mikeman said..
Downwinder, you are obviously missing the point here. When you are a front line Ops Medic you are responsible for a lot of lives. You are often what stands between life and death. If you are well prepared you give yourself, and those that rely on you, the best possible chances of survival. It's the same with the ocean. As you are a Gold Coast Lifeguard and an experienced paddler I would have expected a little more leadership from you on the issue of safety at sea, especially to all of the newcomers getting into downwind paddling.
Milkeman I agree with what you say. I'm all for safety at sea especial if you're in a boat in the middle of nowhere you need all the safety gear known to man. When your doing a Downwind paddle you're only 500 metres to say 2 kilometres of the coast so a legrope and a camelbak is all you really need because you should be-able to swim to the beach if you lose your board if you can't swim don't get into Downwind Paddling. If you're doing any kind of channel crossing you have a support boat.
When I take my Jet-Ski out for a trawl I have all the safety gear, Phone to ring the Coast Guard, E-perb, flair, Da Fin swim fins, goggles, Type 2 Flotation Device, water, and my H2O head phones to listen to some music.
You've goto admit Mikeman the chimp with the AK-47 is Bulk Funny.
In your day in the 70's even up to the mid 80's being a Saffa it was compulsory to do 2 year in the South African Army I'm so glad I was born an Aussie because f### that.
If I had to do 2 years compulsory in the Army I'm joining the Viking Armed Forces because all they did was get drunk with a little bit of rape and pillaging.
If you're having problems with your computer Mikeman I'll send Ed over to fix it for you.
they are a really good item for handling blue bottles and stingers. If you have ever been on a paddle and had to go through a patch of bluebottles you will know what they can do. The stockings act like a stinger suit for your feet/legs, protecting you from the venom. Your feet are usually exposed on a SUP, even if you wear compression long pants. Other materials that would work are lycra, nylon and spandex.
. I keep a signal mirror and whistle in one of the pockets in my Camelbak (along with my triple-bagged cell phone), but really like the compact flare kit you have in yours. I'll have to look around and see if I can find something similar around here. Looking at all of your stuff certainly gives one thoughts about how prepared a person actually is! 
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I dont know about a 2k swim to shore Downwinder or more expecially if your injured in a place that has strong currents ect. Vids where funny
