Anyone had a bad stack with the visor down?
I'm wondering if they'd protect your face or shatter and cause more issues?
I've got a Gath with a visor that I bought for those rainy days. Daffy's stack has me wondering...
Yes and no not really ( Gath). Pete( muffin boy) sails with a hockey helmet which has an impact rated visor. That might be the only one.
Select to expand quotekato said..
Yes and no not really ( Gath). Pete( muffin boy) sails with a hockey helmet which has an impact rated visor. That might be the only one.
Thanks.
What happens to the Gath visor with a hard blow? Crack, shatter? You wouldn't want plastic shards in your eyes.
Select to expand quotesboardcrazy said..
What happens to the Gath visor with a hard blow? Crack, shatter? You wouldn't want plastic shards in your eyes.
I don't know the answer, but I'd assume visors are usually made from polycarbonate, which is quite tough. An impact that would break the visor would most certainly break bones, so you'd probably would be worse off than without. I have seen the results of a motorcycle crash without a visor, which was a ruined face (and, it seemed, a ruined life).
One of our local sailors started using a helmet with a face guard similar to what you see in some professional sports when she started foiling. Having hit the back of my head on a foil, I can see her point. That might be an alternative worth considering. I think her helmet is for ice hockey.
I broke my nose and was briefly knocked out when I copped my mast in my face sailing in a winter storm a couple of years ago. I was wearing a Gath Jedi helmet and I think the brim of the helmet reduced the injury, but no doubt a visor would have helped more. My problem is I need glasses, so I prefer to wear prescription sunglasses / safety glasses when sailing.
Select to expand quoteStretchy said..
I broke my nose and was briefly knocked out when I copped my mast in my face sailing in a winter storm a couple of years ago. I was wearing a Gath Jedi helmet and I think the brim of the helmet reduced the injury, but no doubt a visor would have helped more. My problem is I need glasses, so I prefer to wear prescription sunglasses / safety glasses when sailing.
Sounds nasty..
So you don't use a visor due to the glasses?
I didn't think of that.
If it's pouring I don't usually wear my glasses. I don't know if I've tried the visor for fit while I'm wearing them?
I have a normal Gath helmet too. I didn't wear the visored one for a while as when the visor is pushed up into the helmet the fit is tighter. I had a cyst on my head that gave me issues. The cyst has gone and I can now wear it but I still prefer the fit of the non visored one,.
Select to expand quotesboardcrazy said..Stretchy said..
I broke my nose and was briefly knocked out when I copped my mast in my face sailing in a winter storm a couple of years ago. I was wearing a Gath Jedi helmet and I think the brim of the helmet reduced the injury, but no doubt a visor would have helped more. My problem is I need glasses, so I prefer to wear prescription sunglasses / safety glasses when sailing.
Sounds nasty..
So you don't use a visor due to the glasses?
I didn't think of that.
If it's pouring I don't usually wear my glasses. I don't know if I've tried the visor for fit while I'm wearing them?
I have a normal Gath helmet too. I didn't wear the visored one for a while as when the visor is pushed up into the helmet the fit is tighter. I had a cyst on my head that gave me issues. The cyst has gone and I can now wear it but I still prefer the fit of the non visored one,.
Yes, figuring it would interfere with the optics. I could be wrong though, glasses work mine under my motorcycle helmet with glasses.
Select to expand quoteStretchy said..sboardcrazy said..Stretchy said..
I broke my nose and was briefly knocked out when I copped my mast in my face sailing in a winter storm a couple of years ago. I was wearing a Gath Jedi helmet and I think the brim of the helmet reduced the injury, but no doubt a visor would have helped more. My problem is I need glasses, so I prefer to wear prescription sunglasses / safety glasses when sailing.
Sounds nasty..
So you don't use a visor due to the glasses?
I didn't think of that.
If it's pouring I don't usually wear my glasses. I don't know if I've tried the visor for fit while I'm wearing them?
I have a normal Gath helmet too. I didn't wear the visored one for a while as when the visor is pushed up into the helmet the fit is tighter. I had a cyst on my head that gave me issues. The cyst has gone and I can now wear it but I still prefer the fit of the non visored one,.
Yes, figuring it would interfere with the optics. I could be wrong though, glasses work mine under my motorcycle helmet with glasses.
If it fits I don't think it should affect the optics as long as you use antifog / rainex..
On the second page of comments some people will say , " don't crash , windsurfing is not designed around crashing , Anton doesn't use a helmet so will make no difference ".
Could not help myself 
Popcorn is in the oven 
.
Select to expand quoteImax1 said..
On the second page of comments some people will say , " don't crash , windsurfing is not designed around crashing , Anton doesn't use a helmet so will make no difference ".
Could not help myself
Popcorn is in the oven .
Well I've learnt it doesn't matter how much safety gear you wear you can't protect your limbs,ankles or shoulders...
Select to expand quoteImax1 said..
On the second page of comments some people will say , " don't crash , windsurfing is not designed around crashing , Anton doesn't use a helmet so will make no difference ".
Could not help myself
Popcorn is in the oven .
LOL. I don't think wave sailors read this section. So, we're safe 
We all sail in some very narly conditions as part of our style. But I rarely got over the handle bars (unless I decide to initiate a stack on wave gear). This is because I'm a self preserving chicken **** !. Before a session, I study the tide (if applicable), the synoptic chart, METEYE, ACCESS MODEL. I have a fair idea what to expect. Then, I look at the ocean/lake state. I can tell if something is about to happen by the clouds. Maybe it's because I sail ocean as well, which requires heightened awareness in +25kt conditions, because there are tide/wind states here that will take you out, not in. Touch wooden veneer, nobody has been swept away and died here in Adelaide. But if in doubt (whether it be wave or speed gear), I will always go the smaller sizes, and a certain Bogan team mate has chewed my ear off about this in the past and reflected on my poor numbas. My philosophy: I can always rig bigger. Failing everything, I push up wind, and depower, fall off backwards. A good lid and safety vest that protects the ribs always helps
Cos I'm not brave , at the expense of looking like the 6 th Village People , I wear a helmet when planing . When it's dead onshore at a proper 30 kts and I can't keep up with the sharp chop , I know I'm going to hurt myself or equipment . I have been known to whimp it 
. Luckily we only get that a couple times a year .
^^^^
Mabee if I wasn't 115kg and 55 years old , I'd have a better chance.
It didn't hurt so much when I was 19 and buffed , riding plastic boards with tie on booms using the industry standard 4.2m emergency storm sail on the same mast . Closing the gap , it was at least a foot ....pfffft !
Answering the original question - yes me - was at about 39kn, cracked the lens of a Gath.
Anything which both provide impact resistance and extends the time of the impact, will protect you. Its just like crumple-zones in a car - the longer it takes from the start of the impact to hitting the target, will have that energy dissipated over a longer window of time, thus less instantaneous impact-force.
Select to expand quotemathew said..
Answering the original question - yes me - was at about 39kn, cracked the lens of a Gath.
Anything which both provide impact resistance and extends the time of the impact, will protect you. Its just like crumple-zones in a car - the longer it takes from the start of the impact to hitting the target, will have that energy dissipated over a longer window of time, thus less instantaneous impact-force.
It was a great crash. Pity I didn't zoom in a bit more and get the facial expression
I have taken a spill with Gath visor down and am quite convinced it saved worse injury. I lost control foiling on a reach and porpoised in nose first. I ended up being chucked ahead of the board and sail. When I came up from underwater the board was still moving and clocked me across the face. It hit my visor at its lower edge over the bridge of my nose. I ended up with a superficial cut on my nose from the visor but that was it. Only a scuff on the visor itself.
