there is fancy material called d3o thats used for impact protection in various sports.
quite many vids when you google it.
Good for bridal kite beginners.
Will keep the dum asses heads safe from kites that will not deliver 100% safe depower, that is when tangled bridals become dangerous. We all know, no option for depower, scary!!!
my 661 Evo kneepads have that in it for my racing, you cant feel them when they are on, but when you fall off its amazing! Dont know what you would use it for on kites tho
New material my arse......
When i was a kid we used to call it silly putty.
They've just died it orange and given it a modern name.
if you completely cover yourself in it, then you will have no reason to be offended when you get called a gumby!!
new? we've had this stuff for 2 years back in the UK... its pretty amazing, they make a beanie hat that works nicely as a hard hat when you take a fall. good for snowboarding and stuff..
But its not really designed for kiteboarding. It takes a solid hit before the D3O becomes hard, giving the protection, so its better for snowboarding, kitelandboarding etc etc. stuff where your actually going to hit something solid.
still would be good to hear someone who has actually kited with such pads...cause what i get from the info on the web and other forums the key feature of d3o is dampening of impact better than other materials. which sounds like a good thing to have for feet and gear.
a fella on kiteforum com posted that he has manually installed d3o on his surf and seemed pretty happy with the result
kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2368703&start=10
i have them on my board i have destroyed my lf luxury and comp laces.
The d30 pads are very nice, and i have a extremely stiff board.
Grip the feet well. however the plastic around the bolt holes is quite brittle and snapped pretty quick.
im changing my board up this year as i had enough of uk waters with it but the d30 pads helped.
p.s The guy who invented it actually kite surf's , and so does his wife as i taught her :D
Hi guys,
Rich Palmer (inventer) was working on this stuff over 10 years ago. He was my lecturer at Uni of Hertfordshire then moved on into his own business (Design Blue) in the Oxo Tower in London.
Good to see he's got the stuff to market, looks like 10 years of work to get it there though.
Rich