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View Full Version : Body armour.. Trials, trails, enduro recommendations.



george formby
7th April 2019, 11:30
I'm sat here nursing an unfunny broken humerus and dislocated shoulder:doh:, thinking about my return to bikes. Cautiously. Never having had a broken bone before this has got me thinking about protection when I can fire myself at the scenery again.<_<

What recommendations do y'all have for body armour? External hard armour, under armour jackets, knee braces v knee guards etc. I'm like chocolate during the summer and tend to melt easily so comfort and ventilation is a biggie. I would also like to avoid looking like a Transformer because that would imply I can actually ride. Nothing worse than all show, no go. Falling off guaranteed.

Thoughts and experience much appreciated.

Scubbo
7th April 2019, 16:19
I found the axo Air Cage Pro good for offroad and adventure riding, took a few spills and flips and protected back / shoulder / arms fine --- was comfy-ish (some of the nylon stitching ends can dig in until you find it and melt it with a lighter then all good) can wear just that or a light shirt overtop -- has lasted well with abuse too, just with the whicking material it ends up stinking all over after each ride if you sweat like i do ;p

I bought from torpedo 7 when it was on special years ago but wasnt expensive unlike essential Knee Braces !!!

I linked wrong one, this is the one I recommend (https://www.freestylextreme.com/uk/home/brands/axo/axo-black-2015-air-cage-pro-mx-protection-jacket.aspx)

nzspokes
7th April 2019, 18:45
I found the axo Air Cage Pro good for offroad and adventure riding, took a few spills and flips and protected back / shoulder / arms fine --- was comfy-ish (some of the nylon stitching ends can dig in until you find it and melt it with a lighter then all good) can wear just that or a light shirt overtop -- has lasted well with abuse too, just with the whicking material it ends up stinking all over after each ride if you sweat like i do ;p

I bought from torpedo 7 when it was on special years ago but wasnt expensive unlike essential Knee Braces !!!

I linked wrong one, this is the one I recommend (https://www.freestylextreme.com/uk/home/brands/axo/axo-black-2015-air-cage-pro-mx-protection-jacket.aspx)

I have the same. Feel silly with it on but it seems to work. I just wear a teeshirt under it.

Scubbo
8th April 2019, 08:49
you can hide the look if it bothers you with a motox jersey, what they were made for :P

Kickaha
8th April 2019, 19:16
I use a EVS G6 Ballistic Jersey which has saved me several times, however 11 months ago I had a 30-40km fall on a trail ride, I fractured 10 ribs, broke my collarbone, punctured a lung, torn my aorta and bruised my liver kidney and spleen, I got a helicopter ride, titanium plated ribs a stent, 4 days in a induced coma and 6 days on a ventilator and 13 days in hospital

When I landed on my arm it got pushed into the gap between front and rear armour on the side of my rib cage and that did all the damage so while it'll save you some of the time it wont save you all the time

george formby
9th April 2019, 08:21
I use a EVS G6 Ballistic Jersey which has saved me several times, however 11 months ago I had a 30-40km fall on a trail ride, I fractured 10 ribs, broke my collarbone, punctured a lung, torn my aorta and bruised my liver kidney and spleen, I got a helicopter ride, titanium plated ribs a stent, 4 days in a induced coma and 6 days on a ventilator and 13 days in hospital

When I landed on my arm it got pushed into the gap between front and rear armour on the side of my rib cage and that did all the damage so while it'll save you some of the time it wont save you all the time

:eek5: This post has stopped my whinging..

I appreciate that armour is not guaranteed to prevent injuries, particularly if their is a bit of pace involved. My riding is pretty slow and considered, has to be on a 125 trials bike, but I do suffer sudden lapses of confidence and leap off to hug trees.

The old 250 2t trailie likes to chase possums if I'm not concentrating, more tree hugging and rolling in water filled ruts with the occasional superman impersonation on a whisky throttle.

My pace could be described as somebody has to be last.

I was looking at an EVS jacket on torpedo 7, quite a good price. The G6 and AXO are a similar price depending on where you look.

Are they both comfortable for technical riding? We ride some of the harder trails at The Farm and being a pussy I spend as much time man handling a bike as riding it.

Kickaha
9th April 2019, 18:26
Are they both comfortable for technical riding? We ride some of the harder trails at The Farm and being a pussy I spend as much time man handling a bike as riding it.

No idea on the AXO but we do 80-120km of trails when we do our rides and the G6 is comfortable for that, my level of riding would be "distinctly average", I normally only do the main loops and don't worry about the enduro loops

Scubbo
9th April 2019, 19:17
after a few minutes you don't really notice the kit on, the back protector like others feel stiff when cold, but when they warm up they relax or you get used to it :P slow going enduro (think enduroKEX, youtube that) with the axo was good, but I'm fairly big, I could imagine a smaller frame being dwarfed by the shoulder protectors and upper arm panels --- the axo has under arm rib impact panels but doubt they would have helped in Kickaha's savage spill :pinch:

george formby
10th April 2019, 08:12
after a few minutes you don't really notice the kit on, the back protector like others feel stiff when cold, but when they warm up they relax or you get used to it :P slow going enduro (think enduroKEX, youtube that) with the axo was good, but I'm fairly big, I could imagine a smaller frame being dwarfed by the shoulder protectors and upper arm panels --- the axo has under arm rib impact panels but doubt they would have helped in Kickaha's savage spill :pinch:

Smaller frame? Good to know, I have the build of a 6' 2" Somalian chopstick.

At this stage I guess I'm looking at price between the two suggestions

HenryDorsetCase
10th April 2019, 17:07
any input from anybody about knee protection?

nzspokes
11th April 2019, 09:54
any input from anybody about knee protection?I use POD knee braces. Seems to work.

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

Scubbo
11th April 2019, 13:05
https://www.torpedo7.co.nz/products/LEPRLN8LD/title/x-frame-knee-braces---pair

or similar --- standard cup ones are fine for light trails but if you're doing anything slightly gnarly -- anti-twist is the way to go -- but like all crashes, you have that chance to just land wrong and die

Kickaha
12th April 2019, 07:35
any input from anybody about knee protection?
I just use Fox armour which has worked well but when I can afford to I will upgrade to proper knee braces


but like all crashes, you have that chance to just land wrong and die
I've tried that, I don't recommend it

pampa
24th April 2019, 15:13
Have Leatt body armour (prev version to last, current https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=leatt+body+armour+5.5) and it works really well. Have tried it against the ground a few times and has done the trick. Last time was using small rocks as kicker for a small jump up until one rolled sideways and the bike went horizontally I landed on my side as well elbow, shoulder, knee and hip and didn't get a single mark, felt the impact up until next day but was fine to even to ride. Also wear Leatt armour pants (https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DChcSEwjVss6K4efhAhWQHSsKHS1wC3MYABAFGgJzZg&sig=AOD64_08mW19SA2z3yYgq-FQ3-_A9zQH6g&ctype=5&q=&ved=0ahUKEwjVtcWK4efhAhWKbysKHRxFAiYQ9aACCEU&adurl=), Leatt knee pads (not braces) https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DChcSEwiisPGd4efhAhVZJCsKHQMfB3AYABANGgJzZg&sig=AOD64_3rPb-hztX5n1pbUzB_DonvaQOeGw&ctype=5&q=&ved=0ahUKEwi92emd4efhAhUXb30KHW-wD8YQ9aACCEM&adurl=. All of those are pretty comfortable to me.

Hope you have a quick with your recovery.