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What are some good body armor shirts and pants?


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34 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

Just hope it actually has the "real" D3O-type padding instead of basic foam. At that price point, I have my doubts.

It's not just about looking like you're well protected. You want to be actually well protected.

Oh, I'm absolutely certain there's no D3O even in the same room.  I'm in it for the slide not the stick.  I favor a hard slippery outer shell and softer stuff close to the skin, just like in a helmet.  Any D3O helmets out there?

 

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36 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

Just hope it actually has the "real" D3O-type padding instead of basic foam. At that price point, I have my doubts.

It's not just about looking like you're well protected. You want to be actually well protected.

Don’t know about the D-30, but I am in no doubt as to which one I’d rather be wearing come the fateful day.  If it’s about strutting down the catwalk I’d take the Demon, but that’s all it seems to have in its favour.  It’s “stylish”. Read quite a few reviews of the cheapo, before I pulled the trigger, and a fair number of people have tested it’s protective capabilities with various tumbles across differing activities. I’m not saying, by any means, that it’s the apex of protective gear, but would definitely take it over the Demon, and enjoy spending the change :)

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15 minutes ago, Smoother said:

Oh, I'm absolutely certain there's no D3O even in the same room.  I'm in it for the slide not the stick.  I favor a hard slippery outer shell and softer stuff close to the skin, just like in a helmet.  Any D3O helmets out there?

Why not have both? I agree that sliding is good for the hands, but for the shoulders I'd like some quality padding for the blunt force impacts.

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12 minutes ago, Ande said:

Don’t know about the D-30, but I am in no doubt as to which one I’d rather be wearing come the fateful day.  If it’s about strutting down the catwalk I’d take the Demon, but that’s all it seems to have in its favour.  It’s “stylish”. Read quite a few reviews of the cheapo, before I pulled the trigger, and a fair number of people have tested it’s protective capabilities with various tumbles across differing activities. I’m not saying, by any means, that it’s the apex of protective gear, but would definitely take it over the Demon, and enjoy spending the change :)

I guess we are all affected by the kinds of falls that we've actually experienced. After my brutal fall and hit to the shoulder, I want both slide and impact protection.

It's been two months and my shoulder is still messed up. I'm going to the doctor this week :cry2:

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10 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

I want both slide and impact protection.

Oh yeah, me too.  I don't think anyone's saying get a hard shell and the rest be damned.   I want a hard shell AND a nice cushy pad underneath it. I've see the D3O demo's and I'm all RAH RAH because its English, and all that, but at the end of the day I want to slide whilst being cushioned...right up to the point I slide under a bus, then I'll be wishing I had stuck the landing.    AH!!! but that's where my "the Next Two Seconds"post becomes relevant.  If I follow my own advice, there wont be a bus to slide under. :D

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 12/26/2018 at 11:54 AM, Marty Backe said:

I'm now wearing this Leatt 5.5 gear

IMG_0897-Edit-3

Once you have your first bad fall with injuries, you won't think it's overkill. I'm not the only one who has moved to the body armor after injuries.

I like the Leatt upper body armor because it has the hard slide/impact plates (plus padding underneath) and great rib protection. Most of the body armor does not have the hard plates and IMO is designed more for off-road motorcycle/dirtbike riding where you are falling and impacting the ground and objects. But for us, most of our bad accidents will take place at speed on cement. In those conditions sliding is better at dispersing some of the impact energy.

Hey Marty,

 

Since you are one of the most experienced riders here I want to take your advice on this.  And I really don't care about what others think when they see what kind of gear I'm wearing, I'd rather put personal protection above anything else.  

 

Do you still recommend this setup?  Can you give me a full break down of which knee/shin/wrist guards those are?  What about gloves?  Anything special for the pants?  

 

Is that chest piece all connected with the shoulder pads and stuff too?  Do the protection pads shift around a lot or stay in place?  How tall are you?  What size did you get?  I'm 6 foot/210lbs and it looks like I'm right between sizes.

