HELITE is a French company founded in 2002 by Gérard Thevenot, one of the French pioneers and entrepreneurs in the light aircraft industry. His passion for inventions and his awareness for safety have pushed him to create Helite. Starting as a company for safety items in the light aircraft sector, the company rapidly understood the crucial need for more safety in all types of applications.
HELITE is exclusively dedicated to developing airbag systems through a combination of knowledgeable staff and advanced engineering solutions. More than R&D work, Helite is also an expert in the manufacturing of inflatable protective equipment and the leading developer and the first manufacturer in Europe of wearable airbag systems: more than 60,000 airbags are in use today.
Design, development and manufacturing of the airbag systems is conducted by HELITE in Dijon, France. Every single airbag and trigger system are carefully tested and quality controlled.
Helite equestrian airbag systems are 100% mechanical. The mechanical system consists of a lanyard and a saddle strap. The lanyard is located on the airbag and the saddle strap must be attached to the horse’s saddle. The system is ready to use and easy to use. No technical tools are required to activate the mechanism, just hook the lanyard on the saddle strap. In the event of a fall, a CO2 cartridge deploys the airbag in less than 100 ms. The airbag absorbs shocks and stabilizes the entire upper body. After activation, the rider can reuse the airbag system in less than 2 minutes by simply replacing the CO2 cartridge. The airbags are certified by the external laboratory CRITT Sport, the French specialist for objectively testing PersonalProtective Equipment (PPE).

HELITE is a French company founded in 2002 by Gérard Thevenot, one of the French pioneers and entrepreneurs in the light aircraft industry. His passion for inventions and his awareness for safety have pushed him to create Helite. Starting as a company for safety items in the light aircraft sector, the company rapidly understood the crucial need for more safety in all types of applications.
HELITE is exclusively dedicated to developing airbag systems through a combination of knowledgeable staff and advanced engineering solutions. More than R&D work, Helite is also an expert in the manufacturing of inflatable protective equipment and the leading developer and the first manufacturer in Europe of wearable airbag systems: more than 60,000 airbags are in use today.
Design, development and manufacturing of the airbag systems is conducted by HELITE in Dijon, France. Every single airbag and trigger system are carefully tested and quality controlled.
Helite equestrian airbag systems are 100% mechanical. The mechanical system consists of a lanyard and a saddle strap. The lanyard is located on the airbag and the saddle strap must be attached to the horse’s saddle. The system is ready to use and easy to use. No technical tools are required to activate the mechanism, just hook the lanyard on the saddle strap. In the event of a fall, a CO2 cartridge deploys the airbag in less than 100 ms. The airbag absorbs shocks and stabilizes the entire upper body. After activation, the rider can reuse the airbag system in less than 2 minutes by simply replacing the CO2 cartridge. The airbags are certified by the external laboratory CRITT Sport, the French specialist for objectively testing PersonalProtective Equipment (PPE).
