Understanding safety standards related to airbag vests
As a rider, you wear an airbag vest to protect your vital areas. This device is becoming increasingly popular, reflecting a growing awareness among riders of the inevitable risk of falling off a horse.
But do you really know the history of the airbag and the regulations it must comply with?
We explain everything you need to know to become an expert on rider safety and airbag vests!
Back to basics
First and foremost, it is important to know that an airbag vest is Category 2 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Category 2 PPE is designed to protect people against major risks that can lead to serious injuries. They protect against impacts that could affect vital body parts and cause irreversible injuries.
In horse riding, PPE includes the helmet and the protective vest.
As a reminder, a helmet is mandatory for this practice, while an airbag vest, although highly recommended, is not mandatory.
Category 2 PPE is certified by an authorized body. This equipment must pass a CE examination to verify and certify its compliance with the specific PPE regulations:
this examination ensures compliance with the French standard NF S72-800, which has been in force since March 2022.
Obtaining the standard
Before reaching the market, our airbag vest goes through a certification laboratory to obtain CE certification.
CE certification is authorization for market placement. Certification is obtained once products have passed a test protocol that may or may not be governed by a standard.
Our airbag vest undergoes 3 tests:
- Coverage area test : to ensure that the vest protects the mandatory protection zones around the torso
- Deployment test : to ensure that our vest deploys in ¼ of a second
- Impact test :
To understand how the impact test works, let's take a simple example : the smaller and lighter the airbag, the faster the pressure will be reached, thus offering better protection on impact.
The Complet 3, as its name suggests, is the most complete model in the range, covering a maximum of protection zones.
To choose a good airbag, you should therefore look at the following elements:
- Deployment time
- Useful pressure
- Inflation volume
- Protection coverage
- Trigger cord adjustment
A promise kept
The Hit-Air airbag vests meet these standards, so they can be sold on the international market. Our airbag vests thus provide greater protection than a traditional airbag vest.
At Hit-Air, we have chosen to surpass these standards by offering increased performance, especially thanks to its prominent neck collar:
Hit-Air is currently the most protective airbag on the market.
The Complet 3 also features this prominent "buoy" at the coccyx-sacrum area, ensuring optimal torso protection.
The Airflex, our new product, has retained the most protective neck collar on the market, but has had the coccyx cushion removed to prioritize aesthetics and discretion.
Furthermore, it is important to note that Hit-Air airbag vests reach their optimal pressure level in just a quarter of a second.
The compactness of the Airflex allows it to achieve performance 8 to 10 times higher than standard requirements, with a deployment time of a quarter of a second.
In 25 years, at Hit-Air we have sold over 500,000 airbags and more than 2 million cartridges worldwide, testifying to the reliability and recognition of our products.
These figures not only illustrate user confidence but also our continuous commitment to providing high-quality, innovative personal protective equipment that complies with the strictest standards.
Thanks to its advancements, Hit-Air continues to position itself as a leader in rider protection.
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