Popular Post Skeptikos Posted May 27, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted May 27, 2021 (edited) Over at advrider.com, the Tipperary Air Esprit horse riding vest got rave reviews for its chest protection. Motorcycle Gear Hub tried the Racesafe ProVent 3.0 vest and was seriously impressed. I tried on some protective horse riding vests today, and I’m also really impressed. I think these are the logical next step up when the best motorcycle protectors aren’t enough. These vests are subject to safety standards similar to the CE standards for motorcycle protectors, but with much higher requirements. Like the motorcycle standards, testing works by dropping a weight on the vest/protector and measuring the force that’s transmitted through it to the sensor underneath. For reference, here are the highest CE motorcycle protector standards. In all of these tests, a weight is dropped so that it hits the protectors with an energy of 50 Joules: EN1621-1:2012 level 2 (Limbs, Hips, Shoulders): <20 kN EN1621-2:2014 level 2 (Back/Spine): <9kN EN1621-3:2018 level 2 (Chest): <18kN And here are the equestrian standards (energy of the dropped weight in parentheses): BETA (EN 13158) 2009 Level 3: <4kN (45J) ASTM F1937: <4kN (30J?) Both of these correspond to higher protection than the highest motorcycle back protector standard, and that high level of protection is required all around the vest. I found this hard to believe, but I tried it and it’s real! To add more context, the Forcefield Isolator 2 shoulder armor, known for its high level of protection, transmits about 11kN of force in these tests. The absolute best motorcycle limb/shoulder armor I’ve seen so far, SAS-TEC’s SC-1/42 Prestige, transmits 8.5kN. The downside of all this protection is that the vests can be very bulky. The padding is about an inch thick and it’s dense and solid. But they’re designed to have a snug fit and to not restrict movement, so you don’t feel hindered by the bulkiness. Of the vests I tried, the Champion Titanium Ti22 appeared the most protective-- it looks and feels like a tank. Out of the certified vests I tried, the Tipperary Eventer Pro seemed the least bulky, was really comfortable, and it even fit nicely under my motorcycle jacket. (I wasn’t able to try the Racesafe Provent.) Many of these vests have BETA- or ASTM-certified shoulder pads that can be used with them (sold separately). Unfortunately the stores I visited didn’t have any in stock, but if they’re on par with the vests then they must be pretty awesome. I noticed that the Charles Owen brand shoulder pads are made by Forcefield. I asked Forcefield about the certification test results but they weren’t able to tell me-- all they would say is that the pads are "very comparable" to the Isolator 2 pads. I’m tempted to go ahead and buy them anyway on the assumption that they’re awesome. The vests themselves are more expensive than motorcycle protectors – around $300 or $400 – but less expensive than airbag vests, especially after factoring in refill costs. My initial impression is that an airbag vest wouldn’t be needed if you wear one of these along with the shoulder pads. But obviously some real-world testing is needed to back that up. I am really, really tempted to buy that Tipperary Eventer Pro vest. Edited May 27, 2021 by Skeptikos specify the exact equestrian standards 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gon2fast Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 My Wife and Daughter ride horses and have suggested equestrian vests in the past. I have written them off for no good reason. Thank you for motivating me to take another look! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeptikos Posted May 27, 2021 Author Share Posted May 27, 2021 Oh, I see that the shoulder protectors might not be as impressive as the rest of the vest: Quote In addition to body protectors, the BETA standard is able to test against a fall on the point of the shoulder. As shoulders are more rigid than ribs, shoulder protectors are subject to different tests. Shoulder protectors that are certified bear their own label on the protector. (link) I'd guess it's still going to compare well with motorcycle gear, but I'd really like to know the details of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellac Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 Am I missing something? Those vests you link don’t cover the shoulder at all. Like the Air Espirit just has shoulder straps at the top. Do you have a link a vest that covers the shoulder? On 5/26/2021 at 11:34 PM, Skeptikos said: To add more context, the Forcefield Isolator 2 shoulder armor, known for its high level of protection, transmits about 11kN of force in these tests. The absolute best motorcycle limb/shoulder armor I’ve seen so far, SAS-TEC’s SC-1/42 Prestige, transmits 8.5kN. So… the motorcycle armor is better right? It transmits less force. