How long do body protectors last?

Most body protectors will have a lifespan of three to five years.

After five years, there is a good chance that the original impact absorption properties of the foam in the body protector will have started to decline.

What makes the difference between three and five years?

Lots of things can have an effect on those impact absorption properties, some of which will be increased if you use your body protector regularly. They would include (but are not limited to!):

sweat;
personal hygiene products;
extremes of temperature;
moisture; and
how it’s stored.

As a general rule your body protector will last longer if you don’t leave it in a cold, damp tack room, dumped on a pile of wet rugs where it might get occasionally chewed by mice! (this is an extreme but you’ll get our point!!)

What’s the best way to store a body protector?

Ideally you should hang your body protector on a clothes hanger.

You should make sure all of the zips and fastenings are done up and that it’s stored in a clean, dry place.

To keep your body protector comfortable and easy to put on it should ideally be stored at room temperature. In a utility room, on the back of your bedroom door, or in a heated tack room would all be ideal.

I’ve had a bad fall – should I replace it sooner than the three to five years you’ve talked about?

Check your body protector regularly and particularly when you’ve taken a tumble. The foam in body protectors is designed to expand back to its original shape within 30 minutes of having an impact. If you’ve got a indentation in your body protector that won’t come out then it means that the impaction properties in that area have been compromised and can’t offer you the same level of protection in the future.

This would mean it’s time to get a new one.

Also use your common sense. If you use your body protector a lot; if you’ve fallen off regularly; or (obviously) if you’ve grown out of it then you might need a new one sooner.