Thanks, that’s what I thought. Disappointing.
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And also a longer death list.
If you look at the list in that study - which only goes up to 2015 - there are 59 names.
Of those 59, only about 10 are non-crush. A few are ambiguous, with riders hitting trees and also having head injuries and might have been mitigated by a passive safety device like the EXO.
In other words, if those riders had a passive safety device that protected their torso from the weight of a falling/rotating horse, that particular death list would almost certainly be a whole lot shorter.
Maybe we’d be looking at a death list of 10 names rather than 59. Or even if it was 25 instead of 59, I’d be plenty happy with the reduction.
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Sorry, didn’t mean to keep it secretive:
Hey. So I sent messages through two ways. To Toklat, they’re the ones that send me products. Not sure if I wanted to post the email on a public forum, but will provide via DM. She’s on the sales team. She would only direct inquiries to her buyers, etc. But I’d encourage anyone to still reach out as they’re one of their biggest distributors. Then WoofWear through their Instagram page as a direct message. Through this platform I received pretty thorough responses quickly. They are a small team, so their social-media manager works directly with their production management.
IMO, and this comes just from reviewing the actions of my own “blog-followers” buying decisions, I don’t think cost is that much of a deterring factor, “today” to the young riders of U.S. eventing. You can already look at the success of stylish helmets, designer breeches, etc. Our sport, even myself as a month-to-month paycheck-er, fall prey to the right marketing strategies. If I tell my “followers” to buy a product because I like it. They will purchase it. (Now, I have to be careful what I tell them I like and don’t like.) And I"m a small-fry blogger. As slimy as it sounds, I think in this decade, social media marketing has a larger effect than the market when this product was released a decade ago. Case in point, I had no idea what the EXO vest was until I saw it mentioned here, did some research, now I’d support this type of technology. And if I remember the article correctly, Kitty King said she would wear it with her young horses, but not her ULs because she didn’t want it to be a detriment to her owners. There goes the largest group of WW’s customer market, British youth. WW is based in the U.K. That’s the same individual who crowd-funded her horse off Instagram, right? No, it’s not our job to be WW’s marketing team, and who care’s if its called EXO or another brand releases a vest with similar specs. But I’m all about contacting the brands directly about what I want.
Again, its not about this particular brand or product, it’s just to persuade anyone who likes a product but thinks prior-history is an indicator of how it would do in today’s purchasing climate.
I don’t think the vest failed because it was just uncomfortable and pricey. I have sold from my affiliate links uncomfortable shoes at the same price to the same demographic that purchases protective-vests. And those sneakers serve no other practical purpose than they have a wedge heal and leopard print…
USEA doesnt even make BETA 3 mandatory and they allow air vests. They will never require riders to wear a crush vest even with science slapping them in the face.
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I do not see the fit issue as an anti-exo argument as much as a reality point.
This product failed when it came out for a reason. Part of that reason was that it only fit a small piece of the market.
If they were not able to make it work for the rest of the market then…
JER, you happen to be just the right size for it to fit correctly and comfortably. Lots of the rest of us are not that size or shape and will never be that size or shape.
It does not make me feel overly confident that someone as petite as Black Points had to buy the biggest size and then was still not able to make it fit well enough to ride in it.
If someone would be willing to make something that fit a large range of rider sizes and shapes I am guessing it would sell.
Signed by someone whose body has never been that cute little athletic shape, plus if I was a horse people would say I was put together with a bunch of spare pieces because of my strange proportions and conformation.
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@Where’sMyWhite its a slim hope but maybe USEA could learn from NASCAR losing as big a name as DE. Lightening does sometimes strike twice.
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I’m definitely not against the EXO or something like it; I just don’t see anyone producing them again after failing a first time. Unless they make some improvements.
Excuses, excuses.
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No, realism. Businesses operate for profit. The EXO didn’t sell enough to make a profit.
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But this is where - in a sport that’s serious about safety - the governing bodies step in and mandate adequate safety equipment.
I’ve related countless examples of this from other sports over the years. In some sports, it takes exactly one death (usually a high-profile one) for things to change.
If the sport-related business want to survive, they produce the mandated safety equipment. Realism, in other words.
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Not really. I would buy one were they still in production, but there’s no way on God’s green earth one would fit me.
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How can so many eventers be of unfittable shapes?
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Well, then lobby the national federations to start including certified vests in their rules and keep updating safety requirements for rider equipment. However, I wouldn’t expect a company to bring back a product that likely lost them money, without changes.
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I disagree that no-one would buy them given the nature of purchasing habits with today’s social media marketing. I believe that given the correct marketing, the vest would sell. If I’m correct, I believe my air-vest was much more than this vest. As a very small-fry blogger, if I tell my “followers” to purchase something, they do. (Obviously I have to be careful what i tell them to purchase) And didn’t Kitty King, admit that while she would wear them with her young horse, wouldn’t with her ULs for the sake of her owners? This is the same voice that crowd-funded her horse on Instagram right, WW’s largest purchasing demographic at this time would have been the U.K young people? A negative comment by someone with that type of following is going to have an impact. Don’t get me wrong quality, price, and other factors influence buyers. But I can also sell a pair of three figure leopard sneakers with a wedge heel to the same demographic that buys air-vests because I have a little bit of talent with a photo editor and post at the right-time of day.
