$250+ for a riding vest I won’t use a ton is out of the question 
I’m not jumping, but I’d like to be a bit more protected from the occasional not-asked-for teleports I may encounter again from my horses.
I had one about 4 weeks ago, didn’t even have time to think about the fall (she’s only 14h and she scooted out from under me instantly) . Landed on my hip and ribs; think I cracked a rib.
You think a standard no-so-expensive vest would help cushion that?
Think cheap-cheap-cheap!
I’ve had that same fall, albeit from a much larger horse. I had some significant damage to my hip (all soft tissue, no broken bones, thankfully) and I cracked the two lower (“floating”) ribs. I was wearing a good quality, BETA Level 3 vest at the time (Airowear Outlyne).
I will say, however, that I had absolutely no injury, pain,or bruising on my back or upper ribs.
Intec makes some inexpensive models.
There’s no way anyone could venture a guess on whether a vest, or what type of vest, would have prevented your injury.
The more expensive vests are certified, so they’ve had to go through the costly process of designing and testing their product to meet certain international standards. There are ENORMOUS differences in types of foam, their compression strength, ability to withstand hot or cold temps, durability, etc. Possible that the cheaper vests may be functionally similar but just decided not to go through the cost of certifying. Or, equally possible the cheaper, non-certified is absolute junk, just window dressing with little protection. The lower you go on the price scale, I think the more likely you get the latter scenario.
So NSP, you think it wouldn’t matter if I do it again, still get hurt? lol I didn’t bruise either, but the ground was like concrete. Thank goodness we were simply walking!
I don’t plan on jumping fences at speed (or doing much at speed really). If anything it’d be a similr type fall (hopefully not on m head…)
Find a vest that is comfortable and certified. I wear a Charles Owen Kontakt 5. About 5 years ago, I fell off the back of my horse onto rocky, hard ground after he was bitten by a big fly, bucked and leaped forward. I was not wearing a vest and had huge, sore, bruises on my back that kept me from riding for 6 weeks. It would not surprise me if I chipped a few bones, but I didn’t get an x Ray. A few years later, I had a similar fall while wearing the vest. I had no pain, no bruising and was able to get back on and finish the ride.
I am convinced that vests are helpful in many falls.
Based on my experience, if the vest is between you and whatever you hit - the ground, a tree, a jump…, then yes, it helps. The problem in the fall I described is that I landed at an angle, half upright, hip first, so the vest was not between me and the ground.
However, when my upper body smashed into the ground, the vest was between me and the ground and I was very happy that I was wearing it. I’m sure I would have at least gotten some nice bruises without it.
I use the Tipperary Ride Lite vest. It is not certified, but I feel like it would offer me a bit of protection for the type of fall you describe. Reasonably priced around $169.
I think a vest does help, but not a ton… that is, don’t get your hopes up too high. It will help with bruising but it doesn’t make you invincible, not by a long shot.
If you really are budget limited, you might be able to get one secondhand, maybe one of the Tipperary models. The age of the vest will probably make it less protective and those vests weren’t certified (mostly because of coverage issues).
A vest is not likely to give much protection to a hip. The newer models might do better at this.
As far as the expense, it’s worth noting that your copay for the ER is probably more than the $250, so only using it once on the right day might still be a bargain. But, then you have to convince yourself that it would be the difference between the ER and not, and I can’t say that it would be.
(darn that missing edit function)
A vest might not be the difference between ER or not ER, serious injury or not-serious, but on the other hand, it might be the difference between, “I can go to work successfully the day after I fall off” versus “I will be so stiff and sore that I have to take the day off” and that might be worth the cost also.
I paid about $100 CDN for my vest. I got it off eBay. Looks the same as a tip. Laying side by side you would never know despite the lack of logo. They hold up well after two years, no falls knock on wood but the foam fill is very sturdy.
The cost of a vest is not in the materials but in the research that goes into the design and testing and one tends to get what one pays for. Would you buy an un-certified helmet?
FWIW, I bought a cheaper rodeo vest on Amazon, thinking I was so smart to get a $60 vest b/c Western stuff is cheaper than English. However, it was super-bulky, limiting my range of motion, and I had to send it back.
[QUOTE=pryme_thyme;8977205]
I paid about $100 CDN for my vest. I got it off eBay. Looks the same as a tip. Laying side by side you would never know despite the lack of logo. They hold up well after two years, no falls knock on wood but the foam fill is very sturdy.[/QUOTE]
I bet this is the same vest I have. Hard to tell the difference when I put it beside my Tipperary. I’d recommend it to the OP.
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