# hat certification... losing the will to live with it!!



## Hells mo (17 March 2016)

hi there!

I've recently starting riding and after hiring a hat from my riding school for my first few lessons I decided it would be safer to buy my own.

I first bought one from decathlon to keep costs down but when I took it to my stables they said it didn't have the correct certification for their insurance. 

I spoke to decathlon and they agreed it didn't have the correct certification and was old stock. They kindly replaced my hat with the latest model (Champion junior air x I think) which I thought would be the end of it! 

But once again I was told by my riding school it didn't have all the certifications marked on the inside. They then wrote down the following:

PAS 015 1998 
BS EN1384 1997
and also needs to have the kite mark symbol

I took this information to a tack shop and they have told me its wrong!!

I purchased a hat from them (charles & owen) with the following certification:

PAS 015:2011
and has the kite mark symbol

they said BS EN1384 1997 has been phased out

but I'm now scared to take it my riding school in case they say its wrong AGAIN and if I'm honest its getting really embarrassing!! 

It would me a massive help if I could get other riders experiences and guidance on this please.

Thanks


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## lindsay1993 (17 March 2016)

I also lost the plot when trying to buy a hat. I wanted a good hat, at a good price with the right certification. I couldn't find any in my local equine shop that fitted the new requirements. I ended up splashing out on a Gatehouse HS1, which was WAY more than I wanted to pay, but I was so confused by the advice from varying people I went for that hat. Mine is Snell E2001 certified, which I believe is the highest safety rating there is for hats. BSEN 1384 has been withdrawn.  I have no idea about PAS 015:2011 though as mine doesn't have that on it. :-/


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## Pebble101 (17 March 2016)

It seems your riding school hasn't kept up to date with hat standards.  PAS 015 2011 is OK (there are two dates for PAS 015) and EN1384 has been withdrawn.

There is a PDF on the BHS website (I can't copy it to here) which has FAQ's for approved centres, instructors and BHS Gold members - it might be worth showing your riding school the PDF.  There are other approved hat standards on there as well (Snell being another).


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## dixie (17 March 2016)

Your Charles Owen one will be fine as it has the current standards and the shop is correct in that the BSEN1384 is phased out - with most disciplines from this year.


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## LHIS (17 March 2016)

Correct me if I'm wrong but I understand the change to be a change to what is competition legal (and what OP's RS wants too) but it doesn't mean that hats without this certification are unsafe - they're just not competition legal any more.


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## HufflyPuffly (17 March 2016)

Yes but I think any establishment BHS approved also has to conform to the new standards, there was a post on their facebook page a few days ago I think.

Still doesn't mean the old standrad hats aren't safe mind .


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## Shay (17 March 2016)

Hats certified BS(EN) only are not "unsafe" they are just not as safe as they can be.  Like a lot of things modern safety testing has evolved and we now require greater performance from safety products than we used to.

I can get a bit of a bee in my bonnet about safety standards - especially in hats.  Yes the highest standard hats are more expensive.  But what price is your unscrambled brain - or life?  And at what cost to your friends and family?

Sorry to be brutal about it - but that is the reality.


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## LHIS (17 March 2016)

Is there somewhere that explains exactly what the difference is? By that I mean, how one hat is safer than another? Presumably it's design and materials?  If anyone could explain? 

Also, as a safety conscious rider, but equally as someone who realistically won't be seeing a competition environment any time soon, should I upgrade my hat? It's one of the 1384 ones.


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## Kat (17 March 2016)

@Shay you don't have to spend a fortune to get a decent safe hat though and expensive is not necessarily better. I have a PAS015 helmet that cost under £50 and the main differences between it and more expensive models are fancy extras like soft leather harnesses. I have also seen far more expensive hats that were only  BSEN1384 standard. 

The important thing is to have an up to standard hat that fits and is replaced after a fall or impact. Better to have a budget one that you can afford to throw in the bin than be tempted to carry on using a potentially unsafe hat because it cost so much. 

This is especially the case for riding school riders who wear their hats for an hour a week, don't need to wory about competition rules or etiquette and are perhaps more likely to damage them getting them to and from their lessons in the car etc.


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## ruth83 (17 March 2016)

This may help

http://www.bhs.org.uk/our-charity/p...g-hat-standard-coming-in-2016-bsen1384-safety


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## PonyclubmumZ (17 March 2016)

Hello, this might help too as its got little pictures http://www.pcuk.org/uploads/dcs/Hat_Rule_2016_FV.pdf    As you can see PC say "* The PAS 015: 1998 or 2011 and the Snell E2001 meet higher impact criteria and therefore give more protection".


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## LHIS (18 March 2016)

That's helpful thanks


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