I will be getting into mountain biking shortly and i'm hoping to get into fast/aggressive trail, light dh and maybe some dirt jumping. It's been quite a while since I was a teenager and I take safety pretty seriously. I can't afford to be off work injured. I'd also enjoy the extra confidence that being well protected offers. But I dont want to look like a pro motoX guy or anything either, like a plastic robocop. So i've been looking into all the kit and armor required. Helmet, gloves, shoes, glasses, shorts, jersey, knees, shins, elbows, shoulders, chest, back..... etc. I was liking what I saw and heard about POC stuff so I priced up a kit, mostly POC, and it was around $1500!! How much have you spent on all your kit? Is expensive stuff worth it? Ive seen some pics recently of people with large sticks embedded in their legs and stuff... didn't look fun.