Do riding safety vests expire? If so; what is the expiration based upon? X number of years from manufacture date or x number of years being used?
What about falls?
I’m coming from the H/J where more people are riding in approved safety vests. Hope my topic is not redundant. 
This is a good question. I hope some of the others respond. I never gave my vest a thought.
One difference between a helmet and a crash vest is, the panels of a vest are secured inside the sewn fabric pockets so you are not depending on glues and such to keep things intact.
Tipperary has this on their page:
Tipperary recommends you replace your vest no later than five to seven years from the date of purchase. Over time, use of the vest and exposure to outdoor conditions may cause the materials to degrade which may be unseen. The materials may degrade from use and body heat that may be unseen. Tipperary is always researching and introducing improvements. Vest standards also change over time.
I didn’t see anything on the CO website.
Any object designed to absorb shock that’s made out of foam will expire after 5-7 years regardless of how it’s constructed. Foam degrades and compresses over time, and as it does, it gradually loses its ability to absorb shock and protect the wearer, regardless of whether we’re talking about a helmet, a car seat, football pads or an XC vest. So yeah, vests will expire on a similar schedule to helmets.
Thank you for the informative information.
If someone is purchasing a vest, especially a used one, or a new one that might be older as per manufacture date, where are the places they should look to find the date of manufacture? Is this a little sewn in label inside the vest? Or?
I read that safety vests of a certain type (?) are required at sanctioned events. Where can I read more about that? Just for information purposes. Honestly, I can tell much different between them. I’m sure there is though.
Are used vests a no no to buy? I see so many and now I wonder. Thanks again.
I’m always of the opinion that safety equipment should always be bought new. Would you buy a used helmet? Unless the vest can be verified by the manufacturer as working properly, like the Point Two Airvests. I know that is wasteful, but when it comes to your safety I think there is no other way.
Do officials at horse trials ever check rider’s vests and helmets for certification and dates of manufacture?
No. USEA/USEF have no requirements on the certification for vests. They recommend ASTM standards, but all they check is that you’re wearing some type of body protecting vest. And that air vests are worn over another vest.
You are required to wear an ASTM/SEI certified helmet, but it is the rider/parents responsibility to make sure it is certified, not the official’s. I assume this must be a liability issue in some way.
You might check COTH articles for the vest information. They did an article on vests not very (last year) long ago. There was new information in it that I did not know. I wIll be needing a couple vests for Combined Driving’s marathon section, so I have been checkling out any new information before purchasing the vests.
Interesting. British Eventing requires all helmets to be of a minimum standard. At the start of the season they are checked by the (volunteer) officials as the competitor checks in and a coloured coded label is attached to the strap to show that the helmet has passed for that year. If a helment has no colour code label it is checked again. At least, pre-covid. I presume it is a liability issue.
I suspect for some amateur riders getting that label on their helmet strap is a plus because it indicates “hey, I’m a serious competitor”.
The Body Protectors similarly have a minimum standard. The BETA label is colour coded.
In Canada we also have minimum standards for body protectors worn during competition. This is what our rulebook says:
Body Protector vests must meet or exceed, and be appropriately labelled
ASTM approved standard F1937-04 (2017), BETA Level 3 body protector
standard or European standard EN 13158-2018.
This rule did just get approved about 2018-2019 though.
I purchase all my safety equipment to the BE requirements. I don’t own an air vest due to the science being inconclusive and jumping at a lower level but if either of those change I will most likely invest in one. If nothing else to make my mother happy.
I guess I need to start thinking about a new vest. I got mine in 2017/18 and will need to replace mine next year.
It may have been Pony Club that had some sort of requirement for specific types of body protection vests? USA but possibly UK?
Not saying we do all things right in pony club in my part of the world, but I have never had them check my vest at pony club (in the US). Helmet for sure. Vest just ‘yes you have a vest on’.
It was probably something I read about safety vests being required and inspected in eventing in the UK. There was mention that certain styles of vests looked okay design wise but were not ok. Something about vests being inspected at events for approval.
This is an older article that mentions safety vests required in UK events.
https://eventingconnect.today/2015/05/29/a-guide-to-help-you-choose-a-safety-vest/
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