For me finding the RIGHT rib vest made all the difference. I had tried them in the past and never liked them. Ended up using Zoom Bang padding in my seats instead. I ran without a rib vest at all as recently as 2015, but raced at F1 Boston in 2017 and was just getting destroyed by that track. Luckily a generous racer had an extra Tillett P1 that was my size, and he let me use it for the weekend. Bought one for myself the next week, and have been using it since.
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True. Any torso twisting motion now aggravates my ribs now. When I play softball and take my three at-bats for the night, my ribs are hurting the next day.
I separated mine and then drove on them basically all season, injuring and reinjuring probably 6 times. So it’s allllll scar tissue on the left side.
I’ll play devil’s advocate here as I may be the only person in this thread that doesn’t wear a rib vest anymore (I have in the past). It is very dependent on body shape, seat shape, rib vest shape, etc. I have tried a few different rib vests and had a hard time finding one that fits my abnormally shaped torso and doesnt make my rib pain worse. I find that just naked me in my Beasley seat supports my ribs better than any off-the-shelf rib protector. Maybe I need a bigger seat? Maybe I haven’t found the RIGHT rib vest yet? who knows…
Again, I am not stating that is correct for everyone. I would 100% recommend new people starting with a rib vest and then figuring out what works for them. If you have people at the track that would let your try on/borrow rib vests, that is often the best way to test multiple styles or brands without having to pony up for each one.
Yeah they’re not for everyone. There’s a guy older than me runs both Rotax DD2 and IAME shifters, never wears one. He prefers to build enough muscle in the gym to protect his ribs. I’m allergic to gyms so it’s Bengio all the way for me 
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I bought one, but realized I didn’t fit in the seat with it on. So I ran all season without one, with several hits including one hard broadside. I was never sore or had any issues (rib or back wise). The seat is very snug, there’s no movement at all which is probably why I don’t need one. Age 55, shifter kart. Swim and do the circuit at the gym.
hey thats where I beat my hips up! That track is GRIPPY. It had these grip “bumps” that would just wreck your ribs. How does that tracks compare to others youve raced at?
Raced for 20 years never wore a rib vest drove Yamaha, Rotax, Shifters etc. At 69 YO, this past year I had to wear a vest at CalSpeed in the CCW direction, there are some brutal cornering bumps in that direction. Getting old and not enough driving. I use a Bengio, it’s pretty good.
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F1 Boston is probably the most physical track I’ve ever driven. It’s very long, tons of corners, very little downtime, some high g load corners, and many curbs that you absolutely clobber. Super fun, but very technical, and very physical.
half track that drain that stuck up about 4 inches. had to clobber it in order to go fast. Clobbering it clobbered my hips. My hips got more bruised than my ribs.
That track would eat through even MG reds, cant imagine what a softer tire felt like.
Do you live in NE?
Track does make a HUGE difference.
Etown has you turning every 3-4 seconds.
AMP is relatively a chill cruise.
The frequency and intensity of the turns matters.
I’m in Indiana, just traveled out there a few years back to run some of the F-Series races.
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I brused my ribs at Calspeed, Clasico layout ccw wearing a rib protector.
Took me a couple of weeks to recover.
This is very much the case.
I tried 3 brands before settling on the Bengio (which is always the answer).
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What are you folks considering a “deep seat?”
I have a Tillett-11 (XL) and it is a bit lose but not overly so. Its a flat bottom seat with a “puss pad” (military term) meaning I have a 1/4 in neoprene pad on the bottom that protects my mangina. 
Wondering if maybe its the seat and that way I’ve never injured my ribs? But I think any time I’ve spun off the track, or been torpedoed into I was both in that seat and wearing my K1 rib protector.
There are basically two of them available (rib protection deep seats):
Ribtect And Deepseat
Both are seats that rise higher and also cradle the rib cage by having seat wrap around torso…
Something like a tillet tall is taller but doesn’t wrap around torso same way
Deepseat
Ribtect
As compared to traditional
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Since mine fits me like a glove, I wish I knew what it was, fairly deep.
None of the choices are why I wear it. I wear it for comfort. Twenty years ago when I raced karts I never wore one. I race Yamaha, Tag, and Shifter. No “injuries”, but a fair amount of bruising. Now I am 54 and prefer reduce the wear and tear
So number 4 then . . . 
I never considered sore ribs an injury. It is just sore ribs. It really is not a concern/fear of injury. I also have a bad back, so I take Aleve before racing. Overall managing soreness afterwards. Aleve, rib protector, good hydration are all so I feel my best afterwards. Helmet is for injury. Neck collar is because I am told to
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I’d consider broken ribs an injury and a very very very painful one , if you have never experianced it I hope you don’t