Dropped riding hat!!!!

flyingirishlass

New Member
Mar 1, 2007
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Hi, this might be a daft question, but i dropped my riding hat on the ground today (on concrete) - i had it dangling in my hand and was chatting away and i seemed to just let it slip....but i was wondering if its still ok to wear or should it be replaced?
It seems such a small/daft thing to ask, but I've never really thought about it before as I'm usually more careful.

It's a Champion Ventair and there is not any visible damage and when i pressed it around the sides there was no 'give' or movement in the general structure of the thing.

Thanks for your help.
'Butterfingers'
 
I am not so sure Bay Mare. Yours is the safe answer.
But I'd ask the customer service people at Champion?

I am editing this post to say that Bay Mare (see below) has now told all of us that safety advice is to replace a dropped hat.

When we fall and give our heads a HARD knock, enough to bruise our skull, we have to replace the cap even if there is no visible damage, I think, mainly because the lining inside the hat has been crushed.
A new hat has a springy lining inside a bit like bubble wrap, and the wearing down of that lining is why one should replace all hats after about two year's use.
If your dropped hat is more than two years old, replace it anyway.

But the lining wont necessarily be affected just by dropping one's hat. I have dropped mine (It is a Gatehouse high spec) getting it out of the boot and not replaced it. Just dropping something is not the same as throwing it with force.

And I didnt replace it last time I fell as I fell onto lumpy grassland and though I rolled back, there was no great impact on my head (sprained ankle instead).

I think it is very much an individual thing and what would make me err on the side of caution in this case is the word Ventair. If there are ventilation slits and holes in the hat, it might be weaker in construction than a heavy duty eventing hat like my own.
But I would expect an expensive hat that fell to the ground to withstand that accident. If it didnt, I'd be frightened to wear it. Because goodness knows how often hats get dropped or bumped around on the way from production line to shop. And I am a butterfingers too.
 
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BETA advice is to replace a hat even if it's dropped onto a hard surface:

http://www.beta-uk.org/Safety/HatGuide.asp


If the hat suffers a severe impact - even dropping onto a hard surface, it should be thrown away and a new one purchased. It is easy to replace a hat, but impossible to replace a head!


I don't know if it was on here or on another forum but someone cut open their dropped hat and it was a real shock to me to see the damage that had been done. Here's a quote from a news article from someone who was on a BETA H&S conference:

On a more serious note, Chrissie emphasised how replacing a riding hat following any impact, whether through falling off a horse or dropping the hat, could prove literally to be a lifesaver.

"Experts on the BETA course showed us how a hat can appear fine from the outside, yet be horribly damaged on the inside. It was shocking."
 
replace it IMO.
better safe than sorry. and like bay mare said it can be badly on the inside.
my old hat was dropped on one occasion and it began to decompose
 
You're supposed to replace it, but I am the number one culprit for not doing that! I drop my hat regularly, it's been left on a hook and been 'played with' by several horses, I've fallen off in it more times than I can count; it's quite frightening to think of the damage it might have inside! Luckily, I have two other hats which I think I'm going to start wearing!
 
I think the person who cut their hat open had fallen off a horse wearing the hat?
I have edited my previous post to report the official advice.
I guess the problem lies in the words "severe impact".
I fell twice in six months as I learned to ride and it was proving costly! The man at Gatehouse told me that if a fall did not involve hitting or bruising one's head, there wasnt any need for me personally to buy a new hat every time. He told me that show jumpers repeatedly fall in training and dont buy a new hat every time they come off. Only if there is a blow to the head.

After six years of riding, I am now on my fifth hat. The first cheap one wore out. Hats 2 and 3 were thrown out after falls in which I hit my head. Hat 4(more than 2 years old) I wear for yard work. Yes I have dropped it getting it out of the boot of my car.
 
BETA advice is to replace a hat even if it's dropped onto a hard surface:

But they would, wouldn't they. They represent the manufacturers....

I agree with Skib; I'd be really interestd to know how many times these hats fall off shelves in shops, fall off delivery vehicles and fall around in production. The best ones ought to withstand that and it should be apart of the standard
 
Thanks everyone for your advice! I think it would be wise to invest in a new one. After reading how small knocks can make a difference i think i would just have peace of mind getting a new one. I ride 2/3 times a week so it's not as if I'm not going to need it - and my head is too important to be trying to scrimp and save. Better to just fork out for a new one.
 
Gatehouse hat?

Skib, i did a search on your hat after reading the post and I'm really interested about that Gatehouse hat. I see it's gone through some additional testing.
How do you find it? Is it fairly comfy and easy to get a good fit. I'm thinking i might go back to 'jockey skull' style. Although I do really love my Champion ventair i must say, but im wondering would moving away from peaks and air-vents be a wiser option?
 
Skib, i did a search on your hat after reading the post and I'm really interested about that Gatehouse hat. I see it's gone through some additional testing.
How do you find it? Is it fairly comfy and easy to get a good fit. I'm thinking i might go back to 'jockey skull' style. Although I do really love my Champion ventair i must say, but im wondering would moving away from peaks and air-vents be a wiser option?
I came off last year whilst wearing a Champion Ventair and after landing on my foot (ouch for many months and still sometimes ouch!), I went forwards and the front of my head literally bounced off the ground :eek: The peak and the front of my hat crumpled like a crumple zone on a car and I didn't even sustain a headache, let alone anything more obvious of an injury! I was so impressed, I went stright out and bought another ventair and I don't even like the design. Too showjumpy and not refined enough for my taste, but it did a great job protecting my head so that is what I wear.
 
Thanks Stella2! I find my ventair quite comfy as well, and its funny, i was the same - a bit put off by the SJ look of it. It seemed a great fit for me too, I'm sure hats are like BPs and the fit can depend on the brand suiting your head.
It's always really interesting to see feedback from other riders - not just the manufacturers websites!
 
yep....replace it.

The inside of a riding hat is made of a polystyrene (sp?) material, which is there to absorb impacts. The air holes within the polystyrene absorb the impact and that area then deflates and becomes hard and thin. This means that from then on, that area will give no protection whatsoever if needed.

S
 
Thank you so much for this thread flyingirishlass and thank you vimto92 for the link to the previous thread.

I've worn my riding hat through 4 falls (have been two stingy to change it and have justified it to myself by saying that I've not actually landed directly on my head) and it's spent 3 summers in my car! I've also dropped it on concrete more times than I can even remember.

I think by what I've read in these threads (and the pictures :eek:) I might as well not be wearing it!!!

Well I'm off to the tack shop on the way home from work to part with some cash for a new one.

You could very well have saved my head :) x
 
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