Accessories: Impact protection waistcoats - safety and protection against the cold for water sports enthusiasts
Manuel Vogel
· 23.06.2023
Impact protection waistcoats are offered by many manufacturers for sports such as windsurfing, wakeboarding, kitesurfing and wingsurfing. In the following, we will show you whether you really need a waistcoat for foiling, which models make sense and what other additional benefits an impact protection waistcoat can offer:
Which impact protection waistcoats make sense?
The main purpose of impact protection waistcoats is - who would have thought it - to protect the body in the event of rough impacts. There are generally different variants on the market: waistcoats with and without zips and with different padding. Impact protection waistcoats that are padded in the entire torso area are known as"fully padded" labelled. Waistcoats in which the padding is limited to the upper torso area are often sold under the label"half padded" marketed. Depending on the model and manufacturer, the price range is between 80 and 150 euros.
Our tip: Choose a waistcoat with a zip, as this is easier to put on and take off. The waistcoat should fit snugly around the body so that it does not ride up in the event of a fall. Impact protection waistcoats with full padding are ideal for foiling, as they also protect your stomach and lower back - whether against hard impacts on the water or against the sharp foil. Half-padded waistcoats are particularly useful if you want to combine your impact protection waistcoat with a hip leash when wingfoiling or use a harness when windsurf foiling.
Additional benefits in winter
In addition to their protective function, impact protection waistcoats offer enormous additional benefits in terms of thermal insulation in the cold season, without noticeably restricting your freedom of movement. Regardless of the wetsuit used, you can push your personal pain threshold down another few degrees with a waistcoat - try it out!
Conclusion:
Impact vests definitely make sense for foiling, especially for disciplines such as foil freestyle and racing. However, as rough foil contact can occur regardless of the discipline, impact waistcoats also make perfect sense for freeriding and in the waves. The additional benefits in winter are also enormous.
Important note: Even if impact vests offer some buoyancy, in most cases they are not authorised as "life jackets". At spots where life jackets are required by law, this can cause problems if the worst comes to the worst.
Also interesting:
Manuel Vogel
Editor surf
Manuel Vogel, born in 1981, lives in Kiel and learned to windsurf at the age of six at his father's surf school. In 1997, he completed his training as a windsurfing instructor and worked for over 15 years as a windsurfing instructor in various centers, at Kiel University sports and in the coaching team of the “Young Guns” freestyle camps. He has been part of the surf test team since 2003. After completing his teaching degree in 2013, he followed his heart and started as editor of surf magazine for the test and riding technique sections. Since 2021, he has also been active in wingfoiling - mainly at his home spots on the Baltic Sea or in the waves of Denmark.
