TractionKiting.co.uk

After my 'incident' with the kite I'd quite like to add to my helmet and get some more safety gear. I'm looking at the powerkiteshop website and have a budget of no more than £80 for a body armour vest (I think this will help psychologically in higher winds as well as serving a purpose in terms of reducing possible injury )

Could you please have a quick scan over the page of vests and give me your opinion on what looks to be good, what you would go for (or what you have) and why?

Thanks, appreciate it.

Martin

http://www.powerkiteshop.com/accessorie ... afety2.htm

i do own a six six one pressure suit that i used for downhill stuff - this however doesnt work with a harness - the hillbilly suit though may do as its a bit softer.
as for knees and elbows - go to the local bike shopand get something that covers shins and forearms too.
helmets is the hard one as you need to get one that fits so its worth trying one in a shop before you buy - perhaps a snowboard helmet would suit - my pro tec is one of the more comfier ones that i own.

as something a bit different for your head maybe one of these is the way forwards for absolute comfort
http://www.streetgadgets.com/sc/839/Safety-Gear/Ribcap-Head-Protection.htm

Thanks for that matey - my fiance bought me a good quality helmet last week, which I tried on etc...don't get it until tomorrow!

I quite like the look of the Hillbilly suit and it's a good price. That said, do you think it will provide adequate protection?

As for pads,,,they're on the list after the vest.

Martin

Hi Martin

I would save your money (and perhaps put it towards a smaller kite...) at this stage. I sense that you are still a bit shook up after your recent tumble...

If your like I was, you'll want every bit of equipment and all the kites going when you first start out...

You'll really only need body armour if your thinking of going into freestyle buggy jumping or high speed boarding. I would wait and hone your kiting skills first and then decide what you want to do later on...

For recreational flying, ordinary buggying and landboarding, a helmet will suffice...

As per my previous post, I would stick within the wind range of your kite and stop if the wind gets too strong...

I can tell you that very few of us have body armour -- Owain has some but he only wears it when the wind is really strong... Angus usually just wears a helmet for jumping with his board. I personally don't have any body armour as I mainly do recreational flying. When I'm buggying I tend to keep my speed right down and fly within my limits. I've been on the lookout for a helmet for the last couple of years but so far have been unsuccessful -- I've got a big head (but I'm not bigheaded!!!)

Cheers

Brian

Thanks Brian. Birthdays in March so possibility of a second kite then. I'd really just like to give myself some added protection regardless of the liklihood of me actually needing it (hopefully I won't). Without sounding like a big girls blouse, I'm in a fair bit of pain from my recent knock and bruised pretty badly so really just want to protect myself that little bit more should I take a tumble whilst flying or when I progress onto the board which I no doubt will!

I intend to fly in winds between 5-10mph with a view to moving onto the board at 10-15 when I feel a bit more confident. If u had to choose brian what do u think would be most suitable for me. Any other comments or suggestions happily received

I also have 3 hrs of tuition from extreme zone to get so if you're Reading this kev, do u run these? Might be an idea if I tried to arrange something.

Happy Christmas folks!

Martin

With regards to the body armour I agree with Brian. Body Armour is good for the likes of downhill (as Andy said) or off road activities, but the protection is from (correct me if im wrong anyone) scrapes and cuts due to gravel, rock etc. Body armour will provide little protection from the majority of impacts you sustain falling from a kite lifting you / dragging you around on the grass. A good pair of sturdy shoes will protect your toes and ankles from board related knocks and twists - I've seen a guys ankle held together by his boot after coming off his board. Any basic pair of walking boots would be perfect, but whatever suits really.

If you are on grass or sand then for the most part a hoody and trousers will look after you. Elbow and Knee pads for boarding I would agree with, personally I've only ever used a helmet, BUT if i was ever buggying on gravel / shale etc for any length of time I'd be in full body armour with heavy duty gloves etc etc as I wouldnt much fancy dragging across that lot unprotected!

I want to add that I dont really board (at all) so if anyone disagrees correct me!

Cheers for the response James. To be honest, I know very
Little about it...my line of thinking is that it would be good to have some sort of padding between my body and the ground if and when I have another off/fall. The hillbilly seems to have a fair bit of padding...whilst it might not fully protect me, if it could absorb some of the impact then I'd be happy! )

Hi Martin,
I have 661 body armour which I only wear if I am going buggy jumping or planning on riding over rough or uneven terrain. James is correct when he says it will not protect you from the usual twisted wrist or something like that, it simply prevent scrapes from stones and the likes. The back protection comes in handy if the back axle of the buggy comes down on top of you but again is this only likely to happen when pushing things and going airborne in the buggy, which you are some way from doing.
Basically just go out in less wind next time, take it easy and you will be fine

O.

After completing a recent first aid course where we focused on sports injuries I would say that if you are going to purchase body armour then you must get it fitted properly, just like motorbike protection more harm can be caused by ill fitting armour than by some accidents. Impact shorts, elbow and knee pads and good sturdy foot wear is all you really need but more importantly go and get that lesson and then you will avoid a lot of pain!!!!!

Thanks for all the advice people. I'll hold off the body armour for now. I'm going to try and get a decent set of boots, kiting gloves and impact shorts in the sales. Anyone know of any kiting websites doing a sale?

Martin