Best safety equpiment

[ShariN]

Ok.... here is questions for you all. Maybe at some point it could be a sticky.

Being Handicapped now...and not sure if I am going to be able to ride again. If by some strange turn of events the perfect larger wide Icelandic turned up..that would be good for a handicapped person to start all over....again on..Not likely though.
Anyway...

What is the best rated helmet for safety, comfort and fit?

What is the best rated Body armour for safety/protection, comfort and fit?

So you get my idea. Doesn't seem to be a whole lot of info on the net like that.

 

[ShariN]

Boy... I thought by now someone would post something. Is this such a strange Question?

 

[Skib]

Some people like myself are very interested in the design and choice of hats and body protectors. There have been numerous threads on the subject and recommendations both from the UK and in the States.
A NR search will bring up the discussions.
But one word of warning I always post is that it is no good setting your heart on a particular brand. You have to try several brands to find the one that suits the shape and size of your head, or your figure.
I'd love a race safe which is the favourite body protect or many on this board, but the small size is too small and the medium too loose on me, particularly round the shoulders. So I would have to have one tailor made to measure which costs extra. Whereas the Zippa fits me excellently just off the peg.
Generally speaking all body protectors (except those worn for racing) are Level 3. But hat standards vary from country to country, and the strength often depends on the purpose for which they will be used. Ventilation and weight may be factors too.

Hats designed for cross country eventing tend to be stronger than those for other activities. My hat is a gatehouse pro - one of the strongest eventing hats you can buy, and based on a motorcycle crash helmet design. But it doesn't fit everyone. My OH bought a Charles Owen instead because that fitted him better.

I hope that answers your question to some extent. I consider myself pretty expert on hats and body protectors, yet as I posted earlier this week, I am having difficulty buying both for my OH and for my grand daughter.

One really needs to try these things on, to be fitted by a trained shop assistant, and to be able to try a number of different brands to find the one that fits you. This is difficult when shops tend to be tied to only one or two brands and do not have the full range of sizes in stock.

 

[alwaysfallingof]

Yes, the problem is that because we are all different shapes, the brands that I find best for comfort and fit would be very uncomfortable on riders of different proportions.
As far as I know, the safety of any level 3 body protectors will be about the same

Ditto Skib that the hats designed for xc tend to be the ones that were safest when tested. Skull caps are meant to be safer than the velvet covered ones with peaks, and the ones with vents are not recommended for xc because of the risk of getting something stuck through the vent in the event of a fall. However, because they are lighter than the old-fashioned skull caps, there is an advantage to them.