Pressure suit v body armour?

[cheese]

What do you guys use? I really want to get some after my spills the other day as i had the bars smack my in the gut and it still a bit tender. I like the idea of the pressure suit, but I hear that you cook in them (haha pressure cooker).

I've found pressure suits for $120 and body armour for $80. so not too much price difference for what you get really.

[sAsLEX]

Explain pressure suit!?

[Crisis management]

I feel a "when I was young we never wore stuff like that " rant coming on....

Somedays I feel really old....:(

[trumpy]

I used one (pressure suit) on my dirt bike 'cause I used to crash a lot. I had a real biggie over the bars at a GNCC event and managed to peel the handgrip off with my (rather considerable) guts. Minimal damage as nothing moved, just a deep groove accross the chest plate. Best money I ever spent on safety gear. I found the pressure suit a lot more comfortable than body armour but it can be hot in the summer.
Some of the newer versions have softer mesh that you can wear directly against your skin - my one you NEED to wear a T shirt underneath.

[steved]

I think he means these; I saw one in motomail a while back.

I think you weather leather or codura over the top. Mountain Bikers use them as well.
Doesn't really explain them. They look like normal hard armour.

Do they have air-pockets in the armour for impact-absorption?

[chop]

I had a pressure suit found it very uncomfortable. I use an EVS vest which has a padded front on it very good for roost and chuck armour over the top for the bush. EVS does a very compact armour which looks to be very good and its not big and bulky and gives good protection.

[laRIKin]

I have body armour but prefer my pressure suit. (UFO)
I found that it doesn't dig in as much when carry a hydration pack with tools etc in it.
They also fit better under my jacket, I adventure ride mainly.
The down side is they are warmer to wear in the summer.
They can feel funny until you get use to them and I wear a tank top under mine to stop nipple chaffing as the webbing with just about rub them off.:gob:

I also think that they are better in a crash as the armour (read the sticker) is for roost and not crash protection.

[telliman]

pressure suit is deffinatly better when racing on mx tracks for sure, the more body protection the better when on the often hard tracks. but body armour all good when free riding,! much more room to move!

[Motu]

I have one,and still reserve my judgement on it.I only use it in summer,under my non waterproof enduro jacket.But it's still bulky and restricts my movement,and can get pretty hot too.I'd love to wear no armour - I don't when riding the trials bike,and I can move around with total freedom of movement....wearing my armour jacket I feel like some thugish bloated slow moving zomby.But.....I know if I crash I'll be really happy I chose to wear it.

[Hambo45]

interesting, had never heard of these things before this thread, a few quick questions, as i am a mx rider as oppose to a enduro rider, how much do these pressure suits protect against roost? and do they restrict very much against movement?

Cheers,
Hambo45

[sAsLEX]

I think he means these; I saw one in motomail a while back.

I think you weather leather or codura over the top. Mountain Bikers use them as well.

See to me that just looks like body armour held in place by a spandex type vest instead of say the leather in my jacket, no one has really given a succint and definate description of a pressure suit yet ...

[telliman]

the preasure suit is like putting on a tight jacket that has all the plastic padding on it,some call it a preasure suit cause some come made out of that spandex stuff which is quit tight fitting,but with thick plastic padding all over the torsoe, all up your arms, and the back protection you cant go wrong,try having a high speed crash on a hard dry track in normal body armour,after it has twisted and turned on ya body,it dosnt offer that much protection. trust me,i learned that lesson the hard way! they are vary restricting though,just like a helmet!but ya wouldnt race wiyhout that would ya?

[telliman]

See to me that just looks like body armour held in place by a spandex type vest instead of say the leather in my jacket, no one has really given a succint and definate description of a pressure suit yet ...

this is an off road thread, am yet to see anyone on the track in leathers dude!

[sAsLEX]

the preasure suit is like putting on a tight jacket that has all the plastic padding on it,some call it a preasure suit cause some come made out of that spandex stuff which is quit tight fitting,but with thick plastic padding all over the torsoe, all up your arms, and the back protection you cant go wrong,try having a high speed crash on a hard dry track in normal body armour,after it has twisted and turned on ya body,it dosnt offer that much protection. trust me,i learned that lesson the hard way! they are vary restricting though,just like a helmet!but ya wouldnt race wiyhout that would ya?

