-- Last Updated: Oct-23-12 2:48 PM EST --
If you are going to be mostly paddling out through surf, make sure you find a helmet that is somewhat hydrodymanic and stays put. Lots of whitewater helmets actually get blown off with wave impact. You also want something that will protect your head from multiple impacts over a long time. Think about being upside down and being dragged over a rocky reef or getting trashed in a rock garden. Helmet must be resistant to seawater, lots of helmets have hardware that will rust away. After trying lots of helmets I stick with Gath Gedi, but there are certainly better helmets for impact protection, but if they aren't on your head, well they don't help much. I don't use visors, bills or face shields, because they come loose or get tangled in kelp.