I spent my whole vacation in the Moab hospital with broken ribs and a tube in my chest. My question is: “Would different armor have made any difference?” The answer is yes, for this particular crash. The different types of upper body armor all have their obvious advantages, you don’t have to look very hard to see which one has coverage here and nothing there. So “which type is best?” is a really tough question and probably more depends on what you hit, or what hits you. There are too many different manufacturers of these products to mention them all, but I will name brands that I have used or my riding buddies have. This is written in May, 2011, so things may have changed some by the time you read this. It’s longer than I wanted, but if it saves you from a visit to the ER then it’s a short read.
CHEST PROTECTOR / ROOST GUARD
The Chest Protector is like slipping on a turtle shell, with layers of good hard protection on your front and back. If you’re racing and getting rocks thrown at you, you want a shield to deflect them. If you crash land on your back, or get run over while laying on the track wondering what the hell just happened, you’ll be glad you bought one. They also have some form of pad for the top of your shoulders and are open on the sides. The big pieces of plastic armor are shaped to loosely curve around your torso and spread out any sharp point of impact over a larger area. They don’t have a lot of padding between the shell and your body so that cooling air flow is maximized. Try on several different ones and you’ll find one that fits you much better than the others.
Advantages: Light weight, cool, easy on and off, great front protection from roost. Generally the least expensive and not restrictive if you find one that’s a good fit for you.
Disadvantages: No protection around the sides of your body; so your ribs, liver and spleen are vulnerable. You’re wrapped in a fairly low tech shell.
Availability: Motorcycle parts stores usually stock a big selection of these and you want to take your time and find one that fits good. Don’t buy it for the color or decals if it isn’t the best fitting of all that you’ve tried on. There’s a new one out by Troy Lee Designs, #CP5955, that offers more padded shell around your sides and has more high tech adjustments than most. It costs more, but it gives you more.
PRESSURE SUIT
The Pressure Suit is a lot more high tech than the turtle shell approach, and more expensive. They have an articulated plastic spine guard that flexes with you for comfort, some padding on the chest, and most have a kidney belt. They are available is short sleeve so you can use your own elbow pads, or in long sleeve with pads attached that stay comfortably in place. There will be small pieces of padding in strategic places and usually something fancy on top of your shoulders. These are worn under your jersey but some guys simply wear them over a t-shirt when it’s really hot.
The fit is meant to be snug to your body. Many of them use an open mesh fabric for cooling. The amount and kind of padding for the chest varies greatly, some use just a thin pad and others will use a piece of plastic over a fat pad. More padding equals better protection, and hotter. From what I’ve seen, I think the Rockgardn Flac Jacket is the ultimate for protection, but it may be more than you’re looking for.
Advantages: These are designed to offer protection in a crash, they are high tech compared to a roost guard. Some are lighter weight and less padded than others, so you can buy the level of armor that you feel comfortable wearing. This armor is shared with the downhill mountain bike racers.
Disadvantages: More expensive, hotter, and harder to get on and off than a Chest Protector, especially when sweaty. Most have no padding around the sides; leaving your ribs, liver, and spleen vulnerable. You don’t have a big shell around you and it’s easy to see how sometimes that could be exactly what you need.
Availability: Search motorcycle shops and bicycle shops for these, you really need to try it on before buying. I constantly fought with the first one I bought; it stabbed me in the neck, the elbow pads slipped, and it was terribly hot. My current one is so comfortable I could take a nap in it. Look around for a few different ones before you buy, you’ll see big differences between them in fit and padding.
IMPACT VEST
This is a relatively new and smaller category of protection and I’m not sure the category has a title, but they are designed for impact so that’s what I’m calling them. They fit like an insulated vest; thinner than a life jacket but thicker than you would wear under your jersey. There are three distinctly different ways they offer protection: a bull riders vest (PBR), air bags, or lots of thick padding. From state of the art high tech materials used in bullet proof vests to fancy pads in all the right places, these offer you choices that the other styles don’t.
I’m going to talk about 3 manufacturers of these that I’m aware of, it’s unlikely that you’ll find one in stores because they aren’t the normal moto gear- yet.
TekVest- Padding, pockets, protection, and a place to slip your hydration bladder: this thing is loaded with options. And expensive. They have a big following in the snowmobile market so that should give you an idea of how warm it might be. I’ve read good reviews and harsh criticisms, my buddy liked his a lot, but it was too hot. It wraps fully around your torso so it should have better protection for your ribs and internal organs. For dual sport riding I don’t think you could beat it, but it doesn’t look like something you’d want to wear for a day at the track. http://www.tekrider.com/
http://www.thumperta...?ltr=T&t=946372
RXR chest and back protectors- An air bag for your body. Here’s what they say: “The heart of the RXR is the bladder, multiple interconnected chambers allow air to pass through restricted passages that absorb the energy from an impact before it reaches your body. Clearly superior to the classic protection offered from foam or plastic.” I only know one guy who has worn one, for a few years now, and he loves it. He’d broken ribs like me and thinks this thing is the best protection against doing that again. His also springs a leak now and then and needs to be patched. http://www.rxrprotectnorthamerica.com/
Moto X Vest- Starting with bullet proof vest technology, adapted from PBR riders, this model is specifically tailored for motocross racing. All the professional bull riders wear these vests, so if it’s the best technology we have against a couple thousand pounds of raging bull that wants to stomp on you then it sounds like it might work when your bike tosses you on your ass. It’s made to integrate with most of the new “Leatt style” neck braces and is vented more than the bull riders vests. The special padding and fabric spreads out a point of impact so you absorb it over a larger surface area, like the turtle shell, but on this vest the fabric is softer and conforms to your body. A close fitting outer layer that you clean with a pressure washer. It doesn’t have fancy looking shoulder protection or elbow pads like a Pressure Suit but it wraps around your sides and covers more of your torso and organs from an impact. I had a long phone call with Mick, the designer/manufacturer, he’s a great guy and I recommend you give him a call. http://motoxvest.com/
Here’s one more piece of Impact Armor I just found that’s popular with road racers. It’s Rocket Science materials but it’s held in place by their skin tight leather race suit. It looks to me like it would not work well for dirt riding but maybe they’ll have something for us by the time you read this. I wanted to include a lot of this kind of gear because the stuff specifically designed for “The Impact” is made with really high tech designs and materials, and it’s hard to find. This one is custom made to order, and the others sell at 2 to 3 times the price of a chest protector; it’s hard for a retailer to gamble on stocking it. But I’m including it so you know your options. Is that rumored full body air bag coming soon?
I’ve read so many posts by guys who are switching between Pressure Suits and Chest Protectors because of “too hot!”, or “it didn’t protect me when I crashed”, or “there has to be something better / simpler / more comfortable”. With advantages and disadvantages for every style of armor, I couldn’t find any piece that was the clear “WINNER”. The problem is no one piece of this gear can protect us from every possible crash scenario, and nothing is going to save your collar bone if you put your arm out to break your fall. So how much armor and which kind you should wear is your personal choice. If you try to wear it all you’re going to look like an Armadillo, and move about as fast too. The First Rule for buying is: If it isn’t comfortable you won’t wear it, so don’t buy before really checking it out.