Normal body armour should be held in place to stop twisting etc

[Motu]

They are an all in one armour suit,comprising elbow and shoulder armour,back protector and kidney belt and chest protection too - you just put it on and wear whatever you like over the top.....cordura jacket,cotton jersey,and even leather if you like.They are mainly for off road and impact protection,but speedway riders wear them,and the long track riders do too - they do 160kpm in the turns,so they must work well.For my riding on gravel roads I think they would give me more protction than leather - I'm not extactly going to be sliding down the road grinding away the plastic armour at 180kph.

[telliman]

dude, it dosnt protect the side of your body, your arms,elbows etc.even when fitted properly they still move a bit. each to there own,but try tangling with another bike or two in both forms, see which one you prefer! on saying all that,its gonna hurt no matter wat your wearing.lol!

[cheese]

well after tryomg to keep up with danger I fell off a few times and the handle bars met with my gut and it's only just come right. It was really sore!

I'm not really a racer, so I think I might go for teh pressure suit if it is comfortable. I did see some nicer body armour at specrum for about $120 taht did give alot of cover. I ride more enduro style and just want a bit of protection.

[Adamski]

this is an off road thread, am yet to see anyone on the track in leathers dude!

Then check this mate, we did 4000kms in leathers on this trip!! :2thumbsup

[telliman]

gee thats a long track buddy! fair enough,

[SDU]

I have the Soft style chest protector (doesn't have kidney belt attached) that moves around & rides up, that is so uncomfortable that I don't wear it. I regret not wearing it or having protection when I get wacked by branches on the goat tracks or hit the bars as I go over or land on a rock.
I am a adventure/trail rider not a MX rider/racer.
I can see the pressure suit would be a good advantage if you could get a good fitting one. Sadly they don't come in my size yet. :(
Others I know who wear them seem to put up with the heat.

[cheese]

yeah well I also want to be able to use my camel back too, so I think pressure suit is the go.

[Motu]

Wearing a bum bag is a pain with the pressure suit - the hard shell back protector is tapered,and the bum bag works it's way down and turns into a real bum bag....when I sit down it's under my bum!

[laRIKin]

Wearing a bum bag is a pain with the pressure suit - the hard shell back protector is tapered,and the bum bag works it's way down and turns into a real bum bag....when I sit down it's under my bum!

I must be lucky as I do not have that problem with mine.

[Motu]

You are obviously missing another protusion in the front of your body,so as well as slipping down the back,it does so at the front too.Drink more beer and get back to me with the results.....

[Wolf]

Those pressure suits look good.

I have hard inserts in the shoulders of my DriRider Alphine jacket but, considering they don't always line up properly so I adjust their position by hand, I doubt they would stay put in an accident and would be of dubious value.

My spine protector is a separate piece with kidney belt that I wear under my jacket and I don't have too much of an issue with it - it feels secure.

I note that a lot of Cordura touring jackets (DriRider, Spool MOBIG etc) have pockets for hard armour but I also notice that jackets can shift around a fair bit and who's to say that the armour will still be between your boney jutty-out bits and the road when the crunch comes?

Given a lot of thought to this and still have not come up with any firm decisions as all the options seem to have flaws - the additional heat of the pressure suit in summer and the fact that it's not waterproof/windproof enough to be worn by itself (OK, the MXers are used to getting drenched for the duration of a race but some of us woosy Adventure riders/tourers take exception to hypothermia and riding for six hours in a blizzard wearing nothing but spandex and armour.)

A pressure suit and a good waterproof jacket with removable thermal liner might be the go, especially if the jacket has sealable air vents for additional cooling when required. Has anyone tried that?

