SUP and raft are not the same - you can go an entire year without never coming out of a raft. You cant go 1 mile without coming off your board - its simply not the same thing at all.

The key is HOW you leash yourself.... use the wrong leash and its deadly. Us the right one and it'll save your life.

As for full face helmets - well I think the stance is silly. In EVERY sport where REAL TESTING has been done, its proven to be safer. ALWAYS. Your objection to full face helmets is based on a knee-jerk gut reaction. The fact is that you swan dive off a SUP all the time, and a full face helmet will one day save your face. Its really that simple.

But hey, I know PLENTY of people who refuse to wear condoms... ever. That doesn't make it smart, it just makes THEM short sighted and silly no matter how much reasoning they throw my way.

Corran

Full Face helmets really suck!

I agree with Corran and why even compare a raft to SUP? I think SUP is much more dangerous.

I am also a 30 year kayaker with plenty of class 5 experience
On a SUP Not having a leash can be more dangerous when you loose your board and then are subject to long and more dangerous swims. Also your gear is then going downstream leaving you stranded and your friends will chase it down possibly subjecting them to more danger trying to catch it. I also recommend full face helmets to people with less river experience who can't read the water like a pro. They are the ones that tend to hit rocks and fly face first into the river. Experienced river folks can anticipate a rock hit and know to fall to their knees before going super man into their board or a shallow rock. No thats not to say that there are situations where a leash or a full face might be or might not be a good idea. Thats why making all encompassing statements like "leashes are bad on the river" or "full face helmets are bad for SUP" is not the best advice IMO.