Top bike insurer Bennetts, has long been expanding its remit via its Bikesocial editorial arm, and now it seems to be looking to develop its brand presence further outside insurance, with a new High Performance Award scheme, which it claims, will help riders identify the best protective riding gear.
According to Bikesocial consumer editor John Milbank, “the new scheme will give a Gold award to garments that meet EN17092 AAA, gloves that are Level 2 and boots that are Levels 1/2/2/2 or 2/2/2/2. Platinum and Diamond awards are available for garments that meet EN13595 Level 1 or 2 respectively, or – as this standard has now been withdrawn – garments that have had a small amount of testing done in addition to EN17092 in order to prove their higher performance.
“We’ve already got submissions coming in, which use a Terms document and require links to the Declaration of Conformity and copies of the test certificates (though these aren’t made public). We don’t charge anything for it, and we’re delighted with how many products are appearing so quickly.”
As Milbank explains, the scheme should simplify the minefield of acronyms and standards on protective riding kit labels. “Ultimately, the only real difference between motorcycle clothing and anything you could buy at a hiking shop is protection, and as so many riders consider the protective performance of the protective kit they’re buying, the award scheme is there to help them if they want. With four different standards to understand, and multiple levels, the High-Performance Award simplifies the protective performance, leaving the buyer to choose based on comfort, features and price.”
It’s an interesting project – up till now, RiDE magazine has pretty much had the field to itself in terms of editorial schemes for independent product rating marks. There’s more info on the scheme on the Bennetts website: www.bennetts.co.uk/high-performance.