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International Karting Industry Buyer's Guide |
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| THE RACERS EDGE | |||||||||||||
| KARTING
RACEWEAR: A Detailed Look At Today’s Safety Gear
Part One: Helmets and Suits By Darren Swisher The karting market today has more than 25 manufacturers worldwide that produce racewear. Familiar brands include Simpson, Sparco, Gearbox, MIR, Burris, Stand 21, Morco, Azusa, Stewart, Momo, OMP, King Dragon, Design 500, Resma, Leaf, Extreme, Speedway and many others. Questions we’ll answer:
Racewear is only one component of protection for drivers on the track. The other components consist of the kart, engine and the track itself. All four components must be properly in place to keep drivers from harms way! Let’s break down the components
of racewear into six categories:
HELMETS
Snell updates its standards every five years and the latest is Snell 2000 approval. Since its founding in 1957, the Snell Memorial Foundation has independently tested manufacturers’ helmets. Its first safety standards from protective headgear were issued in 1959 for auto racing. Subsequently, other specific helmet standards were issued for motorcycling, equestrian sports, bicycling, inline skating, skateboarding, snowboarding and skiing. In 1998, a karting standard was established. Why a standard? The use of motorized vehicles imposes risks of death or permanent impairment due to head injury. The proper use of protective helmets can minimize the risks. The protective capacity of a helmet is difficult to measure, particularly at the time of purchase. Snell certification backed by ongoing random sample testing identifies those helmet models providing and maintaining the highest levels of head protection. Four of the most critical
elements affecting a helmet’s protective properties are:
The Snell Foundation recommends a simple, straightforward procedure for consumers: position the helmet on your head so that it sits low on your forehead. If you can’t see the edge of the brim at the extreme upper range of you vision, the helmet is probably out of place. Adjust the retention system so that when in use, it will hold the helmet firmly in place. This positioning and adjusting should be repeated to obtain the very best result possible. The procedure initially may be time consuming – TAKE THE TIME! Next, try to remove the helmet without undoing the retention system closures. If the helmet comes off or shifts over your eyes, readjust and try again. If no adjustment seems to work, then this helmet is not for you, try another. Only in his way will you be able to make all the proper adjustments to get the best fit possible. Furthermore, your test on your own head will determine whether the helmet is appropriate for you personally. There are several other important aspects of helmets to consider. Full-face helmets provide a measure of protection from facial injuries. The external shell of these helmets includes a rigid “chin” bar that passes from left to right over the lower part of the face. The Snell Foundation has devised special tests for the chin bards of full-face helmets. Some helmets come with a separate structure that bolts to the helmet in order to cover the lower part of the face. These removable chin bars are often intended to deflect small stones and debris encountered in some sports and may not be effective facial protection. The Foundation does not test removable chin bars and considers any headgear equipped with them to be an open face helmet. If a full-face helmet is equipped with a face shield, it may also provide a measure of eye protection. The Foundation tests face shields of full-face helmets for particle penetration resistance. Face shields provided with open face helmets generally do not provide the same levels of eye protection, and for that reason, are not considered. The shells of both open face and full-face helmets should also provide a measure of protection from penetration. The Foundation tests the shells of both full and open face helmets for penetration resistance. Effective headgear must be removable. Paramedics and other emergency personnel must to be able to quickly remove headgear from accident victims in order to check for vital signs and to perform emergency procedures. The Foundation has devised tests and criteria for helmet removability. The Foundation tests helmets for visual field. The helmet must provide a minimum range of vision as measured on standard head-forms. However, the range of vision you obtain may vary considerably from Foundation standards. It is also important to remember that the visual field requirements are based on need of people participating in well-regulated and controlled events. For this reason, the requirements are considerably less than those the Foundation requires for street use headgear such as motorcycle helmets. Be absolutely certain that the helmet and face shield permits adequate vision for every intended use. Specifically, if a racing helmet’s visual field is only sufficient for controlled track events, then don’t use it for street motorcycling. Finally, there are several important factors which the Snell Foundation does not consider directly but which bear on the effectiveness of protective helmets. Be certain that a helmet is wearable, that it’s comfortable and adequately ventilated when worn for prolonged periods. Remember: a helmet that is not worn won’t protect anyone. In a karting accident,
drivers may suffer injury or death. Helmets on the market today offer varying
degrees of protection, but the consumer has little basis for judging the
relative effectiveness of a given model. The Snell Foundation Standards,
present a rational means for differentiating between helmets which meet
specific standards for impact (crash) protection and retention systems
strength and those that do not.
KART RACING SUITS I recommend only race suits not jackets and jeans and not 2-piece jacket/pant combinations. Jackets offer no protection from the waist down and a 2-piece combination will ride up and reveal the midsection. In my opinion jackets and jeans and 2-piece combos should be outlawed! The only reason manufacturers are making these jackets is because they are about half the price of a suit. But what do you get for half price… HALF THE PROTECTION! We must information drivers about the risks of using jackets. Today’s karting suits are mainly made from plastic in the form of fabrics called nylon, polyester and polyester/cotton blend. Denier is a term used by fabric producers to determine the size of yarns used in the process of making the fabrics. The higher the denier, the heavier (and usually stronger depending on fiber content, i.e., cotton vs. nylon) the fabric. 1000 denier Cordura-brand nylon is your top dog in regards to abrasion resistance on racing surfaces, followed by 200 x 500 denier Antron Cordura. Antron Cordura has a shiny appearance due to the addition of the Antron fiber (usually found in fine carpeting). Next there is 420 denier pack cloth and 70 denier flight satin and 70 denier Nylacheck (that solid color checkered-looking fabric). Some companies will reinforce critical wear-areas with 1500 denier ballistic nylon. So you see that denier has a lot to do with the protection you get from a suit. The first three mentioned fabrics have a urethane coating on the back side of the cloth to prevent fabric weave from spreading apart (because of the large denier fibers), making the garment more or less water/air resistant. It is important that these fabrics be cleaned by hand with a mild detergent in cold water to prevent discoloration and de-lamination o the urethane coatings. You may have seen or even had a suit that started fraying in the wear areas, most likely due to machine washing and hot water. The brands that use the 1000 denier Cordura ad the 200 x 500 denier Antron Cordura will hold up well under most racing surfaces. The rest of the fabrics should be destined for indoor use only or for lower speed classes. Some features are questionable. Epaulette (epaulets) is a French word meaning, “shoulder”. These unusual options originated in the first firesuits to help pull drivers from their wrecked and burning machines, In a karting suit, these may snag things during an accident. Can you imagine a karter crashing and/or rolling only to be caught by something on the kart behind? Ouch! Not a pretty sight. “But we need these to show a sponsor’s logo”, a racer says. Then sew them down on the suit in the same area. Loose belts may incur the same problem. Keep openings in belts to a maximum of about 6 inches. Most other options that are available offer comfort and style to suits such as: Checkered sleeves, 360-degree gusseted sleeves, padding, aluminized elbows, knit crotches and padded collars. NEXT MONTH: Gloves, Shoes,
Helmet Supports and Rib Protection.
END
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Kart Marketing Group, Inc. Post Office Box 101 Wheaton, IL 60189 USA Telephone: 630-653-7368 Fax: 630-653-2637 Email: karting@msn.com |
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| Neatconcept, Inc | |||||||||||||
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