How Do You Know If Your Equestrian Air Vest Is Too Big?
If your air vest is obviously gappy, chances are it's too big. When you pull on the canister and trigger system, it should sit comfortably against the torso. It shouldn't be tipping off of the torso or floating around. If you can pull it several inches away from your torso, it's likely too big. What we don't want is in the event of a fall, the vest shifts and the air chambers aren't covering the parts of the body they was designed to protect. The whole point is to have an air chamber over the vital body parts that we want to have protected.
Check your armpits! If you have tons of gapping under the arms and the side of the breast (ladies!), then again, your vest is likely too big.
Through the back, we want the vest sitting fairly flush against the back with room for the vest to inflate away from the body. If you see significant bunching at the back, your vest may be too large.
If you see bunching at the base of the back or at the shoulder blades, your vest may also be too long. Your vest should come down to the SI joint or slightly below, but we don't want it so long that you can't bend at the hip when the vest inflates, impeding your ability to tuck and roll in the event of a fall. We also don't want the vest shooting upwards if it's too long, moving your helmet during the course of a fall.
These are just some of the things that you want to look for to make sure that a vest fits appropriately. Please keep in mind that in cases of certain medical conditions, we may choose to size slightly larger.
Need a fitting? Contact us!
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