Can anyone give me any insight into the differences between these two vest. Besides the fact that one if half the price of the other…
Trying to justify spending $840 for the Point Two in my colors vs. $430 for the Hit Air in black.
The technology is the same in fact developed by the same company in Japan.
The Hit Air inflates outward, the Point Two inward
the Hit Air inflates in .2 sec the Point two in .1 sec
the Point two was /is marketed very aggressively and the reason you see so many ULR’s in the Point Two is, because they were given them, not because they are necessarily a superior product. save your money and buya new helmet too or take more lessons and ride in a Hit Air!
At a glance, the two designs seem to be fairly identical in their inactive and active states. There are a few minor differences from what I can see, namely that the Point Two has more chest straps (3 vs 2) and it’s CO2 shots are nearly twice as expensive just from glancing at the prices I dug up on the fly. The Hit Air has some additional protective plating you can use.
EXO, if you want real protection from what can seriously $*#& you up.
they were given them, not because they are necessarily a superior product. save your money and buya new helmet too or take more lessons and ride in a Hit Air!
There are actually two types of Hit-Air vests. Their standard vest inflates in .5 sec. The S-type is faster, but still only .25 sec.
Point 2 inflates in .1 sec.
I chose the Point 2 because of the service I got when trying it in England last year. They were really concerned about fit and were honest and open about its limitations (e.g., stating clearly that it would not do much in a rotational fall).
No matter which vest you buy, don’t go off opinions or price or looks alone…go try them on, talk to someone knowledgeable, and do your research to make sure you’re getting the vest that is best for what you want.
.5 seconds is not nearly fast enough. Don’t bother with that one. The difference between .1 second and .2 seconds is very large when one is lawn darted into the ground. I would spend my money on the more expensive one that inflates faster. What is $400 in the end? If you are going to spend $400, go ahead and spend $800 and get your colors. 
I dont have a problem with spending the extra money…IF there is a difference I am spending my money on. I dont want to pay double for the exact same product just because one is charging more…
It isn’t the exact same product and I doubt you’ll find anyone who will objectively point you to one or the other as superior. It’s preference; as someone pointed out, many ULRs were given Point Two vests to wear as a promo and they are marketed very aggressively. Hit Air is lower-key (and lower cost). Our resident scientists (see previous threads) think poorly of BOTH products, so hard to evaluate the physics of .2 seconds inflation time versus .5 in terms of injury avoidance. I have enough knowledgeable eventing friends riding in the Hit Air to have made that a reasonable choice for my daughter.
You need to be comparing .1 sec vs .2 sec as that is the vest being marketed, and they will fit you properly,I believe both vests are avail at Bit of Britian.
if it’s colors that is important to you then it will cost you more but they are both a good product and will provide the same protection.As someone earlier stated you won’t be “saved” by any vest in a rotational fall
[QUOTE=JER;4906527]
EXO, if you want real protection from what can seriously $*#& you up.[/QUOTE]
You are (once again) correct JER but for many of us, because of sizing issues, it’s not an option.
if you look at the area the hit air vests cover they DO NOT cover vitals, whichc i know its a blow up vest and that is not whats going to protect you the most but i would want protection everywhere. Add the the .1 difference I would get the point 2. I have put on both and blown up both and I feel the point two is more even and the hit air almost felt like the neck and but thing would flip up.
I noticed this weekend alot more people have the sponsered by hit air vest banners, they must be trying really hard to get some of point two booming success
I got to try a hit-air out today at the TBird H/J show. It’s a VERY odd feeling when it inflates! I just had it on over my street clothes and there was definitely inward compression as well as out.
It does make a SUPER loud “pop” when it inflates…
They are both loud…Point Two louder that Hit Air, I know of at least one person who found it hard to breathe when she fell with a Point two on
[QUOTE=advmom;4907968]
They are both loud…Point Two louder that Hit Air, I know of at least one person who found it hard to breathe when she fell with a Point two on[/QUOTE]
This is a HUGE problem, that I have seen quite a lot in the U.K.
Please please, airvest wearers, have them loose enough so that if yours inflates, it doesn’t take your breath away and make you go stiff with the shock of having the air suddenly shoved out of your lungs (which is what happened to me when I tried one.)
If you stiffen up as you fall then you turn into a real lawn dart, and I am really concerned that this inhibits the ideal ‘tuck and roll’ reaction.
MY only hesitation with them is in the event of a rotational fall, where the horse lands on top of you and you are not seperated from the horse…UNTIL he stands up and then the vest inflates. What happens if you have a broken spine and then the vest suddenly inflates? Are you now paralyzed where you might have been OK if stabilized? On the other hand, maybe it is worth the risk with the amount of good they do in a normal fall? I just need to make a decision in the next day or so on whether to order one so it gets here before I leave!!
[QUOTE=eventrider;4908250]
MY only hesitation with them is in the event of a rotational fall, where the horse lands on top of you and you are not seperated from the horse…UNTIL he stands up and then the vest inflates. What happens if you have a broken spine and then the vest suddenly inflates? Are you now paralyzed where you might have been OK if stabilized? [/QUOTE]
This would be an unusual situation. No one seems to know what would happen.
