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Riding Hats, Tests and Consumer
Standards |
Riding hats have been traditionally produced
from a combination of gossamer and shellac and although many are still made
using these materials, the nature of the materials used prevent the hats from
conforming to any of the British standards which are now in place. Gossamer is
formed from linen, coated with a shellac based paste which makes for a better
fitting hat. However when exposed to water has a tendency of becoming soft
preventing sufficient protection.
Riding hats have since 1963 undergone a number
of rigorous tests to ensure that they afford maximum safety to the wearer. The
following aspects of the hats have been tested.
Peaks
The original peaks by their inflexibility and
inability to bend upon impact caused neck injuries. A modification to the
original standard required the peaks to provide a certain amount of
flexibility.
Straps
Straps used to secure the hat onto the head,
were originally made from elastic. Tests proved that these straps allowed the
hat to come away from the head upon a fall. They were therefore subsequently
replaced with Nylon.
In 1982 research into riding accidents was
carried out. Neurosurgeons found that of those involved in horse riding
accidents, 1/3 of patients were found not to have been wearing a hat, 1/3 of
the patients had their hat come away from their head during the fall and 1/3
did not have sufficient protection. This lead The British Standards Committee
of 1984 to require that hats have more than 2 points of attachment and the 3rd
point of attachment was to be some sort of harness.
Linings
Up until 1985 the shock absorption lining had
been cork. This has now been replaced by expanded polystyrene to provide a
reduction in the overall weight. The polystyrene is then protected by a hard
fibreglass or plastic shell which will either then be painted or covered with
velvet.
Standards were looked at again carefully in
1993 when 6 cross country riders were killed. The BSI introduced its own
interim standard the PAS015 which was the first standard to test the bottom
edge of the helmet. This standard was created from looking at all the draft
proposals for the Euro-Standard and taking the highest option in each case. The
European Standard, which was finally published in 1996 in Europe and 1997 in
the UK BSEN1384, is now slightly lower than PAS015. A further test was devised,
the first of its kind, to test the strength of the harness.
The PAS015 was revised in 1998 with the
introduction of the crushing test to ensure the helmet could resist
force.
Article compiled by thehatsite.com –
portal site dedicated to the headwear industry
http://www.thehatsite.com
Thanks go to Charles Owen for providing
information for the above article.
www.charlesowen.co.uk
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