Which body protector?! Mine is so uncomfortable!

E

ellerslie83

Well-Known Member
Joined
10 April 2011
Messages
129
Location
Windermere
Visit site
I need to get a new body protecter and my old Charles Owen one is no longer the right shape, as it's a childs size and I've finally managed to put some weight on, so need something to fit my still small yet adult frame.
My current one is so inflexible, I can't get on my horse without a leg up as I can't bend/flex enough to fold forward and over his back without it digging right into me.

Anyone got any suggestions for a comfy but top safety spec body protector that doesn't feel like an iron girdle?

I'd love to have one with the option of shoulder pads too....
 
I like Racesafe one's. You can get them custom made with different fits in length of back and not just a 'general size'. Also, they do an assortment of different colours you can choose from. xx
 
I love my Racesafe, forget that I am wearing it and love that the medical card holder is intergral to the shoulder pads

http://www.hows-racesafe.co.uk/protectors.html

You will get some folk that will rave about Kan and I have tried one on at a show out of curiosity

http://www.kanteq.com/

Whereas the WoofWear Exobody cage gives excellent protection but rather more bulky

Do your research, try a few one and see what suits you for what you need!

However I am sure this thread will just open the debate and you will get each body protector camps point of view.
 
Racesafe is by far the most comfortable bp IMO :) Wouldn't wear anything else now.

Kanteq's have the advantage of being made of a different material which means that they 'last' longer as they don't degrade the same way as the other body protectors, and are designed for the more 'womanly' shape but I couldn't get one to fit at all comfortably; I am a particularly scrawny runt though, and have no boobs and an old shoulder injury which every other bp I've tried rubs on :rolleyes:. Lots of posters swear by them, in fact it is almost like they have been told to promote them on here at times...

Your best bet is to try a few on and see what you can get to fit, I know both the Racesafes and Kan's can be altered to fit most types.
 
I have an Airowear Outlyne. It's awesome :D Its very flexible, light, you can buy shoulder pads for it. It's adjustable by velcro on the sides and shoulders so i don't have to worry that it won't fit after christmas especially :D many sizes available so you can get one to suit. IMO they're great :)
 
I have a racesafe one and think it is by far the most comfortable one I've ever tried, and laces at the sides mean you can have more room in places and less in others, if you know what I mean!
My mum however tried one and didn't like it, she has an aerborn one I think. It has the word 'air' in it anyway! It's not shaped but it is incredibly bendy, although uncomfortable now it has spent a few years in a draughty tack room :o
 
I'm another racesafe fan, although with the new safety standards, you can no longer unlace the sides completly, which means when the zip goes, which it has on all 3 of the ones I've owned, you have fun geting out of them! Its what I will buy everytime though. I have a jazzy purple one!!
 
I have a Kan and do love it! i find it comfortable and flexible but it feels alot more substantial than the racesafe. As rhino says the fabric will not degenerate as with others so technically shouldnt need replacing anytime soon. Comes with shoulder pads too.

Im definitely not on the kan payroll, or ever been told to promote it by anyone (Rhino:confused:) :rolleyes: All purely my own experience and opinion here!

I suggest going to and trying on several different ones as theyre all pretty different and will suit different bodyshapes.
 
PingPongPony said:
I have an Airowear Outlyne. It's awesome :D Its very flexible, light, you can buy shoulder pads for it. It's adjustable by velcro on the sides and shoulders so i don't have to worry that it won't fit after christmas especially :D many sizes available so you can get one to suit. IMO they're great :)
Click to expand...

Yup. Airowear outlyne for me, its just so comfy and flexible, really adjusts and I don't know I'm wearing, atm I'm a size 14 but hoping to go back down to a 10 to 12 so was worried it would be too big but it will easily go that small or even bigger (not that I'll need that!) I love it.
 
I love my Racesafe! My previous body protector was so restrictive and uncomfortable but I can move so well in this one, it's also not as hot as my last one was. The RS2000 one is the all purpose one, I'd always go racesafe after having this.
 
I love my Kan as they can accommodate small waists and big boobs comfortably. The customer service is amazing too, I actually did a thread a while ago about how pleased I was. No one asked me to but I was genuinely impressed as poor customer service is a real pet hate of mine and I was genuinely impressed.they were very helpful in perfecting the fit. I am quick to criticise so feel I should give credit where it is due.
 
I love my racesafe as well, as does my daughter. Yes, you can buy online...we use Treehouse who are very quick and concientious...they ring you up to double check that you have ordered the correct size!
 
