4Fighter
TY 4 Stroke God
Man Steve, glad you're, for the most part, O.K. At least you got some seat time in this season eh?
The Tek-Vest has served me well this year (first season with it).
A week ago, Ultimatewarrior and I were ditch riding, alongside a highway, and I got stuck. He got around the bend before me and didn't see me. I waited a bit, but didn't hear him coming, so I figured he got stuck too - or worse???
After digging and inching my way out, I stood on the boards to power the sled up the bank, and low and behold, I hit a hole, my rt. foot slipped into the well as I was sliding off and the next thing I knew I was flying thru the air on my back, slammed down onto the road from a 5' bank, and being drug across to the other side. I could feel the track running over my elbow, and across my backside, but thankfully, I checked for traffic first, and none of the studs broke thru the vest.
When I finally stopped, I had the wind knocked out of me, and I had to think pretty hard about how my ankle was twisted in the foot well, so I could un-twist it. Then I got up, hunched myself over the bars, and slowly drove down the road, around the bend, to find Paul. There he was, stuck in the ditch. Thankfully, he wasn't stuck as bad as I was - maybe it's because I showed up to help him.
Riding with the vest is second nature to me. It has been since I first put it on. There was never a moment where I thought it was too confining, or cumbersome to wear either. Accidents are just that, accidents. No one ever expects, or plans for them to happen - they just do. Sure, the way you ride has allot to do with the probability, but as SledderSteve pointed out, they can happen when you least expect it. Which is all the more reason to take extra precautions. I estimate that I was doing about 20 MPH or less when that happened. So how fast, or slow you ride has little bearing on how bad you can get hurt in this sport.
Because of the vest, the extent of my injuries were reduced to nothing more than a swollen ankle, and bruised elbow (parts that were un-protected). My next safety item wil be a tether - Duhhhh?
The Tek-Vest has served me well this year (first season with it).
A week ago, Ultimatewarrior and I were ditch riding, alongside a highway, and I got stuck. He got around the bend before me and didn't see me. I waited a bit, but didn't hear him coming, so I figured he got stuck too - or worse???
After digging and inching my way out, I stood on the boards to power the sled up the bank, and low and behold, I hit a hole, my rt. foot slipped into the well as I was sliding off and the next thing I knew I was flying thru the air on my back, slammed down onto the road from a 5' bank, and being drug across to the other side. I could feel the track running over my elbow, and across my backside, but thankfully, I checked for traffic first, and none of the studs broke thru the vest.
When I finally stopped, I had the wind knocked out of me, and I had to think pretty hard about how my ankle was twisted in the foot well, so I could un-twist it. Then I got up, hunched myself over the bars, and slowly drove down the road, around the bend, to find Paul. There he was, stuck in the ditch. Thankfully, he wasn't stuck as bad as I was - maybe it's because I showed up to help him.
Riding with the vest is second nature to me. It has been since I first put it on. There was never a moment where I thought it was too confining, or cumbersome to wear either. Accidents are just that, accidents. No one ever expects, or plans for them to happen - they just do. Sure, the way you ride has allot to do with the probability, but as SledderSteve pointed out, they can happen when you least expect it. Which is all the more reason to take extra precautions. I estimate that I was doing about 20 MPH or less when that happened. So how fast, or slow you ride has little bearing on how bad you can get hurt in this sport.
Because of the vest, the extent of my injuries were reduced to nothing more than a swollen ankle, and bruised elbow (parts that were un-protected). My next safety item wil be a tether - Duhhhh?
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Good post, and glad your o.k. also.
4Fighter
TY 4 Stroke God
Thanks Terry!
Ditto on the great post 
Sounds like you would have had more serious issues had you not been wearing your vest. I'm currently wishing I had been smart enough to actually take the advice from your first post in this thread rather just think about it until I finally proved to myself it's a good idea.
Yeah, I had some excellent seat time this year. 8)
Sounds like you would have had more serious issues had you not been wearing your vest. I'm currently wishing I had been smart enough to actually take the advice from your first post in this thread rather just think about it until I finally proved to myself it's a good idea.
Yeah, I had some excellent seat time this year. 8)
4Fighter
TY 4 Stroke God
SledderSteve said:Ditto on the great post
Sounds like you would have had more serious issues had you not been wearing your vest. I'm currently wishing I had been smart enough to actually take the advice from your first post in this thread rather just think about it until I finally proved to myself it's a good idea.
Yeah, I had some excellent seat time this year. 8)
Thanks,
Believe me, it's one purchase that's very easy to overlook. It's just another one of those things that we seldom think about until it happens to us. I know I put it off for quite some time too. Even my wife rolled her eyes as if it was just another waste of money, like all the other stuff I buy for snowmobiling. Odly enough, I didn't get hurt until I put it on, hmmmm???
I hope that these incidents serve to prove to others to take wearing these things, more seriously too.
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