Are there safety standards for airbag vests?
Yes, but the issue is not a simple one, because as it is a personal protective equipment, your equestrian airbag vest must have the certifications required for this type of equipment, these approvals being different depending on the activity for which they are marketed.
By way of example, the CE standards governing inflatable vests (compatible with Vimele cartridges) are:
NF S 72-800:2022 for horse riding
Única certificación UE específica que regula el uso de protectores inflables para la práctica de la equitación.
To date, very few brands, such as Vimele, have successfully passed this demanding certification, which will force other brands to make an effort in the future to improve their products and adapt them to the recommended safety requirements, which will result in the general safety of horse riding enthusiasts.
EN 1621-4:2018 for motorcycling.
Specific standard for inflatable waistcoats used in motorcycling.
This extremely demanding standard is only available to certain reference brands, being specific only for motorcycling without taking into account the equestrian activity.
At Vimele we recommend that you trust only those brands that guarantee compliance with current regulations, specifically developed to guarantee your safety, offering you the certainty that the product you have purchased has passed the required tests and is considered safe by a competent body.
The best way to know if an airbag waistcoat is really qualified is to ask the brand to show it to you. Any brand that has homologation will have no problem in showing it, and not only that, but when a brand is homologated and communicates it, it has the obligation to make it accessible to the public. The Vimele airbag vest for horse riding is CE approved for equestrian use.
Is the CE mark a quality label?
Of course, but it does not mean that the product has been manufactured in the European Union, this mark indicates that the vest is sold after passing a series of certification tests, and that the manufacturer undertakes to check that its products still conform to this level of quality.
You should already find this certification mark on most models of airbag vests for horse riding. Otherwise, be wary.
Be aware: the CE mark (the conformity of a product with an approval issued by an EU country), is not the equivalent of the CE mark (China Export), which simply means that the product has been manufactured in China.
It may seem strange that the EU has not managed to ban the use of a very similar logo on non-certified imported products, and for the time being it is better to be well informed. The CE label is normally followed by a certification number issued by the laboratory.
Airbag vest for riding Vimele
The Vimele VML01 Vest was created to help alleviate the limited supply of airbag vests certified according to a specific CE standard for this type of product, the NF S72-800:2022 standard guarantees that the certified airbag waistcoat is complying with the safety parameters required for this type of product in order to ensure the maximum possible safety during the practice of horse riding.
At Vimele we believe that safety and quality should be within everyone’s reach.