 

Helmet, shoes?  Anything else I'm missing?  Anything you would change now?

 

Sorry for 50 questions :P but you know how it is.  Thank you!

Edited by MrRobot
Sizing
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1 hour ago, MrRobot said:

Hey Marty,

 

Since you are one of the most experienced riders here I want to take your advice on this.  And I really don't care about what others think when they see what kind of gear I'm wearing, I'd rather put personal protection above anything else.  

 

Do you still recommend this setup?  Can you give me a full break down of which knee/shin/wrist guards those are?  What about gloves?  Anything special for the pants?  

 

Is that chest piece all connected with the shoulder pads and stuff too?  Do the protection pads shift around a lot or stay in place?  How tall are you?  What size did you get?  I'm 6 foot/210lbs and it looks like I'm right between sizes.

 

Helmet, shoes?  Anything else I'm missing?  Anything you would change now?

 

Sorry for 50 questions :P but you know how it is.  Thank you!

Yeah, lots of questions. If you view any of my recent videos, the YouTube Description will list all of the gear that I'm currently wearing.

The Leatt body armor sizing chart worked for me (5'11'' @ 170-pounds).

I'm still happy with the gear, but I can only say that it works for me. It's unknown whether it'll work during summer - TBD.  In our cold weather I haven't been wearing it because it's not warm enough. I've been wearing an armored motorcycle jacket instead.

You can Google the Leatt gear to see how it all works. It keeps all the pads in place, perfectly.

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2 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

Yeah, lots of questions. If you view any of my recent videos, the YouTube Description will list all of the gear that I'm currently wearing.

The Leatt body armor sizing chart worked for me (5'11'' @ 170-pounds).

I'm still happy with the gear, but I can only say that it works for me. It's unknown whether it'll work during summer - TBD.  In our cold weather I haven't been wearing it because it's not warm enough. I've been wearing an armored motorcycle jacket instead.

You can Google the Leatt gear to see how it all works. It keeps all the pads in place, perfectly.

Thanks Marty!  I'll use your referral links for anything I decide to buy.  And yeah I'm just a little curious about summer temps with all that gear on, but I have some time before then being in Chicago...

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  • 5 months later...
On 1/21/2019 at 7:11 AM, Darrell Wesh said:

 

The demon flex force x2 is my body armor that I always wear underneath everything if I’m not wearing a motorcycle jacket. The FOX motorcycle jacket that everyone wears that makes them look like a “Halo” character is too bulky to wear under clothes because of the hard plating. The demon is heavily d30 including excellent rib protection and chest protection.

I can throw it on a lot faster than I can strap two elbow guards on, and get WAY more coverage and impact protection. Well worth the relatively small one time cost of sub $200 and no one knows I’m wearing body armor.

506EAD53-A583-487D-BB41-077B0901B628.png

They seem to be impossible to source in Europe. Are they no longer making them?

The only alternative I see is what Speedy Feet sells:

https://www.speedyfeet.co.uk/collections/clothing-safety-protection/products/flex-force-pro-top-full-armour

 

Even the EU Demon store doesn't sell them:

https://www.demonunited.eu/en/mountainbike/upper-body-lower-body/

 

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On 12/26/2018 at 2:44 PM, lebeaumarc said:

In a French Forum (espritroue.fr) , they recommended the following equipment ...

http://www.xionpg.com/xion-long-sleeve-jacket-freeride-d3o-men-v1.html

It seems the D3o material is capable of absorbing  the impact instead of just spreading it on a larger surface.

The waist has a velcro belt for support.

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On 8/18/2019 at 1:43 AM, ir_fuel said:

Just ordered the Leatt 5.5. 

Sending it back.

I also tested another brand, in a shop this time, also didn't like it.

TBH it doesn't feel like it gives me more protection than my motorcycle jacket, with one exception, that is the chest plate. I'm also not convinced that everything will stay in place better than with my zipped up jacket, and the shoulder pads felt a tad bit too low, on both occasions. Combine that with the ease of removing a motorcycle jacket vs this, and well ...

