Which Body Armour

[.:ROBBO:.]

I just bought one of these- http://www.allsportprotection.com/Troy_Lee_Designs_Shirt_BP7855_Long_Sleeve_Upper_Bo_p/tld0032.htm From this place. I am yet to wear it riding but it fits much better than my 661 pressure suit. And is padded almost everywhere. Most pads can be remnoved. It is also Leatt Neck Brace compatible. They also do a short sleave version and a slightly less padded version. As well as matching padded under shorts and longs.

Read heaps of reviews on these before buying and very few bad ones to be found.

View attachment 206922

I pulled this quote from a previous thread. Have been using it now for a few months. You wont find a better fit on the market right now. Or anything that offers as much protection. Granted it doesnt have plastic covers but it still works well. Ive had a couple of big offs wearing it one big enough to tear my right AC joint(No other body armour would have prevented this injury) and have lost no skin at all or had any bruising. Its comfortable as well. Much more comfortable than a 661 pressure suit. I also bought the matching under shorts. You dont even know you are wearing them. Been off the DH bike for 6 weeks now but should be back on it next week. So will have more idea how they go in the hotter weather.

 

[dirt lover]

Very nice! The 661 core saver does have a slot at the back between your back and the spine protector to slip the neckbrace and it fits nicely at the front too, the only problem seems you cant use the chest strap that comnes with the Leatt neck brace. Im just not sure how stable they are without that strap, I know leatt state in their users guide that its only optional. Does anyone run their leatt either with the 661 or by itself without the strap?

I've worn my leatt with my core saver before, because it is slipped into back sleeve you don't notice bouncing around much. If the leatt was any bigger on me though it probably would which is one of the reasons I wear it normally without the armor. This might also have just been me but I found that the leatt seemed to sit higher when used with the core saver cause it touches on the shoulder pads and not your actual shoulders (or that could have just been my imagination but it sure felt like it did).

Has anybody had any experience with the 661 Subgear compression stuff?

Do they have back padding and are they Leatt compatible? Also, the TLD Base Protectors, has anyone had experience with these regarding Leatt braces?

Feedback very welcome......

I've personally never bought the 661 subgear though I've done a bit of research about them. Firstly no they don't have any back padding (one of the reasons I never ended up buying it). Secondly though they are compatible with a leatt brace according to CRC customer service when I sent them an email regarding them.

 

[whitey89]

+1 for the 661 core saver. I didnt want arms or shoulders, just some spine and chest protection. Feels quite good but I do agree with previous people, it rides up slightly higher than my shoulders which is weird. I got a small and im 5'8 so i dont think its so much of a sizing issues.

Check out POC gear as well, bit pricey but you get what you pay for.

 

[tricycle]

I pulled this quote from a previous thread. Have been using it now for a few months. You wont find a better fit on the market right now. Or anything that offers as much protection. Granted it doesnt have plastic covers but it still works well. Ive had a couple of big offs wearing it one big enough to tear my right AC joint(No other body armour would have prevented this injury) and have lost no skin at all or had any bruising. Its comfortable as well. Much more comfortable than a 661 pressure suit. I also bought the matching under shorts. You dont even know you are wearing them. Been off the DH bike for 6 weeks now but should be back on it next week. So will have more idea how they go in the hotter weather.

that looks pretty good ,im still a big fan of plastic thou.

 

[Get Mounted]

661/leatt user question

OK, final question on it for you guys waering leatt/661 core saver. The thoracic member slips between the spine protector and body fine, but are you supposed to place the lower front member under your jersey/chest plate or is it ok to sit on top of it. The reason I ask is that I feel it sits better if I place the front lower member on top of my chest plate. The instruction book I think is a little ambiguous whether this is acceptable or if it should be close to the skin as the thoracic member should be.......

 

[driftking]

side cutters in behind the little black rivet-looking things, snip 'em off and the spine protectors come off.
it leaves the other half of the rivet(s) inside the material though, so you have to cut a little slit in one side of the material to get it/them out. easy enough, just be careful you dont cut the wrong bits!

I did this with my old 661 armor. I took the first two plates off and it still wasnt enough so I continued to take another 3 off and it was still not working. then when I decided to look at it properly I realised I had taken 3 off the bottom. But it was alright, couple of paper clips sliped onto the buttons making essentially a clip to prevent it slipping, I threw on some bluetack to smooth over the rough edges and help stick the clips inplace. works all good now.

lesson is make sure you take the right ones off. haha.

Alot of cutting and unclipping and finally the armor is Neckbrace compatible, including at the front. Im still buying something new. the armor is too old hence bulky and ridiculously hot.

 

[jem30]

661 subgear

Hi mate, I've been using 661 short sleeve subgear and a 661 spine protector - found that this gives almost the same protection as my Fox pressure suit, but it's lighter, way more comfortable, breathes better and I'm hardly aware I'm wearing it. Cheap too on CRC...

No probs with a Leatt as nothing to snag or rub against...

 

[24alpha]

Hi mate, I've been using 661 short sleeve subgear and a 661 spine protector - found that this gives almost the same protection as my Fox pressure suit, but it's lighter, way more comfortable, breathes better and I'm hardly aware I'm wearing it. Cheap too on CRC...

No probs with a Leatt as nothing to snag or rub against...

Thanks Jem, was thinking along these lines as well. Cheers for the feedback.

 

[Staunch]

Bit of a dig but...

I've used 661 core savers, cut out armour, pressure suits, everything with my neck brace and I hated it all.
Now after having another big crash (which seem to happen too often for me) I want to try some more body armour. The Leatt armour looks ideal to go with their brace, but similarly to problems I've had with moto armour, can you run the armour on the inside (under a jersey/t-shirt) and neck brace on the outer? I just prefer to do it this way because it keeps the armour from getting muddy (seeing it's not the easiest thing to wash).
Judging by the way the backplate of the Leatt sits in the groove in the armour it seems like it might be a bit of a problem, especially if you have to use the straps to keep it secure.
Does anyone have first hand experience with the Leatt armour?

