Question about Body Armor Suits

[Kathy R]

I've never worn this type of gear, but I think I am going to now. Can any of you give me your take on what to look for?

 

I ordered a jacket that is the next size up to make room. My primary interest is to better protect my chest/ribs and the top of my shoulder and my shoulder blade. Yeah, I'm going Robo.

 

I was looking at THIS and THIS for instance.

[JR356]

http://johnsonleather.com/under_garments.htm

 

My favorites!

 

I have earlier model armored shirt with separate back protector,

a version prior to their Pro Sub 4 back protector.

Also wear their limb tube knee protectors.

 

Great stuff with high level protection and great reviews.

 

JR356

[eddd]

I have very similar armor. I haven't worn it specifically for street use, though I've had it on for over 8 hours of riding on my dual sport.

 

I'll have mine with me at the UN. You can try it on there and get an idea if this type of armor will meet your needs.

 

It does provide very good protection and some peace of mind. The real question though is whether you find it is just too uncomfortable/bulky for longer periods on the road.

[doc47]

Kath, here's another one to check out:

link

 

Motoport also has under-gear.

 

I've been doing some research on armor recently and came across this post:

'nother link

[Kathy R]

Thank you JR and David. Great stuff.

Eddd, Thanks! See you in a couple weeks.

 

Thank you gentlemen

[Danny caddyshack Noonan]

Kath, here's another one to check out:

link

I have that one. About 12-20 hours of total use. No crashes but, that type of gear does make one feel a bit protected. It did stretch out a bit (it is mesh) and I wear it under a cheap large moose jacket if it is raining.

The vendor did have some problems with communication and delivery that, from what I understand, have been fixed.

 

[markgoodrich]

Kathy, when you're looking at armor, be aware that many companies advertise "CE-certified." The CE certification is the only consistent, repeatable testing done on safety gear. It's not perfect, but it's better than dragging a pair of pants behind a truck and bragging about it.

 

Almost ALL jackets will have CE armor these days, in elbows and shoulders. HOWEVER, anyone can stamp CE on armor. There is even a stylized "CE" which almost exactly duplicates the European CE logo, but which stands for "China Export," i.e. has no certification testing.

 

There are currently two standards for motorcycle armor:

 

EN-1621-1 is for shoulder, forearm, hip, knee and lower legs

 

EN-1621-2 is for back protectors. Look at most back pads and they'll say "CE" but they're made to the lower 1621-1 standard.

 

As far as I know there is no CE standard for chest protection.

The moral: check before you buy, and I don't mean ask the salesperson.

 

I'll add a personal anecdote: I crashed my race bike a few years ago, wearing leathers and CE armor. I was banged up but essentially complete. However, the armor had hard edges, and the right knee pad dug into the soft tissue above my knee. It saved my knee from destruction, but six years later I still have pain in the soft tissue. The moral, to me, is there's more to it than just CE certification. I'll never use hard-edged armor again.

 

[CoarsegoldKid]

I have the Alpinstars upper body suit like the one you linked. I think it's very comfortable. However that's what I use for dirt. It would work on street if I had a larger size jacket. For the street the First Gear jacket I have has great shoulder and elbow protection. The back protection is a joke. I got rid of the back pad quickly and had a Aerostitch back protector velcroed in. But it precludes zipping jacket and pants together. There might be a shorter version of back protection from Aero. I recently looked at the Olympia jackets. They appear to have good back, shoulder, and elbow protection. But their pants only have decent knee protection. Their hip protection is worthless. Weird.

[Shaman97]

 

 

Our club had a presentation from THIS company, with quite a few folks making purchases. They don't have Tall sizes, or I would be a purchaser, too.

[markgoodrich]

I have the Alpinstars upper body suit like the one you linked. I think it's very comfortable. However that's what I use for dirt. It would work on street if I had a larger size jacket. For the street the First Gear jacket I have has great shoulder and elbow protection. The back protection is a joke. I got rid of the back pad quickly and had a Aerostitch back protector velcroed in. But it precludes zipping jacket and pants together. There might be a shorter version of back protection from Aero. I recently looked at the Olympia jackets. They appear to have good back, shoulder, and elbow protection. But their pants only have decent knee protection. Their hip protection is worthless. Weird.

 

Joe, the BMW back armor, which meets the proper standard, can be cut down It's the armor used in the Airflow 4.

 

Regarding Olympia, unfortunately I have anectodal evidence as of this morning that the jackets don't hold up in a crash. I was en route to breakfast with a good friend when suddenly he dropped out of my mirror. I turned around to find him trying to stagger to his feet, his bike surely totaled. He was wearing an Olympia jacket. He landed on his left shoulder, and the seam instantly broke loose, giving him pretty severe road rash down his left arm. The armor protected his bones, but a major issue to me is the ripped-off sleeve. Ambulance came, took him to the ER, checked him over, cleaned up the rash, put a temporary splint on his hand (he fractured a big bone in the left hand), and I took him home. His helmet is trashed, too. The jacket is of course toast. By comparison his First Gear pants didn't take much of a beating. As I said, this is anecdotal evidence, but it made my mind up about that brand. He had to go to the hospital anyway, for the concussed behavior and the swelling hand, but I bet the treatment of the road rash line item on his bill exceeds the cost of gear that will stay together.

[tallman]

Mark,

You're experience is similar to mine, only different brand.

That is why I post in some of these.

Seen brand new Darien wear thru left shoulder in slow low side and seen them hold up in much worse.

 

WRT Oly gear, I've not seen or heard of the issue you cite.

Was the jacket new/old?

 

Sometimes manufacture of stuff is relocated and I think that can

have an effect.

 

Hope your friend is ok soon.

[Glenn Reed]

I recently looked at the Olympia jackets. They appear to have good back, shoulder, and elbow protection. But their pants only have decent knee protection. Their hip protection is worthless. Weird.

 

Agreed as to the hip protection in the Olympia pants. That's why I recently bought these from Held to replace the foam padding in the hips. CE Hip Armor from Held. Direct swap for the existing pads in the Olympia Airglide pants. Slightly heavier, definitely more substantial. Hope I never find out how good they are.