Point Two air jacket

[Racing_Gal]

My friend ordered one of these last week, it cost £400! I thought it was a bit to much for a 'body protector'. Today we went XC, my friend had a awful fall, she came off at a heck of a speed and landed badly. Her Point Two air jacket arrived yesterday so she was trying it out for the first time today, I really think that if she hadnt been wearing it this would of been a very different type of post. It was such a awful fall, she was a little dizzy for a min or two afterwards (she got a kick in the head/hat as the horse cantered away) and was a little shaken but other than that no injury to speak of.

I'm not a safety mad type girl, I never wear a body protector even for XC but this really made me think. The Point Two air jacket it such a special piece of gear, it can also take upto half a tonne of preasure so will help in a huge way if the horse falls on you in a rotation fall. Shame its so expensive but after today I really think it's worth it

ETA This is what i'm on about;
http://www.point-two.co.uk/equine/testimonials.html

 

[VictoriaEDT]

They are great and TBH it is every bit as important as peoples £1000+ saddle or 2-3 rambo rugs in your tack room. I dont have one yet but I will get one

 

[Marilyn]

i have to be honest, first time I saw it i thought it was an expensive gimmick...however, I've seen a few in action, spoken to a few people who have them and now have totoally changed my mind...yes, £400 is a lot of money BUT seems like it could save your life/neck...I think £400 is a small price to pay for that!

 

[kerilli]

I agree that they are good for minimising injuries, and it's great that this one so limited your friend's injuries, but believe me, being able to withstand 1/2 a tonne of pressure does not mean that they will protect someone in the slightest from crush injuries if a horse falls on them. no way, basic physics and all that. half a tonne of pressure isn't much, and isn't the same as 1/2 a tonne of horse landing on you from above.
if, inflated, you can flatten the protector (no reason why you shouldn't be able to, it has nothing in it to stop the front from touching the back) then IF a horse lands on you, there is nothing other than your ribs stopping you from being crushed. the air jacket won't help. great against bruising, not for crush protection.
i'm really annoyed that they are using this as a selling point and not explaining it properly.
for example, if you do it carefully, you can stand on an egg box, (or on an egg in fact, i've been told, but i haven't tried it!) that means it can "withstand 10 stone of pressure" say. but try jumping on it or falling on it - force = mass x velocity (or acceleration caused by gravity.)
this is the difference, and this is why the point2, for all that it is a good bit of safety kit, cannot do what the Exo does. the Exo can protect you because it is, in effect, an extra set of ribs around you. the cage will hold the weight of a horse off your ribcage, diverting the pressure around your body. no other design of body protector does this.
i've got no interest at all in the Exo personally (other than that i have one for xc!) but it drives me nuts when people are misled and misunderstand.

 

[VictoriaEDT]

v good point but i think people are led towards it as it is more comfortable than the exo........but i am sure that after time you could get used to the exo

 

[Binkybex]

I don't understand how the point two is initiated in the event of a rotational fall. All that is said on the website is that when the rider leaves the saddle the BP is activated. Surely in a rotational fall the BP would then not be activated until it was too late? Also is it possible that you could accidently set it off whilst still on the horse and wouldn't that be v dangerous?

I did see it in action at an event the other day when WFP had to throw himself from an out of control horse (his bridle broke!) and it seemed great as other people have said for this kind of fall.

Does anyone know the answers to my queries?

 

[*hic*]

Binkybex you can't set it off other than by giving the lanyard attached to both the jacket and the saddle a pull of the equivalent of more than six stone. If you have the lanyard correctly adjusted you won't do that unless you have reached a point of no return. It's true that if you are still in the saddle in a rotational fall the jacket will not be activated.

I'm not sure where the figure of half a tonne has come from. I spoke, when I ordered my daughter's, to the company and was told that it had been tested with a tonne. Sure it won't prevent you being injured, but it may help to minimise those injuries.

A more accurate test / explanation of crush injury prevention is not putting constant pressure on like standing on an egg box but more like putting an egg in a child's swimming armband and whacking it with a cricket bat.

 

[qwertyuiop]

I want to get 1, but I am going to hold off for a while & wait for the Mark II version to come out. These sort of innovative products always go through extensive modification after their 1st year out in the field.

 

[OldGit]

I quite agree with kerilli. The point 2 air jacket does not prevent the front surface from being displaced towards the back as there is no rigid bracing unlike the exo. You only need about 1-1.5 inches of inward movement on your chest before things start to break. The air bag will cushion falls and splint the spine to mimimize damage, but cannot prevent a crush injury. I think the "tested to withstand however much pressure" simply means that the cushion will not pop when subjected to that load not that it will allow you to survive unscathed if a ton of horse lands on your chest, so this is a bit misleading.

 

[niaismyname]

They seem to be a good idea, & also seem to minimise the injuries like you said, but (apparently) when Olivia Haddow fell off Fortunesnight at the Mitsubishi Pickups this year at Badminton, her air jacket activated & because of it she couldnt breathe when she landed. (obviously not for long), but I do think there are some large drawbacks to them :/