Off Road Upper Body Armor

[Covered in Dust 163]

Paul I'd like to try it on for size. The one i have is to tight.

Chris

[paulmbowers 236]

Saved for you!

[jimi 0]

I have an old 661 suit, but have been looking for a new one. I've been having trouble fidning one tall enough. The Leatt looked nice, this was the 5.5 Body Protector I tried on, and it was just too short. Felt good once I managed to cram into it. I know the soft armor is supposed to have the CE ratings and all that, but I have a hard time believing that it will do it's job as well as a CE rated version of the hard armor. If you're going over the handlebars, and there are a pile of rocks in your landing path, I just think I'd want the hard plastic there.

No idea what size the Wave is, but I'd like to give it a shot if it doesn't work out for Chris.

[vanjoosten 4]

I compared both of those and the Leatt is in a different class with quality of pads. I'll be wearing mine this weekend in baja.

Wore it at flat track couple weeks ago all day and forgot I was wearing it.

The Leatt Adventure XXL in white is on clearance at RevZilla for $123 right now. I just received mine and it is WAY nicer than my Fox armor.

http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/leatt-adventure-body-protector-closeout

[PastaPilot 17]

Well since there's been 28 replies and none have addressed the heat question. Allow me.

Yes the armor is hot. Yes they are an additional layer of clothing. However the protection is nice to have. When riding with mine, if it is a cooler day or in the morning, I will start with a t-shirt under the armor, the armor and then a jersey. Three layers almost as good as a light jacket and good to start with and warm up. By mid day, if it's hot, I'm only wearing the armor. When I get to water crossings I dunk the armor and have instant relief and 20 minutes of air conditioning. The downside to wearing the armor as an outer layer is the material in the sleeves tear easily on branches. Also if only wearing the armor sand seems to stick around in parts of the armor that wouldn't otherwise and can be irratating. I've found it mainly to be a problem on my back, but your mileage may vary. Thats one reason I would wear a tshirt underneath. I've tried the Underarmor, uh, under the armor and found it to be like a sweater I couldn't take off. Did it once.

[CVRick 42]

Well since there's been 28 replies and none have addressed the heat question. Allow me.

Yes the armor is hot. Yes they are an additional layer of clothing. However the protection is nice to have. When riding with mine, if it is a cooler day or in the morning, I will start with a t-shirt under the armor, the armor and then a jersey. Three layers almost as good as a light jacket and good to start with and warm up. By mid day, if it's hot, I'm only wearing the armor. When I get to water crossings I dunk the armor and have instant relief and 20 minutes of air conditioning. The downside to wearing the armor as an outer layer is the material in the sleeves tear easily on branches. Also if only wearing the armor sand seems to stick around in parts of the armor that wouldn't otherwise and can be irratating. I've found it mainly to be a problem on my back, but your mileage may vary. Thats one reason I would wear a tshirt underneath. I've tried the Underarmor, uh, under the armor and found it to be like a sweater I couldn't take off. Did it once.

yes armor is hot.I have similar advice as to start with layers then end up with just armor when it gets hot. my fox armor also rips easy on branches when I do not have A jersey over it.

[Mikey777 44]

My thoughts on the Troy Lee soft armor that I purchased and wore to Baja for the kkug taco/taco ride...

• It has a lot of padding around the torso in areas that the hard, plastic armor does not, especially on the lower torso sides and lower rib cage.
• It moves very well and I barely noticed I had it on. The hard armor felt restrictive to me and pulls on your over jersey. (maybe need a larger jersey).
• It breathes very well. I wore an Under Armour t-shirt, the soft armor, and a jersey and felt lots of air coming through. It was a cool day, so heat wasn't an issue. On hotter days, I would eliminate the undershirt or jersey.
• I dumped the bike in a silt bed when I overshot a corner, did a quick roll over the bars, and popped right back up. Luckily, I rolled in soft silt too. Glad I had it on otherwise I could have been worse off. Rolling in rock/hard dirt may have felt differently. I was a little sore the next day.
• I am still going to look at the Leatt soft armor to compare the padding. I trust Arnie's input that the Leatt soft armor is better. It would be interesting to add/cut some custom plastic slip in plates along the back/chest to improve the impact resistance, but that could also tear the fabric...

[Honda90 0]

I bought the Acerbis Koerta from Amazon for 140 (It's more like 170 now). As you can tell from the photo, I am into seriously high-end gear. (I have since painted the armor hi-viz yellow - because my kids were running out of things for which to mock me. The jokes about the Costco jeans and even the reflective stickers no longer faze me.)

Cheap-skateitude notwithstanding, I have fallen a few times and it has saved my hide (literally). I usually do a backwards high-side after losing up hill momentum (and then losing the high speed reverse steering contest).

I have had two issues. 1) Heat. I got sick at Corral in 100 degree temps. I was not drinking enough. 2) I had some stitching fail at the shoulder armor. Amazon offered to replace, but I was headed to Eastern Sierras, so I just stitched it up. The heat issue works in your favor when it's cold. With a thin fleece underneath and a light windbreaker overtop, you can ride some pretty cold stuff.

My neighbor turned his patella into 80/20 hamburger one rainy night on the Texas Street onramp to I-8. My brother bought himself a shoulder operation in a .02MPH quad tip over. Those kinds of things have made me a firm believer in armor (and handguards). Next I plan to try motorcycle boots.