The Whitaker Victory is proving to be quite the lucky charm for John Whitaker, who secured wins at Olympia, the Amsterdam Grand Prix, the Sunshine Tour and most recently the Glock 5* Grand Prix while wearing the best-selling Whitaker Victory helmet. Available in a massive variety of colours and styles, the Whitaker Victory helmet has become a firm favourite in the equestrian market thanks to its lightweight build, revolutionary dial-to-fit system and excellent safety credentials.
An In-Depth Look at Helmet Safety Testing
Swedish insurers Folksam recently conducted a study that looked at how some of the bestselling helmets performed during in-depth impact testing. The Whitaker Victory Helmet came in joint second place, triumphing over the likes of Uvex, Horze and Mountain Horse. All the helmets tested conformed to the same CE standards and EU requirements, yet the price, weight and safety testing results varied massively.
With the help of some volunteers, the helmets were assessed on their appearance and comfort, and the Victory Helmet came highly recommended with one tester saying: “This helmet we chose from the beginning in appearance [sic]. It has a great fit and is very soft and comfortable.” The Whitaker Victory also weighed in at only 390g, the joint-lightest helmet tested.
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
The safety of each helmet was tested using specialist equipment which measures damage to the brain in both straight and oblique impacts. Although straight impact protection is an important factor when shopping for a helmet, it does not necessarily mean that a high-scoring helmet is the safest. Oblique testing gives a much more realistic view at how the helmet performs in riding-related falls. It involves forcing the helmet onto a vertical surface at a 90 degree angle and at speeds of up to 27km/h, mimicking a fall from a horse in movement. The Whitaker Victory helmet excelled in both tests, scoring higher than average and providing excellent protection against both straight and oblique falls.
Despite oblique impacts being the most common (and often most severe) types of collisions, it is not an EU legal requirement to subject helmets to this method of impact testing, and is not taken into consideration when awarding EU safety standards. So although all hats conformed to the exact same safety standard, Folksam state that there was a massive difference in performance between the best and worst performing helmet. For the full results of the test, please see the tables below, and to view the entire report, visit the Folksam website.
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