From an EMS point of view, we’ve learned that rapid compression followed by rapid deflation can be dangerous in shock situations. This is more a vascular/circulation issue than anything else.
What you need to remember is, that like in a car accident with air bags, the rapid inflation of the air jacket could be considered another insult to the body – forces acting on the body that may affect it.
[QUOTE=eventrider;4908250]
On the other hand, maybe it is worth the risk with the amount of good they do in a normal fall? [/QUOTE]
Which is what, exactly?
If one goes to the P2 website (which has changed recently to omit the lies about Faith Cook’s fall), one can (or at least could) see images of riders in falls in which the air jacket did not inflate before the rider hit the ground. In those situations, the air jacket is doing nothing. It is as useful in terms of safety as your underwear or socks.
In a high percentage of rider falls, the rider lands on his/her feet. Again, an air jacket is nothing but a hindrance in that situation.
If you are thrown clear and the air jacket deploys in time, you will not be protected from axial loading or torsional loading injuries. If you land on your head, your neck and spine is still vulnerable to the effects of the axial load. Your limbs are still vulnerable to torsional loading injuries.
Your torso will probably be cushioned a bit more than usual when you hit the ground. I don’t know what that’s worth because I’ve never had serious or even mildly debilitating injuries from hitting the ground like that in a conventional body protector (and I never ride without one). The things I needed time off (broken clavicle, ribs) for were all caused by axial or torsional loading.
It’s not clear from the P2 or Hit Air sites how much impact protection either garment offers above the protection from the standard body protector. That is a quantifiable measurement and the onus is on them to quantify it. But they haven’t.
So, back to your statement ‘the amount of good they do in a normal fall’ – what is that amount of good?
Okay, here’s something I’m curious about. If I’m driving my car and have a head on collision with a tree, say, and the airbag inflates, it keeps me from being thrown forward through the windshield or whatever, right? That is, its job is to fill the gap between me and the steering wheel/ dashboard etc, thus dramatically reducing the DISTANCE I travel. It doesn’t really reduce the IMPACT with which I hit, except by reducing momentum, right? Theoretically I would be just as safe if not safer driving with the airbag fully inflated, if it didn’t make it impossible to see.
So if, theoretically, they made a fully inflated air bag vest, that you could somehow ride in without feeling like a balloon, would that be just as good at reducing impact as a regular (non EXO) protective vest? Would the air cushion as well as foam? Better? Or does the detonation/ inflation process serve an actual purpose, other than making the vest wearable?
The Hit Air CO2 canister sits inside the vest, while the Point Two canister is on the outside. If one were to land on the canister in the Hit Air, you could crack your ribs on that thing. Also, the average fall occurs in .2 seconds, so the inflation time on the Hit Air is just too slow. I had a rider fall in her Point Two today and she didn’t feel a thing when she hit the log with her body. :yes:
[QUOTE=Highflyer;4909190]
Okay, here’s something I’m curious about. If I’m driving my car and have a head on collision with a tree, say, and the airbag inflates, it keeps me from being thrown forward through the windshield or whatever, right? That is, its job is to fill the gap between me and the steering wheel/ dashboard etc, thus dramatically reducing the DISTANCE I travel. It doesn’t really reduce the IMPACT with which I hit, except by reducing momentum, right? Theoretically I would be just as safe if not safer driving with the airbag fully inflated, if it didn’t make it impossible to see.
So if, theoretically, they made a fully inflated air bag vest, that you could somehow ride in without feeling like a balloon, would that be just as good at reducing impact as a regular (non EXO) protective vest? Would the air cushion as well as foam? Better? Or does the detonation/ inflation process serve an actual purpose, other than making the vest wearable?[/QUOTE]
Airbags protect you by deflating.
The idea of the airbag is to lessen the effects of your rapid deceleration in the car crash. You’re right about space – the airbag fills the space between you and your car and uses that space to spread out the forces involved in the crash.
But an inflating airbag poses a threat to the driver. Injuries from airbags occur when the driver hits the airbag while it is still inflating. (Recently, I linked to a good article in the New York Times about a recent study on how airbags and seat belts can be at odds with each other in protecting drivers. Worth looking for if you’re interested in airbags and safety.) This is why there are guidelines for smaller passengers, children, optimal distance from steering wheel to driver’s seat and optimal angle of recline for the driver and passengers.
Ideally, the vehicle occupants should hit the airbag after it has started to deflate. Airbags deflate almost immediately after they inflate. It’s the deformability in the deflation stage that offers protection – the surface is no longer rigid and can absorb forces.
So you would not be safe driving with an inflated airbag. Not safe at all.
The equestrian air jackets and motor vehicle air bags don’t make for good comparisons. Reed has written quite eloquently about this on other threads and I defer to his wisdom because he’s the rocket scientist and I’m merely the person who extricates you from your vehicle and brushes the powder from the airbags off your skin.
