketchy to say the least. Red leader standing by..

I will.send you a pic of what a board can do to you. Non impact.....until you get nailed. Glad it was my leg not my head.
Gizzie your a kiwi living in enzed,your point about evolving is invalid

Evolution....its tricky kind of thing

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GizzieNZ said..20 years ago......wow!!! Maybe technology has advanced a little since then.

Nah... just having a squiz then, not much different.

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GizzieNZ said..Not so worried about getting the hair wet......more worried about getting incapacitated when the only surfer in the water

Yeah, I'm usually the only one out too... but a helmet only adds a small safety margin, so not a great determinant of whether you should take a wave or not.

But what else are you going to use to keep your hairdo in place......a shower cap would look a bit dodgy :)

dillydaydream.com/?gclid=CKmP3-jyvbkCFa9_Qgod3msAWw

Kiteboarder's wear padded vests.

Concussion can best be described as a shaking of the brain leading to a brief loss of consciousness. This is often caused by a direct blow to the head i.e. your surf board!
......I mean to say.....there you are in the water....you lose consciousness
I suspect that if there are ways to avoid drowning while surfing it would not be completely silly to take reasonable (but of course not infallible) precautions

Okay surf at makorori yesterday (Duncan the kneeboarder said "pity its not a bit bigger"
But that's kneeboarder for you...wants instant gratification without the effort of standing up and paddling for it
For any gizzie people.....that's me page two gisborne herald.
Was far too windy....but the photo looked okay with all the wind spray

Did I mention the alarm I feel about my board being blown off the lip by strong winds and landing on my head?

Good on ya Gizzie. Anyone who surfs through an NZ winter has my respect. And yes - i've had wipeouts on prone and SUP boards from 5'10 to 10'6.5 and if i was surfing where you do I'd think about more protection for the noggin.
Besides, a helmet would also come in handy for headbutting trolls.

I know I should know better than to headbut trolls.......but honestly the water temperature here is pretty good. I got myself a "new" secondhand 4/3 xcel......but you wouldn't want to wear it when the sun was shining....you'd be sweating

I would say a high quality 3/2 would be perfectly okay in the spring time

NoBS is a kiteboarding teenager who says bra, dingle dangles from his kite doing handle passes and wears shorts over his wetty.
Kiteboarding is kiteboarding and windsurfing is windsurfing. Never confuse the two.
One gets dragged down the wave while the other surfs the wave.
Keep looking in the SUP board reviews. You might find your first SUP. Try a board in the 11' range and take it out at Explosives without a helmet. Let me know how you go

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GizzieNZ said..

I would say a high quality 3/2 would be perfectly okay in the spring time

I agree Gizzie, I have done all winter (2 or 3 times a week) in a 3/2...no problem. water never really got below 15c here at the Mount.

Hold up there Greg.....don't tell those aussies about our warm water and uncrowded waves....we might get unwelcome visitors :)

Amusing banter but about that helmet Gizzie, when you bail head first with some speed, does the helmet penatrate the
water surface just like your head does? I'm wondering if when taking a beating the helmet would be a liability other than
when providing concussion protection.

Reason I'm interested is, I'm thinking of getting a gath for a stable and tough gopro mounting surface.

What about a kayaking helmet or something similar. I would like to wear something after getting sconned by another stand up but don't want to look dorky. I hate the look of the Gath and hate my ears being covered. Even surf hats love covering the ears when a simple tie on strap would suffice. I feel that I need something that would protect and yet maintain my cool. You just can't wear cool floral board shorts and dorky headgear.
I have an idea for a surfing cup with a plastic inlay and a tie down strap which would be perfect so get with it manufacturers and get on with it.

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rockmagnet said..


I have an idea for a surfing cup with a plastic inlay and a tie down strap which would be perfect so get with it manufacturers and get on with it.

whats a surfing cup

Its a plastic cup that fits inside a surfing CAP. Thats my story and I'm sticking to it.

I wear a Gath due to a medical risk since I'm on blood thinners. And I wear floral boardies since Hawaii stokes me. Yeah, I'm uncool in some people's eyes, but I'm having fun... which is a pretty important part of surfing I reckon.

The Gath penetrates the water in a wipeout no problem. When I duckdive a shortboard wearing a Gath, I don't lift my head to look forward underwater since there is noticeable- but not overpowering- resistance to flowing forward under water. My Gath has a fixed visor.

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surfinJ said..

Amusing banter but about that helmet Gizzie, when you bail head first with some speed, does the helmet penatrate the
water surface just like your head does? I'm wondering if when taking a beating the helmet would be a liability other than
when providing concussion protection.

Reason I'm interested is, I'm thinking of getting a gath for a stable and tough gopro mounting surface.

Seems to be a regular and normal highspeed impact facedown during wipeout when wearing the retractable visor helmet
No extra drag that is going to "snap your neck like a chicken bone"
Probably important to get exactly the right size...if you wacking camera on top

Thanks for the info guys. I was wondering about the "chicken bone effect".

As long as we're having fun, the rest don't matter.