But back to my reason for post. Though I would share my response from Toklat, one of the U.S. based WW distributors. I would still vocalize to distributors desire for a product with the technology you want.
"Hi -----,
Unfortunately Woof Wear no longer makes the EXO vest. We were phasing it out a couple years ago and no longer have any in stock. They were very expensive and the price tag deterred enough people that they were unable to continue manufacturing them.
We are now distributing Champion helmets and body protectors in the United States, and they are extremely dedicated to safety. They specialize in designing helmets and body protectors that are safety certified to the highest degree so that you can ride in confidence. The Champion helmets are triple safety certified ASTM/SEI, VG1, and PAS 015 2011. This is super important to note as ASTM and PAS 015 2011 safety certifications are very different. ASTM is an American safety standard that only tests for a flat impact, horseshoe impact, and harness retention. PAS 015 2011 is a British safety standard that tests three additional safety scenarios;
Penetration – a metal spike is dropped on all potential weak point (vents and rivets)
Crush – two metal plates crush the helmet on either side, simulating a rotational fall or rollover
Stability – the helmet is knocked from the front and back and isn’t allowed to move more than 15 mm in any direction. This is to make sure the helmet maintains stability in the event of an accident.
I have included the safety comparison above. The only additional protection you can add to a helmet currently is MIPS technology. MIPS in not a safety standard, but the MIPS technology allows for a maximum of 15 mm of rotation in all directions to reduce the severity of concussions in rotational falls. Champion has launched a MIPS Collection as of February of 2020. For the safest helmet options, look for helmets certified to PAS 015 2011 with MIPS technology.
The Champion Ti22 body protector has been incredibly popular already, and is BETA Safety Level 3 certified. It is made of a high density foam that is scored, not segmented, to protect you from penetration, and molds perfectly to your body when adjusted snugly for maximum range of motion and heat dispersal. It is also extremely lightweight.
If you would like to have the safest vest for cross country – the best thing you can do is choose a body protector that is Beta Level 3 certified. If you would like to add an Air-Vest, here is an article that describes if the Air-Vest is right for you. https://www.medequestrian.co.uk/ride…ety/air-vests/ We do not offer Air-Vests at this time.
The most important thing to note is that body protectors are designed to protect your vital organs and to lessen impact to your body. However, there are no body protectors on the market that we know of that are designed to protect you from crush in a rotational fall.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.
Have a great weekend,"
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Just me looking in from the outside… your post was then followed by what… excuses.
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So I’m asking all the unfittables, all of you who feel there’s too many reasons not to bring back the EXO or have a similar device:
How do you plan to protect yourselves from your horse crushing you on XC?
How do you envision - in the near future - you will be protecting yourself from your horse crushing you on XC?
All the frangibles and qualification rules and watch lists and fence design in the world aren’t going to eliminate this possibility.
Because eventers are a cross section of society.
I have met @Black Points personally. She is tiny. If she had to buy the largest size to fit her body then there is no way they are going to smoosh my 180lb fat middle aged self into that. Big boobs and a spare tire on my long body (very short legs, tall body)…
Not an excuse. A fact. Not all eventers have your cute little body.
The powers in charge can not mandate people wear something that does not exist (is not on the market) and even when it did exist only fit a small portion of the riders.
Edit to add - Black points made a good point in her post. If you have a short neck the frame work sticking above your shoulders is going to be a safety issue too.
Edit to add again - @JER I think you are missing the point and you seem offended that people dare to say that they did not fit them. I am guessing that if this product was produced in shapes/sizes that fit less than perfect body sizes and shapes people would be interested. The product that was on the market before did not do this. People are allowed to state that and I do not see why you are so offended by this.
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@AskMyAccountant.17 Do you recall what Kitty King’s reason was exactly? I can’t follow what ‘for the sake of her owners’ would mean.
I don’t see how the price of the EXO would really be a problem when riders have been know to pay $1000 dollars for helmets and boots.
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No rider I know spends anywhere near that on boots and helmets.
A $500 vest would mean savings, etc.
And no, this is not saying something should not be designed, etc. Again, just stating facts.
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Ok. I’m about 5’7.5” or 172cm. Taller than average.
I do not take the smallest size EXO. I think my size was somewhere in the middle.
Blugal tried on my EXO a few years ago. She’s 5’2” and a totally different build - she could wear it although it was a little tight.
My sister, who is 5’2” and sturdy, can wear it. Actually, a number of people have tried mine on successfully - taller, shorter, bigger. It really does fit a range of people, IME.
