I have been noticing how insignificant the back protection in my jacket is and that I should be wearing something much more substantial. I want to buy the Pro Sub4 but it's hot done here and I need to know if I'll be able to stand it. Anybody out there got one and wears it regularly? What's your opinion in general regarding back protectors? I'd like some information from riders with experience wearing back protectors before I plunk down the cash. <input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">
I've been wearing the Joe Rocket version of the T-PRO back protector for a while and never leave home without it. Bought it from Newenough.com. All my gear either had flimsy foam pads (First Gear) or nothing at all (Roadcrafter 2-pc.), so I finally opted to do something about it a few years ago. While it is a bit hotter during summer, it's also a lot more protective, though I have yet to test it. I just want it to be there if that test comes to pass. I wish moto gear providers would take proper protection a lot more seriously, like decent back potectrion and hip padding.
I've been wearing the Knox Gilet Air for about two years. It's both a back and chest protector. It's very light and seems like it would offer very good protection in a crash. I love it and won't ride without it. The chest protector piece detaches if you want to just wear it as a back protector.
That does look like a good piece of gear. I'd like to see one, but nobody carries them around here. How has it held up to regular use?
The back protector in that one is, essentially, a Knox Stowaway which is only rated to CE Level 1 whereas the one in the previous Air Gilet is a Knox Contour which exceeds Level 2.
On the street, I don't bother most of the time. I looked into how back protectors can and can't help, biomechanically speaking, and found that they're pretty useless in the large majority of situations (typically dislocation, hyperflexion, hyper-extension, compaction). Yes, I'm sure you can find people who truly "had their lives saved" by them & ppl who've broken ribs w/o them. But for the most part, if you're going to be a paraplegic, you will be a paraplegic whether you've got the power ranger back protection or not. The spine is a long linkage, and spinal injury has nothing in common with long bone injuries. It's a different story if you're monkeying around off-road.
After 20 months of use it still looks new. Here's a link to the online retailer where I bought it, which also includes a video review of the vest. I'm not affiliated with the company. The owner seems very passionate about the gear he sells and does video reviews on most everything. http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Detail.bok?no=1032
Bought an Acerbis Koerta, been wearing it for the last 1,500 miles or so. Got it so I can have one set of armor for all weather conditions, from just the suit with underarmor below, up to insulated waterproof gear on top in cold weather. Mostly been wearing underarmor/Koerta/long-sleeve t-shirt. Throw my Thor Ride jacket over at night when it cools off. Don't want to test it, but there are several reviews on here of people who have crashed wearing it, including a Dakar competitor who claims it probably saved his life. Until some real information comes along that contradicts their anecdotal experiences, I'll wear it every ride. Kind of a pain to put on/take off, but worth it in my opinion. Buying a set for my son very soon. I have over 25 years of experience scraping people off the interstate, I'll take whatever protection I can get, and there is no possible way that a piece of foam or rubber is going to provide more protection than hard plastic, especially when padded like the Koerta is.
I replaced the original back "armor" of my revit sand jacket with a sas-tec back armor. Feels pretty save for road use. when you do some offroading a full armor jacket is recommend so are knee protectors.
I also have the Koerta and have crashed with it. It was during my TAT trip and although it was only about a 35 MPH rivergravel dump, I had no bruises even. I wear the same Koerta to this day even on the mountain bike trails I ride down here... Just my 0.02 cts...
Used the Knox stowaway one and then got the Forcefield - one for my jorocket blaster3.0 to replace the flimsy piece of tat in that, and one with the straps for my other jacket(s). I would feel 'undressed' on my bike without (one of) them (in situ). Mind you, I am an advocate of ATGATT...whatever the weather; though I do appreciate that each of us has our own idea of what works best for oneself. When I see the both young and old riding around--especially on scooters--(and I have nothing against scooters) in skimpy t-shirts and shorts, it boggles the mind. :huh At the end of the day, for me, the big question is: comfort and convenience vs. erring on the side of safety?
I go a step beyond and wear a rockgardn pressure suite under my Fieldsheer 3/4 length jacket. When it gets really hot, the jacket goes on the back of the bike and I ride with just the pressure suit. I removed the padding from the jacket so it fits as normal. Crash tested twice, both in gravel. All good.
I also put the Joe Rocket/Forcefield back protector in my jacket, but wear an Hit-air airbag vest overtop, first the YS and now the MLV-Y. The MLV is quite a bit lighter and more form-fitting than the YS. Adds (IMO) substantially more back and chest protection as well as support for the head, neck and tailbone, at very little cost in weight and heat.
In all honesty, I think a Leatt neck brace will provide more protection for the type of injuries you may pick up on the road. Your spine has a lot of protection from muscles and such, but your neck gets strained with the additional weight of the helmet. No, I do not wear a Leatt brace, and only wear body armor when I know I will probably fall off-road. .
You do have a point. But let's look at the various bones and the impact force neccessary to break them... Shoulder blade ~ huge amount of force necessary Coccyx ~ Significant force Kneecap ~ Significant force Elbow ~ Significant force Back ~ Significant force Collar bone ~ Minimal force Jaw ~ Minimal force So armor should help with protecting those bones that require a lot of force to break, eg coccyx, elbow, kneecap, etc. Armor would offer little protection against those bones that require a small amount of impact force for them to break, eg collar bone, jaw. The only protection you have for those is if the armor were to redirect the force elsewhere. For example, A Leatt brace, although not armor, for example, redirects energy to the rest of the body in a pile driver type of a crash, protecting the neck from a compression break. Armor can really absorb huge impact forces down to a threshold that will not break bones. Of course, once that impact threshold is surpassed, bones will be a breakin. Airbags are in a completely different class - they can absorb huge amounts of energy. Of course, some breaks are just based on twisting/bending type injuries, and I think that is your point, and armor will not help with those too much. My philosophy is, wear as much as you can without it impacting the ride.
The Knox Gilet Air looks promising. However, the sizing is by chest size. Does this mean all sizes are equally long? I'm pretty tall myself, and find that most armor like this comes only in one length size, leaving my lower spine unprotected.
All bones... I upgraded the back protectors in most of my jackets, the reason being the armor covers not only the spine, but your kidneys etc. Some of these back protectors that go lower around the torso and hips seem like they would be good for the soft tissue safety. Which, you don't die from your broken clavical, or arms, but internal bleeding can be rather troublesome.
As noted: They make a big difference if you are bouncing off rocks - as much from not needing to roll to protect your spine as direct impact protection. On the open road they aren't likely to be much better than the jacket protection, at 100kph on seal you'll either slide to a stop, or slide into something solid - which will kill you anyway. I wear mine around town as well though - it's attached to the jacket and too much hassle to remove - there's probably about enough protection to help somewhat with concrete gutters at low speed :) Pete