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadpower Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 I prefer something like this, padded, breathable, hi-vis and a boat load less expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeptikos Posted May 30, 2021 Author Share Posted May 30, 2021 (edited) @shellac, a lot of the vests have attachable shoulder pads, but they're sold separately. I'm still trying to get more info about the shoulder pad specs-- I can't say yet if they're better than the motorcycle protectors. So far all I know is that, according to Forcefield, they're "very comparable" to Forcefield's Isolator 2 pads. That means they're at least as good as the really good motorcycle protectors. In terms of chest and rib protection, the equestrian vests are significantly better than any motorcycle gear I'm aware of. The only piece of motorcycle armor I know of that could meet the impact requirement of the BETA level 3 standard is Forcefield's Pro Sub 4 back protector. These vests take that extremely high level of protection and extend it all across your ribs and chest. @Roadpower, that jacket doesn't provide any chest/rib protection. The equestrian vest option is for people trying to prevent rib/chest and maybe shoulder injuries-- the relevant alternative here would be something like a Leatt body protector, or the Forcefield rib protector, or a motorcycle chest protector like the RS Taichi Teccell. Edit: Or an airbag vest. Edited May 30, 2021 by Skeptikos add airbag vest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeptikos Posted June 9, 2021 Author Share Posted June 9, 2021 (edited) Alright, I finally got details about the shoulder pad standards. They're good standards but disappointing compared to the vests. The guy who runs mcgearhub.com managed to get the info. He and Paul Varnsverry seem like good people to ask if we have more questions in the future: Quote The impact energy for shoulder protection in EN 13158 is higher than in EN 1621-1 (60 joules for EN 13158 and 50 joules for EN 1621-1) but the transmitted force values of EN 13158 (25kn mean/30kN single value) are lower than EN 1621-1 at Level 1 (35kN/50kN for Level 1) and may be slightly higher than EN 1621-1 at Level 2 (20kN/30kN). It’s difficult to be absolutely accurate, because of differences in the test apparatus, but, according to Paul [Varnsverry] (and yours truly), we suggest that EN 13158 shoulder protectors just have the tiny edge over shoulder protectors for motorcyclists. Now we can compare the shoulder pad standards like we did for the vests earlier. Motorcycle: CE level 2 (Limbs, Hips, Shoulders): <20 kN (50J)Equestrian: BETA level 3 (Shoulders, same as EN13158 level 2) : <20 kN (60J) So it looks like the BETA 3 standard for shoulder gear is a little higher. Even knowing that, there's not much we can say about which pads are best. Some motorcycle pads surpass the CE level 2 standard by a lot, which means I can't say if the best equestrian pads are better than the best motorcycle pads. According to Forcefield, the Charles Owen pads are on par with their Isolator 2 pads (which are really good), so they should be a good option. But it's hard to verify without more detailed info. So there's a big difference between the equestrian vests and the shoulder pads. The certified equestrian vests are, clearly and without a doubt, better chest/rib protection than any motorcycle protectors. Whereas the certified shoulder pads are in the same range as motorcycle gear, possibly a bit better but we don't know enough to say. If you're absolutely determined to get the best possible shoulder pads, it could be worth checking out some equestrian pads, because they really might be the best. For now, though, I'm just going with the SAS-TEC EVO1 motorcycle pads, which are supposed to be a little better than Forcefield's Isolator 2 pads. I like SAS-TEC and Forcefield because they release more data about their pads, so I'm sure they're really good, even if there's a possibility they might not be the best. Edited June 9, 2021 by Skeptikos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EUC Forest Posted July 28, 2021 Share Posted July 28, 2021 (edited) I've bought an equestrian vest that looks like the Tipperary vest and has good reviews: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001429724734.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.77f34c4dTj9KJ7 I like the fact it is light and convenient and offers wrap around protection for the whole torso + back and ribs + collarbones and also for the upper hips / tailbone, although this must be far from level 2, and even below level 1 (but my goal is preventing injury from a branch sticking into my chest and sides in case of a fall on those gnarly forest trails I ride on most times.) The EVA pads are ca. 16mm thick, sizing is big but you can make it fit tight with the side laces. Edited August 13, 2021 by fntms_slowdown received the vest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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