air jacket owners please

[Shavings]

ok its possibly been done to death

but with new brands and ranges coming all the time i need help

so i am buying myself an air jacket

i dont know what style i dont know what brand

i need recommendations

i need help!

no one on island sells them so i have to do it alone online!

i am 5'8 tall (not a little lady) and ride chance cob, ie imagen riding a double bed!

now chance is well behaved but if he spooks he often spins fast and i could easily go out the side door

i dont jump so this will be for hacking, dressage, schooling, maybe show ring warm up as they can get hairy and i dont believe there around in the show ring

so what does every one have?? what do you like about it? what dont you like about it??

i have seen some apparently (if i have read this right) zip in to show jackets?

also do any of them come with pockets?

photo of said double bed himself for you all

 

[tamsinkb]

I am the same height as you and am amply endowed in the boobage area....I ride in a Hit-air jacket as they inflate outwards not inwards, otherwise the 'girls' would be crushed to the point of suffocating me! I have had my jacket around 6 years and only inflated it twice, both times saving me from potentially serious injury, but making me resemble a weeble…..you may well be too young for that reference! Mine doesn't have pockets, though it fits easily over coats / t-shirts etc. Because it is more a 'vest' type I wear hi-vis underneath and it is still very visible. I'm sure there are more modeen and up-to date versions on the market, but I am very happy with my old hit-air.

 

[Britestar]

I have the helite gilet. The inners can be removed and zipped into a show jacket, but I just have the gilet on over the jacket.

I love it. Its comfy, warm (sometime too warm in summer), and is perfectly ok when it goes of. I use it for everything, having a large and rather stupid horse. Its been away once to get serviced, and due to go away again shortly.

I am short and size 10/12, but i have a large as I found the med a bit snug. That said I borrowed an XC 'version' when it went away that was small, and it was fine too, but they are more airy anyway.

 

[Widgeon]

I also have a Hit Air. I can't comment on its expansion properties as I haven't set it off yet (I will have jinxed myself now, better get ready for a crash tonight!) but it's very comfortable and lightweight. I wear it over my jacket or over a T shirt in summer, and because it's so comfortable I wear it every time I get on. I also wear a hi-viz jacket underneath (I have the black version) and it is still very visible when I'm on the roads. I wouldn't have thought you'd have any problem fitting it over your chest - it does up with straps at the front, and it isn't tight.

 

[ycbm]

The Helite and the P2 are very, very similar because they started from the same jacket. They are fitted looser because they inflate to both sides.

The Hit Air is fitted more snugly because it has been designed only to inflate outwards.

I prefer the loose fit of of a P2, especially in summer.

P2 can catch on the cantle at the back, Hit Air is tucked up until it goes off

Hit Air expands up past the bottom of the hat, which can push the head forwards. I would not want that.

There is a gap in the air on a Hit Air at the base of the neck. If you had one of the common falls, swinging backwards into a jump or arena fence, it's feasible that a pole/rail/edge of a fixed jump could hit you right there in the gap. It's not a risk I would be happy with, though it may be compensated for by greater coverage elsewhere. Gaps !after more on a jacket that inflates outwards. In ones that just inflate, the cover is stretched tight between the edges of the airbags and offer protection that way.

The P2 inflates a fraction of a second faster than the Hit Air. I'm not sure about the Helite. In a bad fall, there is a fraction of a second between injury and death. Time to inflate is a measure I personally take very seriously.

Hope that helps.

.

 

[ihatework]

I use a hit air because it is neater/less bulky and much cooler to ride in the summer

 

[Shay]

Hit Air really need to be properly fitted because of the section that expands at the neck. Helite do have a collar in adult jackets but it isn't as pronounced as the hit air and won't force the head forward. If you are shorter in the body the hit air expands up too high to be safe and can cause damage - and I got that from a Hit Air fitter when trying it on DD. All power to her - she said she could not sell us one as it would be dangerous. DD is not unusually short or unusual in body shape - she's 5'5 size 8 (and a G cup chest so we have those to think about too..)

If you are doing this online only I would suggest a P2 or Helite (they are pretty much the same jacket.) My personal preference is for helite - partly because I know the bloke who designed the origional jacket and why the split happened. But more importantly becuase the range is better for what we do with them. You can also buy second hand P2 and helite then send the jacket back to the company for servicing.

 

[canteron]

While deciding get into the habit of imagining unclipping every time before you get off a horse.

I have seen several
riders get off their horse,with abandon, only to have a ‘bang’ as the jacket goes off and the horse disappearing in the opposite direction 😬

 

[asmp]

Daughter and I both have Hit Air. We tried other brands but found this make the most comfortable. I have the Hi Viz one but I'm not sure they make them anymore.

Adding to the comment above, don't forget to plug them in too when you get on. Was with a friend who forgot and she came off while jumping

 

[dixie]

I have a Helite jacket that is a gilet but also zips into my blouson or my show jacket.
I don't know why a couple of people have said they are like the P2 but its absolutely nothing like my old P2 which I sold.
Also it fits me relatively snugly and inflates outwards - I know as I've tried this more times than I like ! I am also 5ft 8" but slim build and have a size large, although I originally bought this to go over my bodyprotector, so had a larger one - it might be that a medium would have been fine too.
The gilet, blouson and show jacket all have pockets, are all washable and super comfy.
The photo is of the Gilet.

My mother has a Hi Viz one which I think is Helite, which is lightweight and super comfy too - no pockets though

 

[dixie]

Adding to the comment above, don't forget to plug them in too when you get on. Was with a friend who forgot and she came off while jumping

I actually forgot to put the cannister in after it came back from servicing. It came back in April and didn't notice until early August ! Luckily I remembered about a week before I fell off and needed it - not that it helped my leg getting hurt.