Inflatable Air Jacket Body Protectors

convert

These are what I'm talking about.

Was up in Tattersalls and saw a lot of the event riders wearing them (hadn't seen them being used before yesterday).

Just wondering if anybody here uses one? What do you think of them? Do you find they help with the impact?

And anyone who doesn't already wear them, what do you think of them? Would you consider buying/wearing one?

Not sure what I make of them. Obviously anything that helps rider safety is good, but I'm not sure whether or not I'd wear one, especially if I was riding somewhere that I'd need to remount after the fall. Not so sure hopping back up with an inflated back protector would be the most convenient of things, esp if I didn't happen to have one of the cylinders with me!

xxkarenxx

I am really interested in getting one but it's the price tag that is holding me back

shanagarry

I've never seen them before. Interesting but v pricey.

According to that link, you still have to wear a regular back protector underneath. So if you did set it off you would still have the regular protection until you get the cylinder replaced. All I would be a little worried about is the trigger mechanism not detaching when you fall and keeping you attached to the horse? I guess maybe it's thin enough to break if it doesn't detach as it should?

I don't think I would be buying one unless I was doing fairly tough cross country. And even then, only use it in those situations. U don't want to be deploying it all the time with silly little tumbles in the arena etc.

Borderfox

Sometimes its the silly tumbles that hurt the most.

helibelly

I got one for my birthday in April. So a week later I'm practicing the cross country jumps at my yard. The Jumps go down the side of the gallops which is also the road into the yard. Everything is going fine. I decide to do one more jump (some nice beer barrels that we'd already done in the opposite direction). Over we go no sweat, then two canter strides on something spooks the horse and bang, he does a ninety degree turn! I feel myself go out the window, turn in midair, there's a pop (not a very loud one at that), I land, right elbow first followed by my back. The jacket had inflated on the way down. Now you may think I landed on the grass, oh no, I landed on the very solid concrete road! However it was just like coming off in the sand arena with it's lovely soft sand. I lay there for a few moments, the jacket's relief valve hissing gently away, horse stood over me with his usual expression of ' what you doing down there?' on his face. My elbow was bruised, but that was it. I hate to think what it would have been like had I not been wearing the jacket on top of my body amour. Yes they are expensive compared to a normal body protector (which you should also wear), but compared to some of the stuff we all spend our money on (come on you know what I'm talking about) it's not an amazing amount of cash. Would I recommend buying one, oh yes, and in case you think I'm a petite rider, think again

Esroh

Remember the time when everyone thought the GPA hats were expensive and ugly:D and it was totaly uncool to wear a chinstrap when you moved out of Ponies.
If you are upgrading your BP buy the best you can get as the example above tells you you will not worry about the cost when it does its job.

fits

I'd actually love one of these to wear out hunting, rather than my racesafe. But its a while before I'll have 400 quid spare to buy one. The racesafe will do until then...

convert

Hi helibelly,

When you fall and the inflatable jacket inflates, is it still possible to curl up into a ball, or is it quite restrictive in how far it allows you to curl?

(When I say curl up, I mean the way a jockey has to curl up into a tiny ball so as to minimise injury if they're kicked by a horse coming behind.)

helibelly

When it initially inflates it's quite rigid, but no more than an normal body protector. Seriously I'd really recommend these, it is a pity that they are rather costly, but trust me, like they say, 'because your worth it!':D

convert

Oh, I've another question, if you don't mind... How much do the replacement cylinders cost?

fits

^ I think they're about 15 euro. Good incentive not to fall off

convert

fits wrote: »

^ I think they're about 15 euro. Good incentive not to fall off

:eek:

A body protector that keeps costing you money after you purchase it! Don't think I'll ever be able to afford one (not that I fall off that often, just it seems very expensive intially and then to have to pay for more cylinders every time you fall or forget to detach yourself from the saddle before dismounting! Probably something I'd do, especially as I have to dismount and remount about four times when I'm out riding every day!).

fits

Its pretty steep alright. That said, if I were jumping round Badminton I'd want one... (unlikely to say the least )

shanagarry

Yeah, that was the reasoning behind my initial post. Obviously I do appreciate that accidents happen in the most innocuous situations, but shelling out every time you take a small tumble in a relatively controlled environment would add up. So I would get one for xcountry, hunting, on the road, on a horse that I was expecting to bite the dust on, and trust that my regular body protector and hat would be sufficient in the arena on a horse I know well because I come off them once in a blue moon.

helibelly

Just to clear the confusion here. You wear this over your body armor for full protection. Have a good look at their website, especially as they've had drop tests done which show the difference when wearing one as opposed to body armor alone. I've been to several fallen horse riders as part of my job over the years. Some are lucky, some aren't. Maybe because I've come into contact with the unlucky ones I'm a little more paranoid, or maybe I'm just realistic?

Esroh

@ Helibelly

I just had a look at the website but cannot work out the size of the Canisters.
Can you tell me how big it is because it looks very like the type we use for inflating bike tyres in a hurry on the road or hills and they only cost 4 euro each. But can be bought in bulk for less. They put a hell of alot of pressure into a mountain bike tube so it woud be interesting to see are they the same size

helibelly

Hi, the CO2 canisters are about four inches long, quite a bit bigger than the ones for the bike. It is a pain paying quite a lot for the canisters, especially when you dismount and have forgotten to disconnect from the saddle! I have googled the specification of the bottles and they are available from other sources at a reduced price, however I would imagine that fitting one would leave you with no comeback if the jacket failed to inflate properly. Again though, what price are you willing to put on your neck?