Air Jacket - Are they worth the money for just hacking

C

Cassy

Well-Known Member
Joined
4 July 2007
Messages
483
Visit site
I am an ageing rider and took a tumble on the stubble field this week. No serious injuries but badly bruised upper back and in quite a lot of pain. My husband says I am too old to ride and should give it up. But I am not ready to hang up the boots just yet. So was wondering whether one of these air jackets would be worth investing in and whether they would save me from hurting if I were to fall again. If so would appreciate any recommendations. Also do you have to ride in a body protector too when using these? I haven't worn a body protector for years as I find them too short for the lower back which seems to be where I have been hurt in the past.
 
I've got a hit air which I got due to breaking lots of ribs in a stupid fall into a surface. I've only fallen off 4 times in 20 odd years and 3 of those 4 falls would have definitely been nicer with an air jacket on. I went for the hit air as it has neck and lower back bags as well as rib protection. I wear it with my BP for xc but not for anything else. (You wear it fitted so it adjusts for when wearing with BP, other makes are fitted differently.).

I have heard from many on here saying it has let them get up without bruising from a fall so I would say get one, why not really. I wouldn't wear a BP all the time but I will wear this (just done a hot summer with it on every ride which is at least once a day!).
 
I ALWAYS wear my air jacket when I hack, in my opinion you cant put a price on safety. I dont wear a normal body protector underneath but thats just personal preference, but i wear both for jumping and xc.
 
Thanks for your replies so far. Sounds like my husband may not get his wish if I buy one of these!!!!! Is the Hitair the best one?
 
I can only comment on the hit air as that is what I have. You won't know you have got it on!! I was worried at first at the thought of forgetting to detach myself before dismounting!! But you soon get used to it!!
 
I've been wondering about one, having lost all my bottle after having baby NB. But what bothers me is that it still doesn't give neck protection, and it's a serious spinal injury (i.e. paralysis) which is my biggest fear. I wear a Racesafe bp all the time anyway and I'll take the bruises and even breaks, as long as it's not spinal :(
 
I second the hit air too, i've taken some crashing falls in mine (young 5yo learning how to be an eventer!) and bounced up and walked away each time without so much as an ache the following day. I wear it for XC with a BP underneath
 
Nudibranch said:
I've been wondering about one, having lost all my bottle after having baby NB. But what bothers me is that it still doesn't give neck protection, and it's a serious spinal injury (i.e. paralysis) which is my biggest fear. I wear a Racesafe bp all the time anyway and I'll take the bruises and even breaks, as long as it's not spinal :(
Click to expand...

Hit air does offer very good neck protection it opens right up the back of your neck and over your shoulders


picture fully inflated on this page;
http://www.twowheel.co.uk/news/new-hit-air-safety-vest-range/
 
Nudibranch said:
I've been wondering about one, having lost all my bottle after having baby NB. But what bothers me is that it still doesn't give neck protection, and it's a serious spinal injury (i.e. paralysis) which is my biggest fear. I wear a Racesafe bp all the time anyway and I'll take the bruises and even breaks, as long as it's not spinal :(
Click to expand...

The hitair does offer neck protection. I have tested it!!
 
Just bought a racesafe provent, was about £200, I got the ladies large standard back and it is only just long enough in the back whereas all other body protectors I have tried have been too long, even the short but the standard (non ladies sizes)do a tall option . See my other thread for details. It I am a hater of body protectors, bought this one today, tacked up in it, got on and off and schooled in it and it was dare I say almost comfortable to the point I didn't know it was there! I went for a BP as I need one for xc (can wear an air jacket but only of wear BP too) and also no gas canisters to replace if you fall and it wasn't even too hot, felt half the weight of any other body protectors !

Ps hope you aren't too sore!
 
It certainly offers more neck support than point 2 imo. Whether you could technically say protection, not sure, if you land on your head it can't stop the rest of you crushing your neck but I had a vid of me landing on my back with my head bouncing off the ground which I believe the hit air would have prevented.

I don't like P2s marketing strategy either. Hitair is motorbike technology and I feel if it's good enough for them it's good enough for me.
 
Bought a Hitair for daughter when she started riding her youngster. She wears it all the time out hacking and finds it comfortable (we both tried on various makes and agreed the Hitair was the most comfortable). Do get yours from a shop though as not only did my daughter need a different size than we thought she would, they also 'exploded' it so she would know how if feels when it goes off.
 
Nudibranch said:
I've been wondering about one, having lost all my bottle after having baby NB. But what bothers me is that it still doesn't give neck protection, and it's a serious spinal injury (i.e. paralysis) which is my biggest fear. I wear a Racesafe bp all the time anyway and I'll take the bruises and even breaks, as long as it's not spinal :(
Click to expand...

