A helmet may save your brain, but it is not going to stop your neck from being snapped if you hit something hard enough. You will be able to think clearly about having a life-changing cervical injury.

I rode at north Skyway yesterday and the weather was really sketchy. Sketchy also describes the riding of two riders there. One was a new kiter, yet he was charging despite the unstable conditions, the other a kiter who has been riding for a few years yet still managed (perhaps because he was apparently standing on the beach talking to someone) to drop his kite on the new kiter's lines and cause a mini-kitemare. Ironically, that mini-kitemare got those two riders off of the water before the big squall came through and the wind went from 15 mph to 40 mph. The squall would have otherwise wiped those guys out in a full-on kitemare.

After watching this spectacle, I said enough is enough and went home. It's hard enough to kite in storm weather without having to worry that someone else is going to take your ass out.

The new kites are amazing, and a helmet will obviously improve the outcome of some accidents. There remains a need, however, for common sense. Even the best gear has limits.

New and casual riders don't need to be riding storm wind when the wind is gusty or subject to squalls, which is most of the time. Live to ride another day in conditions you will actually enjoy. Only Billy, Mike, H and Jay really like that crazy-ass wind.

Established kiters should launch with the kite toward the water and away from obstructions so if the kiter gets dragged, he or she is dragged out into the water. If the wind is dead onshore, don't launch at all--it's a lot different to dick around in a 12mph onshore seabreeze than in 25 to 40 mph onshore storm wind. If you are going to ride in heavy weather, then launch and get off the beach! Don't launch and then stand around on shore talking about bullshit with your kite taking up space.

These are good safety habits to practice in all conditions so that when the heavy weather shows up, you already have these habits. Do the opposite and you increase your chances of getting worked, regardless of a helmet, a flat kite, a 5th line, a nipple tassel, or whatever.