Body armour effective?

[Theunissa]

Good day all. I had a painfull crash on sat. I hurt my shoulder head and ribs. Im to embarrassed to aay how it happened.

 

My question is how much protection will shoulder pads knee pads and body armour provide if you fall?

[droo]

Staying upright is far more effective, and unfortunately dressing for every fall is going to make you overheat and come very close to immobilising you.

 

I wear soft knees and elbows by Leatt, there are many brands to choose from though, and just accept that at some point gravity will win. The Airflex armour does help with the most common contact points though.

 

Camelbak make a pack called the Kudu with some back protection in it, though how effective this is I couldn't say cos I've never tried it.

 

The best thing you can do is take up Judo or Ju-Jitsu and learn how to fall properly. But again, this will only cover you up to a point.

[Barend de Arend]

Depends.

 

I'll use it when the risk goes up: new skills, jumps (which I can't do), downhill (which I can't do...)

 

Given my history I probably need to use it when I go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

[Vetseun]

Like the black bear I carry my own protection on my body at all times.

[Mongooser]

I watched my freind land flat on a rock in a rock garden,was crying his butt off but didn't even have any bruising or marks,he couldn't even stand up for 5min,he was in full TLD body armour

[Theunissa]

I watched my freind land flat on a rock in a rock garden,was crying his butt off but didn't even have any bruising or marks,he couldn't even stand up for 5min,he was in full TLD body armour

i dont mind rhe limited pain. Ots the pain for rhe next week or 2. The broken shoulder that gets me. I can live with a few bruises even. Bit my work consists of physical labour. And it aint easy wjen you cant lift your arm

[V12man]

Staying upright is far more effective, and unfortunately dressing for every fall is going to make you overheat and come very close to immobilising you.

 

I wear soft knees and elbows by Leatt, there are many brands to choose from though, and just accept that at some point gravity will win. The Airflex armour does help with the most common contact points though.

 

Camelbak make a pack called the Kudu with some back protection in it, though how effective this is I couldn't say cos I've never tried it.

 

The best thing you can do is take up Judo or Ju-Jitsu and learn how to fall properly. But again, this will only cover you up to a point.

Droo - I have tested my Kudu in anger..... Lets just say that Peach thinks I have a guardian angel on my shoulder......

 

The impact protector certainly helped in that instance....  pretty sure it won't always help in every case but I am sold on wearing the gear at times.... clearly not when wearing lycra....

[Duane_Bosch]

Droo - I have tested my Kudu in anger..... Lets just say that Peach thinks I have a guardian angel on my shoulder......

I can't wear body armor. I have some somewhere but haven't used it in years.

 

Generally it's kneepads & gloves.

 

I've got one of those EVOC Enduro Blackline packs. GREAT all day pack with built in back protector. I think the 16l one would have been more effective for my needs but hey.

[V12man]

I can't wear body armor. I have some somewhere but haven't used it in years.

 

Generally it's kneepads & gloves.

 

I've got one of those EVOC Enduro Blackline packs. GREAT all day pack with built in back protector. I think the 16l one would have been more effective for my needs but hey.

There is a difference between "can't" and "don't want to" -  :)

 

I have the 12l Kudu - works for me, but I am not the biggest lad on the mountain....  - kneepads, gloves and elbow protection as well seem enough for me most times - I guess more is probably better but more suited to parks that have lifts....

[Grebel]

Depends totally on the application IMO. When I swing my leg over a DH rig, it's dress for the fall. I did a shuttle day a while back. I nice young lady referred to me as looking like a Ninja Turtle.... I was wearing a chest case and hard shell knee/shin and elbow pads.

 

That chest case saved my sternum though. Things got a bit out of control just after the big rock near Cloud 9 at Cascades a few years ago and I ended up with a seat in the chest at speed after my feet parted ways with my pedals. Lucky for the plastic...

 

Nowadays, it's baggies and a Camelbak with gloves. Still looking for a set of soft knee pads but TBH I have never lost skin off my knees in a fall. I always make a donation from either the elbows, hips or outer calf. 

[Amberdrake]

I always put on elbow pads these days, so much so that if I don't murphy takes more skin off my right elbow.....

Ppl always look at me funny :/ 

 

Need to buy proper knee pads but unlikely ill wear them unless its pretty hectic trail.

[Dan Dob]

The thing I realised when I started wearing kneepads is that I didn't make use of them for a while because I was still riding (crashing) like I used to before without kneepads ie hold on for dear life and try to ride it out! This normally resulted in crashing anyway but  taking the brunt of the collison on my hands, shoulders, elbows.

 

It took quite a while for my mind to adjust to the fact that  when things went wrong whilst wearing kneepads, I could now almost 'bail' before things got serious and slide on my knees.

[Headshot]

No matter the armour you will still feel the fall, unfortunately. But, you may save skin and blood.

 

Most important are gloves and knee pads. I wear a back pack for most rides and although it hasn't got a back protector built in, its construction, with a hard frame layer plus the bag and bladder has protected my back on numerous occasions. Make sure the knee pads you choose are designed to stay in place. Often in a crash the pads move and you still get injured. Full finger gloves are the best. Some padding on the fingers especially the pinky  is a bonus for tree strikes.

 

Shoulders and ribs are harder to protect and anything that does is likley to be heavy, bulky and hot. I save my Leatt back and chest protector for shuttle days and the odd DH race...

[Theunissa]

No matter the armour you will still feel the fall, unfortunately. But, you may save skin and blood.

 

Most important are gloves and knee pads. I wear a back pack for most rides and although it hasn't got a back protector built in, its construction, with a hard frame layer plus the bag and bladder has protected my back on numerous occasions. Make sure the knee pads you choose are designed to stay in place. Often in a crash the pads move and you still get injured. Full finger gloves are the best. Some padding on the fingers especially the pinky  is a bonus for tree strikes.

 

Shoulders and ribs are harder to protect and anything that does is likley to be heavy, bulky and hot. I save my Leatt back and chest protector for shuttle days and the odd DH race...

I do understand it will be difficult to protect properly. But all i wamt is to lessen the chance of breaking ribs and my shoulders.

[Theunissa]

Icsaw this today and tried it on. Quote comfortable. Anyone using it?

[shaper]

You better off doing a couple of skills clinics, to help avoiding getting into difficulty, improving your overall handling ability and also help in getting out of tricky situations without bailing.

 

Will be more beneficial than any body armour you consider and will be money well spent.