The Helite and the the P2 (can't tell you about the Hit Air) DO protect the neck. My P2 blows up to just beneath my hat and it's quite tight. It would, I'm sure, reduce the risk of neck injury from direct impact and from whiplash.

The Hit Air, from pictures, comes up above the base of the hat. That would actually concern me that the explosion could potentially shove your head forward. I know users like them though.

I think the major difference between the two styles is in the closeness of the fit. The Helite/P2 fits looser and I like that.

OP, I've fallen of a few times in mine and I wouldn't jump any horse, or ride my spooky horse without one.
 
Last edited:
Sis and I both have the helite Hi-Viz ones, mainly because we are backing and bringing on a pair of youngsters. I have practised wearing mine on the Older Appy, so that I am sure I will remember to unclip prior to getting off :D
 
After a lot of dithering and being grumbled at by my boyfriend (2 years worth!) I finally bought a hit air at Burghley. As my friend said to me 'if you were lying in hospital strapped to a spinal board, scared if you would ever walk again, and they said for £400 you could get up and walk away, would you pay it?'. And my answer was yes of course. So I went out and bought the jacket and a body protector. I need the bp for competing but I know myself and know I wouldn't bother putting it on to hack out. I like how neat the hit air is and how closely it fits so I'm much more likely to wear it out hacking. The point 2s look horrible to me. I've already managed to jump off without disconnecting it, luckily I have a short horse and slid off gently so it didn't go off!
 
i also have a hit air and love it - i had a crashing fall out hacking onto frozen ground and wasnt sore after - also first fall where ive not had whiplash/sore neck either!! (& Ive had a lot haha)

to me, when you say “just for hacking”, Id say thats the MOST important time to wear one, most serious falls are from leisure type riders Im told!

Ive got a helite gilet but i dont like it as much - its for sale!!
 
I have a hit air and wear it every time I ride. I had two falls where I got up completely uninjured . The third fall was at speed onto hard ground and although I initially got up and felt OK I had actually 4 compression fractures of my thoracic vertebra, BUT my consultant said such fractures normally also involve fractures of the neck. My hit air certainly saved me from more serious injuries! Younger,fitter,lighter people would probably have been OK! Hit air serviced my jacket and also supplied me with extra protection to attach to it all free of charge! Nothing can completely protect you but at 60 at least I have been able to ride again!
 
I used to be a sceptic and wanted more proof of air jackets true effectiveness.Having analysed various falls in minute detail. I am now of the opinion (both as a horseman and an engineer) that they are a positive safety asset. They are not the answer to all falls .An air jacket would not have prevented my injuries ,it would however have probably saved me from the considerable pain of the less serious (but agonising) wrenched backthat accompanied the rest.We spend more time hacking than competeing so our overall risk of a fall is greater hacking
 
I've got a Hitair Hi Viz for hacking and it's fantastic! I made the mistake of wondering to myself if I would ever find out if it actually worked - and the very next day I fell off for the first time in 13+ years! Ironically I fell off on a hack because my friend took a tumble as we were cantering and my horse did a handbrake turn when my friend's air jacket went off and the next thing I knew I was sat on the ground uttering a few choice words!

But I can confirm that the jacket works very well and it was like falling off onto a bouncy castle. I often hack out on my own around the farm where my horse is kept at livery where there are mile after mile of wonderful headland tracks which are perfect for long canters, but there are also lots of wildlife - deer and hare that emerge out from the hedges in front of you without warning, so I feel much safer with my Hit Air jacket on!

Buy one - you won't regret it!
 
I have a hit-air , imo miles better than the point 2 or the others I tried, can't remember the names! I had a very nasty fall over a big hedge out hunting, horse landed in deep ground and we both came crashing down ! I checked my horse, spat the mud out and got back on to jump the next one! It definitely protected my neck very well.

Last season we had to have the air ambulance down because a lady fell off in her point 2, we thought she was severely injured, but it turned out the air jacket had just winded her very badly as it inflates inwards... You can just hop back on with the hit air as it inflates outwards.

All that said, I only wear the thing for shows, xc, hunting and team chasing! I should really wear it more often.
 
Im an older rider and have just bought a green 5 yr old and bought my hit air jacket at Burghley a year ago in anticipation of trying horses. There is no way I would even get on a horse without it but it's so light you honestly don't know you're wearing it. It amazes me I'm the only person on my yard to wear one ,but more fool them I think. Mine is black so I wear hi viz jacket underneath for hacking but if I was rich would also have the hi viz one.
 
Pt 2 and hit air,its just a matter of preference in my opinion. Pt 2 did some very negative marketing in the early days but it is still a good product ,as is hit air.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top