Review of FHR Devices - Colin Williams

I raced this weekend at Anglesey in the Anglesey Winter Series, using a new device that we are all going to have to get used to from the beginning of next year.  Yes, I mean the HANS device!

I am not looking forward to having to wear one of these. Peter had got his hands on two different types - the conventional HANS device that we have seen over the years, and the Simpson Hybrid that is not so popular. I had decided to use one for qualifying, the other for race number one and then see how it went for race number two.

The first was the conventional HANS device, so from the very start I was shocked at the amount it restricted me inside car – I actually had to move my seat back to allow me to move the gear stick from 3rd to 4th!  After being released from the pits onto a very slippery circuit, it soon became very apparent that if I was going to live with this device I was going to have to buy the longer tethers because I couldn’t move my head enough to see the front of cars in that funny blind spot between the mirrors. To cut a long story short - I was not happy with this uncomfortable restriction around my neck!

I set out for the first race using the Simpson Hybrid device. For those of you who haven’t seen one of these before, there it is a strap that goes around the back and over the shoulders and a buckle on the front of the chest. There is a plastic piece that is held by the seat belts where the tethers are attached. Straight away this device was so much more comfortable to wear as it didn’t dig into my shoulders or chest. Given that there is a double tether system, I did feel that my head movement from side to side was more restricted than with the conventional device.  

For the second race, I used the Simpson Hybrid and adjusted the tethers to give me more head movement. It was plain to see that this was the device that I was going to be going with in the future.

Summary

The conventional HANS device was uncomfortable to wear and restricted me in the car, but it did give a slightly better head movement side to side. This is the cheaper device with a price tag of just over £200+vat.  The Simpson HANS device was much more comfortable to wear and, for me personally, much less restricting in the car even taking into account a slight lack of head movement side to side.  However, the price tag is around £400, a huge difference !