[Wellyman]

I have mad numerous tempations for one of these babys. over body armour, body armous always moves around causing your elbow pads, kidney belt etc to move with it ,with pressure suits like the ones made by 661 they have a built in kidney belt and elbow pads which makes them more secure and would make them less likely to slip down during riding. huge bonus for me.
WM

[Wolf]

How well would the pressure suit fit under a motorcycle jacket (say, Cordura waterproof jacket)? Would I need another, smaller, jacket to wear when I don't want to be armoured to the nines to avoid rattling around in the jacket?

Also, how easy are they to put on and take off? Is kitting up hassle free or is it like being strapped into medieval armour and best accomplished with the aid of a squire?

[laRIKin]

You are obviously missing another protusion in the front of your body,so as well as slipping down the back,it does so at the front too.Drink more beer and get back to me with the results.....

I'll get right on to it and I'll eat more pies.
I wear the bag part to the front, that may help:scratch:

[laRIKin]

How well would the pressure suit fit under a motorcycle jacket (say, Cordura waterproof jacket)? Would I need another, smaller, jacket to wear when I don't want to be armoured to the nines to avoid rattling around in the jacket?

Also, how easy are they to put on and take off? Is kitting up hassle free or is it like being strapped into medieval armour and best accomplished with the aid of a squire?

It would be best if you go to a bike shop with your jacket and try out a few and see if you like it.
They are all a bit different in the way they are constructed.
I like my UFO but did not like the Six O Six and another one. (can't remember)

[Wolf]

I like the look of the RockGardn "Flak Jacket" - especially the diagonal straps across the elbow/forearm guards.

[Wolf]

Lemans, what model UFO suit? Motu, what make and model pressure suit and armour do you use?

Which shops have them in stock that I might be able to go and scope them out? Most the MX-style armour I've seen around is the rigid roost protectors (seriously considered getting them to wear under my gear but not sure how they would suit touring.)

[Wolf]

Kasper has kindly given me the loan of his EVS Ballistic jacket for a while to see how I like wearing a pressure suit. It's a tad large on me but it will serve to see how I go with the rigamarole of putting on a pressure suit and then my jacket (and removing same at my destination), how hot I get on protracted rides and how it feels having the armour strapped to my body rather than wafting around as part of the jacket.

It will also give me a "baseline" for any comparisons with other makes and models.

I took the hard armour out of my DriRider's shoulder pouches and tried wearing it over the Ballistic jacket - it felt a bit weird and bulky but it wasn't a major hassle squeezing my armoured torso into the DriRider. Definitely leaning towards a pressure suit under a warm, waterproof outer rather than a jacket with integral armour, now.

I also went for a ride up the road wearing the Ballistic jacket over a T-shirt instead of my DriRider - the cool wind was quite refreshing but I would not have liked to have fallen off with nothing but mesh and a few pieces of hard armour between me and the road - I definitely need an outer jacket designed to take a spill on tarmac or an MX jersey for off-road.

Wandering around in helmet, boots, heavy gloves and Ballistic jacket, I had to fight the impulse to grate out "Suitable subjects will be upgraded, inferior subjects will be deleted. Delete, Delete, Delete!" I knew it wouldn't be long before I started wondering why I can't electrocute people by touching them and why the plasma weapons in my forearms weren't working...

That's pretty much all the riding I've had time for in the few hours since I was loaned it - will keep updating.

[laRIKin]

Well Wolf I'm not really sure what model it is.
The only thing that I can find that properly the model is the word Plast on the the sticker that goes at the back of the neck of the armour.

Now I remember the adjustment straps that hold the elbow pads use to dig in to the pit of my elbow.
So when I found were I like the straps I stitched up the straps and cut the plastic "D" rings off.

The jacket has a large open weave that can feel strange and can itch a bit (not in a bad way more of a tingles) when you take it off after a ride.

And like I said earlier I have to wear a tank top under it or the open weave or it will make your nipples bleed on a hard ride. (not nice at all)

It has lasted well and is still good to wear but is showing signs of wear after 3 years and I ride every weekend to twice a month normally for 4-6 hour rides.

I have had some biggish off's and have been OK afterwards and think it has saved me more than once when I have bounced off trees or that ground that gets harder every year.