Looks like HANS lowered their prices to match the newly aproved Defender H+N restraint. At PRI it was announced that the Defender H+N Restraint is SFI 38.1 approved. HANS lowered their prices to match. Under $550 for a brand new device. The cost of safety is now even lower.
Saferacer for the HANS $545
Discovery Parts for the Defender $549
Paging Fishguy
opcorn:
I held a defender in my hand at the last FF race i did 4 weeks ago, and tried it on w/o my helmet or car.
i liked many things about it, but my helmet didnt have the (defender)clips for that device, so i really couldnt try it while sitting in my car.
the one thing that concerns me is side impact protection in my formula ford; a good freind of mine got dinged pretty hard on the head from the chassis tubes. In my FF car there are some chassis tubes right near my head, and the defender offers some side impact restraint, though i do not know how much, or if its enough for my purposes in that car. in my sedan i have a halo seat, so i am covered for the side impact protection that i feel i need.
The defender is also adjustable to different seat angles(20 + 30 degrees) so for me, the one H+N restraint could work in my sedan and the formula car, the versatility is a big plus.
the defender was impressive in many ways, i also liked how it held the belts over the shoulder restraint, though i have read that the belts can get hung up on them upon exiting the car.
if i had to do it al over again, i think i would buy the defender, but i do want to hear from at least 1 racer who used it in a crash first about thier experience with it. my HANS devices are tried and true, and used in every pro venue i see on tv, and thats says a lot in my decision of using a defender or a HANS.
the truth was that the defender really was just like a HANS, only "improved" or so it would appear.
if you are tracking your car, using a 5-6 pt. harness, then you should w/o question
invest in some type of H+N restraint.
my .02
