A protective collar comprising:
- a collar formed from a substantially flat sheet of resilient material having a thickness t, said sheet of resilient material being bounded by an outer substantially semicircular boundary, an inner substantially semicircular boundary, a first substantially straight end, and a second substantially straight end, said outer substantially semicircular boundary and said inner substantially semicircular boundary having a common axis, said axis serving as an axis for a frusto conical surface formed when said first substantially straight end is overlaid onto said second substantially straight end;
- a clip hole pattern having at least two clip holes, said at least two clip holes being rectangular having a first pair of spaced apart sides and a second pair of spaced apart sides with said first pair of spaced apart sides being substantially normal to said outer substantially semicircular boundary and said inner substantially semicircular boundary;
- at least one adjustment hole pattern having at least two clip receiving holes each of said clip receiving holes having a first pair of spaced apart sides which are substantially normal to said outer substantially semicircular boundary and said inner substantially semicircular boundary, each of said at least one series of adjustable hole patterns being coincident with said clip hole pattern when superimposed thereon;
- and resilient clips engaging said clip holes and one of said series of adjustable holes positioned therebelow, said clips having,
- a back member having an upper surface and a lower surface,
- a first leg attaching to said lower surface of said back member, said first leg having a first leg inner surface and a first leg outer surface,
- a second leg attaching to said lower surface of said back element, said second leg having a second leg inner surface and a second leg outer surface, said second leg being spaced apart from said first leg, and
- a first groove having first groove sidewalls and a first grove bottom, said first groove residing in said first leg outer surface and a second groove having second groove sidewalls and a second groove bottom, said second groove residing in said second leg outer surface, said first groove sidewalls and said second groove sidewalls being separated by a distance W which is greater than 2 t and said first groove bottom and said second groove bottom being positioned such that when said resilient clip is engaged in one of said clip holes said first groove bottom and said second groove bottom will compressibly engage said second pair of spaced apart sidewalls of said clip holes.