Not convinced yet. Hope to try the Demon Flex Force X2, but I won't get my hands on that before the end of September it seems.

Edited by ir_fuel
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I tryed Demon Flex Force X2 but realised that the wrist impact protection didn`t go well with my Demon flexmeter wristguards. Someone posted that was going to cut sleeves shorter to make better fit. Didn`t go that road and ordered Fox titan pro armor jacket (yeah RoboCop style). I know i know its not looking stylish, but looking like going to jousting games, but i really don`t care what others think. With this i can wear my wristguards. I have fell now twice from 20 km/h with my gear and no injuries. My Leatt double axis kneepads are looking pretty bad but my knees have survived. Both fall have been in forest with fine sand so no skidding like i would hoped but still. Demon padded shorts worked very well too when hitting hip to ground, but sitting feels little awkward with D30 pad. I guess i`m like michelinman with all the gear on but like Marty said we older guys can`t heal same rate anymore. I have two little kids so changing diaper with broken hands is a no no. For the colder months i`m going for MC jacket and trousers. Buying a protection for this sport is pretty hard, especially if looking for max comfort with max protection. Be safe my fellow wheelers :efef927839:

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  • 8 months later...
On 2/3/2019 at 10:58 PM, Marty Backe said:

My latest acquisition, the Viking Textile Jacket

IMG_0144

 

@Marty Backe, how do you like the jacket?  Seems like a good value if it's enough protection.  I'm looking for something to wear for a 6 or 12 mile commute through town, probably 25-30mph.  Do you think one of these is enough, or does that call for something more, i.e. body armor?  It'd be nice to have something cool / ventilated for the summer, that's easy to take off when I get there.

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2 hours ago, b00k3 said:

@Marty Backe, how do you like the jacket?  Seems like a good value if it's enough protection.  I'm looking for something to wear for a 6 or 12 mile commute through town, probably 25-30mph.  Do you think one of these is enough, or does that call for something more, i.e. body armor?  It'd be nice to have something cool / ventilated for the summer, that's easy to take off when I get there.

I think the jacket is OK. I love options to have for all the varied types of riding that I do. In the case of this Viking jacket, I wanted something I could quickly throw on that would offer some protection. But it certainly doesn't do a better job than having standalone elbow and shoulder pads.

So this jacket would fall under the category of providing a base-level of protection. I.e., when you don't feel like putting on elbow and shoulder protection, throw the jacket on.

I'm glad I own the jacket and the quality to date has been outstanding for the money.

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  • 1 month later...
4 hours ago, Paul2579 said:

Some nice details in the icon armored mesh shirt.  

 

I have that icon Kevlar shirt. Mobility is my number 1 requirement in safety gear. If it’s not flexible and mobile you’re not gonna wear it. restrictions effects my riding style as well. I wear it under button downs and regular shirts. Form fitting so no one can tell you have one armor. The only mesh “shirt” I know of that has abrasion resistance over the d30, most if not all are just “body armor” and don’t have any abrasion resistance. It flows a ton of air.
 

B+  because I feel like the impact protection is a bit lacking as the d30 isn’t the actual same thickness as regular CE level 1 d30. Still the best “body armor” you can buy though if you don’t want to wear an abrasion resistant outer layer. 

Edited by Darrell Wesh
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25 minutes ago, Ronin Ryder said:

The demon flex force x2 looks great but it doesn't seem to hold abrasion well no? One slide and its gone. Or is it OK?

I have it. One slide and it’s gone but thata because it’s body armor. Body armor was never meant to be worn as an outer layer, but over existing stuff. Also, it’s designed for snow and dirt where you don’t slide and have much abrasion. I wear it in the winter time over snow parkas that have pretty decent abrasion resistance. Wouldn’t wear it in the summer. Get the Icon Field Armor for summer.

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