 

[Brooksy007]

Adding another to an old thread...

Hey all,

I recently had a big off wearing a 661 Pressure suit and while I was happy with the suit in previous offs, I cant help but think that something else may have better protected my clavicle. While it does have "shoulder cups" made of plastic, these - I beleive - were not really sufficient as there is nothing preventing them from being pushed "down" into my shoulder... I subjected myself to a totally smashed clavicle, needing 2 plates and 10 screws to fix - damn bionic shoulder!

Anyway, does anyone have any thoughts on this? Ie. Which Armour, if any, offers the best protection for this area? Are there any where the "shoulder cups" are actually connected to the chest/back plates, so that they at have some resistance at least against being pushed down into the should under heavy impact - ie. OTB and landing on the shoulder in an attempt to roll)? Or is there not really any way to "properly" protect the clavicle?

Much appreciate any help.

 

[wesdadude]

TLD armour is made so that padding can easily be slipped out to accommodate a neck brace. It's foam rather than plastic so may not be what you're looking for but it's comfortable and light and fits nicely with my Leatt.

 

[24alpha]

Some feedback.....

Hi All, last page I was inquiring about the TLD and 661 armour. I ended u getting a Leatt Adventure Vest. It's comfortable and integrates with my Leatt brace perfectly. I had to take off the front and rear top plates for it to integrate but it's been worth it. They are also $100 cheaper now.
Only con....it's on the heavy side. But you don't feel it on.

Cheers

Hux

 

[marks]

Hi all. Sorry to resurrect such an old thread but could not find any newer threads on the subject of body armour.
What are peoples thoughts on a good quality body armour.
I do a bit of downhill and wish to try and protect myself as much as possible. I am too old to bounce I just break now.
Looking for something that does front back and ribs.

 

[andrew9]

The TLD Shock Doctor's seem to be more popular locally than all the others by quite a bit. I wear one to help my confidence, but to be realistic it's only going to minimise minor cuts and bruises.

 

[Nerf Herder]

I read through a couple of the older posts ... funny how much things have changed, both in style of product offered and attitude by the user

This is new for IXS
http://ixs-sportsdivision.com/en/shop/carve-upper-body-protective


X matter is an open cell impact foam / hardens on impact, softens and become more flexible and conforming with body heat to really fit your bits ... located on the shoulder and Back ... with none hardening impact foam on the other sections (this is done for heat dissipation and weight vs high impact protection on critical contact points. Couple it with the IXS Flow or Carve knee and elbow plus a lid of your choice and all your contact points are covered.

take all that away ... the Aeromesh is the key feature in my head ... think of it as more robust Lycra ! ... without being anything like Lycra. Its a fabric and not a rubber ... moisture wicking, breathable ... and antibacterial. You will get hot, you will sweat, but you wont get anywhere near as stinky as with old skool armour but best of all, soft pads ... straight into the machine with a standard load.

The bad news ... not available locally as yet ... but you can get them from the Irish wiggle.

 

[Knuckles]

Thinking about throwing the boy down black Hill at KOB this year, what's a good value set of knee and elbow pads suitable for a 10yo?

 

[pink poodle]

Thinking about throwing the boy down black Hill at KOB this year, what's a good value set of knee and elbow pads suitable for a 10yo?

If you want hard shelled protection, I've often found it easier to get stuff for small kids/riders from a dirt bike shop. They tend to have a good range of stuff to support the pee-wee and similar sized bikes, where as bike stores don't really have much. TLD in particular have stuff that works well. Catch with a fair bit of moto stuff though is it is designed to be worn under pants so the knee cap is often not secured by a strap. You may be handy with needle and thread? Also ixs have some fairly small and stream lined knee-shin combos that I've purchased from crc in the past. A good range of colours available as well.

I've no experience with soft pads as per current trend. Perhaps toys r us or similar in skate safety?

 

[tkdbboy]

I'm also in the market for some body armour.

Current looking at these for around $150:
- Fox Titan
- Dainese Manis
- IXS Assault Jacket

Anyone used of these?

That new IXS armour sounds like the impact pads are similar to POC VPD2.0 ones.

 

[Mywifesirrational]

I'm also in the market for some body armour.

Current looking at these for around $150:
- Fox Titan
- Dainese Manis
- IXS Assault Jacket

Anyone used of these?

That new IXS armour sounds like the impact pads are similar to POC VPD2.0 ones.

Owned both the Manis and Titan, currently wearing a Dianese Wave T pro, overkill for MTB, but i'm after all the rib protection I can get.

Titan was really nice for the price, manis was overall more comfortable to wear, I didn't have the Titan long, but in the same amount of time, the dianese stitching was falling out in a few places. Manis feels quite short, titan backplate waist belt sit lower, which I preferred, but I felt the Manis shoulder area felt a little more mobile on bike, that could be placebo, because I am a dianese fanboy. I'd happily wear either.

 

[pink poodle]

Owned both the Manis and Titan, currently wearing a Dianese Wave T pro, overkill for MTB, but i'm after all the rib protection I can get.

Titan was really nice for the price, manis was overall more comfortable to wear, I didn't have the Titan long, but in the same amount of time, the dianese stitching was falling out in a few places. Manis feels quite short, titan backplate waist belt sit lower, which I preferred, but I felt the Manis shoulder area felt a little more mobile on bike, that could be placebo, because I am a dianese fanboy. I'd happily wear either.

Do you have a neckbrace? If so how did you work out which one to get? I can't figure out where the facts start and the marketing BS ends!