I have a RS and it is certainly comfortable. However, my daughter has a KanTeq: she is very slight and about 5'3" so might be a similar build to OP? I wanted her to try one as I do believe they offer better protection and technology than many of the others. She was initially sceptical, as she liked her RS which is VERY light and easy to wear, and the Kan feels heavier, bulkier and stiffer when you try it on. However, she agreed to try it, and now wouldn't ride in anything else. She finds it comfortable and reassuringly substantial, and hasn't found the additional weight an issue at all. She wears it with a P2, btw.

Just to be absolutely clear, as T events at the highest level for ponies, KanTeq did give T her BP on the understanding that, if she liked it, she (and I) would tell people about it. However, everything I have stated above is my true experience of the product - if I wasn't impressed, I just wouldn't have bothered to reply to this thread. T still has a RS which fits her so she does have the choice, and she chooses the Kan :)

ETA: because we event, she isn't wearing the BP for long periods - might be worth seeing what others think if you plan to wear it for hours at a time...
 
Racesafe for me. Tried on a kan and I couldnt get one that was comfortable, but then I have a childs with a short back in a racesafe so that might be why.
 
I have a Airowear Outlyne atm, but it will need replacing next year.
Daughter has a Kan, again I found the customer service to be excellent, and she loves it, we have not been asked to promote it, I will be replacing my Airowear with a Kan and when other daughter stops growing she will have one. I wish they did them for men as OH and our young son who would have one as well:)
 
I got my kan from a local shop and love it. I will wear it for hours at a time and not really notice it. I got it for the shoulder protection as I had a rotational fall out hacking last year an smashed my collar bone to pieces, now with an unconventional second plate and 7 pins!!

It is very heavy off but light on, something you have to try. Only thing is I hate the big k on the back, I know its vain but if I could get plain covers I would wear it hunting too.
 
I have a Racesafe2010 (the RS2000 isn't the new standard so although current atm, don't expect it to stay that way for much longer!).

They don't make, as standard, a Kan to fit over my boobs although people in CR have told me that if I were to phone they could probably do something for me so I assume they could for everyone else too :)

I love my RS, but then I would because I come from a racing yard and that's what everyone has! Only thing I've found where an off the peg size will fit me.
 
Another Kan fan. I'm rather petite and it fits really well. Customer service is excellent - I ordered mine at Blenheim but it was a smidge long at the back so they trimmed it for me at YHL. Once on it's really comfortable and you pretty much forget you have it on! PS not on their payroll either.
 
I have a fairly old BP that I can hardly breathe in so when a friend offered to lend me her Kan for camp I was thrilled (if a tad apprehensive about damaging it). It was extremely comfortable but I came off in deep, muddy water so asked her how best to clean it. Took the cover off & washed it - great. Has just taken us an hour to get it back together again! Think I'll try a racesafe or airowear when I buy a new one as I am far too likely to fall off & it's bound to be in mud!
 
Can you get shoulders for the Racesafe bps?

I currently have a Rodney Powell, but plan to upgrade to Racesafe in November this year at the Your Horse show (as I hope I would get a bargin there!). I wear my bp all the time, but find I'm not as flexible for mounting from the ground, and have heard on here so many fantastic things about Racesafe's.

But...I am patched up with metal from an old shoulder injury so I would really need a bp that I can buy shoulder protectors for, as that's a vulernerable area for me

Incidentally - when people ask if my bad shoulder is because of my horse, I always say 'No, it wasn't the horse, it was the ground'! I don't want people thinking badly of my lovely, abeit slightly mad, horse!! :D
 
HappyNeds said:
Can you get shoulders for the Racesafe bps?

I currently have a Rodney Powell, but plan to upgrade to Racesafe in November this year at the Your Horse show (as I hope I would get a bargin there!). I wear my bp all the time, but find I'm not as flexible for mounting from the ground, and have heard on here so many fantastic things about Racesafe's.

But...I am patched up with metal from an old shoulder injury so I would really need a bp that I can buy shoulder protectors for, as that's a vulernerable area for me

Incidentally - when people ask if my bad shoulder is because of my horse, I always say 'No, it wasn't the horse, it was the ground'! I don't want people thinking badly of my lovely, abeit slightly mad, horse!! :D
Click to expand...

yes

http://www.rideaway.co.uk/racesafe-rs200-shoulder-pads-with-medical-card-holder
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top