Gath Helmets anyone?

[Miguel]

Gath Helmets at www.gathsports.com makes a helmet with a retractable visor. Windsurfers use them and we are starting to see them somewhat in whitewater kayaking. Has anyone ever used them for snowsports? It seems like it might be a good idea. I wonder if there are fogging issues. Anyone with experience/info with these helmets?

[Randy S.]

Bad idea all the way around. First it will fog. You need two layers of lens to prevent fogging (Smith invented this in the 70's and now almost all goggles are double lens). Second, those helmets are made to keep your board or boom from splitting your head open. They are not made for the kind of impact you will sustain snowboarding. I have a pro-tec watersports helmet for kitesurfing and I'd never take it on the snow.

[thomas_m]

I have a Gath and would never use it any time I halfway expected head impact. There is very little padding as they are made to be very lightweight, more for the usage Randy describes. Using one in decent whitewater would be very foolish IMHO. For that I use a Greateful Heads glass/kevlar that saved my skull a couple times as I bounced down shallow creeks upside down...

My Giro is much more comfortable and easy to forget it's on my head while riding than the primitive Gath.

T.

[tpalka]

Haven't used one, cannot comment, but Corran Addison (world class, sometimtes controversial, kayaker) swears by his. Check this comments on these two pages:

http://www.2imagine.net/blogger2002/gath.html

and comments from 2 years later:

http://www.2imagine.net/blogger2004/gath.html

Hope you find them useful,


tom.

[Jim]

Hi Miguel,

I've broken my Gath bubble shield 3 times. Keeps breaking at the hinge. Finally gave up and left it 1/3 down for good. Looks cool but distorts badly. Fun to psyche the surf crowd.

No way would the Gath protect me from a carving impact.