Food for thought…..

[Otony]

After I put my foot in my mouth recommending the DriDuck jacket a few months ago, I thought it would be a good idea to acquire body armor to wear under said jacket. Having done my due diligence, I bought a lightweight zip up jacket meant to be worn underneath a coat or parka. And while playing with the included armor (back, chest, elbows, and shoulders) I found myself underwhelmed, as indeed I have always found myself as regards riding armor.

Doing some further research led me to CE1 and CE2 differences, but then I stumbled on this video:

I will be the first to say that I enjoy this fellow’s monologues, and in this particular case I’m rather impressed by his nonstop one take. However, it is the content that is of import here. As we say during a Russian Orthodox service: Wisdom! Let us attend!

The secret takeaway? He makes a passing reference to horse-girls having better armor in the first few minutes. So, further research to discover that “horse riding body protection“ mostly takes the form of vests, but wow, light years better ”armor” than what we are peddled. Combine one of those vests with the air armor suggested in the video, and now we are on to something!

 

[Chinjab]

Wow. Fantastic video.

The single take was very impressive, timed right down to the backpack at the end.

As a fellow Orthodox, I echo your call to attention

 

[Otony]

 

[Mike Z]

After I put my foot in my mouth recommending the DriDuck jacket a few months ago, I thought it would be a good idea to acquire body armor to wear under said jacket. Having done my due diligence, I bought a lightweight zip up jacket meant to be worn underneath a coat or parka. And while playing with the included armor (back, chest, elbows, and shoulders) I found myself underwhelmed, as indeed I have always found myself as regards riding armor.

Doing some further research led me to CE1 and CE2 differences, but then I stumbled on this video:

I will be the first to say that I enjoy this fellow’s monologues, and in this particular case I’m rather impressed by his nonstop one take. However, it is the content that is of import here. As we say during a Russian Orthodox service: Wisdom! Let us attend!

The secret takeaway? He makes a passing reference to horse-girls having better armor in the first few minutes. So, further research to discover that “horse riding body protection“ mostly takes the form of vests, but wow, light years better ”armor” than what we are peddled. Combine one of those vests with the air armor suggested in the video, and now we are on to something!

That video was released April 1st. That's a day of fools jokes in North America.

 

[Mike Z]

"No one" is not true, I have the KLIM one.

 

[dmonkey]

They're clickbait video titles. If you watch them they are informative and Ryan calls out the sources for much of the information contained within them. The April 1st one isn't a fools joke other than the title, he contradicts the title by clarifying that he wears a back protector which is body armor.

 

[Otony]

That video was released April 1st. That's a day of fools jokes in North America.

You can access and read both of the reports he is quoting, which takes it out of the realm of being a joke. Although he IS determined to be as sarcastic as possible in many of his videos

 

[FizzBuzz3000]

I thin FN's video is in of itself a mislead video, check out this vid:

 

[Otony]

Please don’t misinterpret that by posting this I would suggest to not wear armor. That wasn’t the point I was trying to make, even if Ryan makes that argument in his snarky way. What I was trying to say is that the possibility exists that all/any armor could stand to be improved, and that there might be alternatives to investigate.

About midway through the Bennetts video, even they begin to discuss that there is room for improvement, which is the point I was trying to make by posting this admittedly inflammatory video.

 

[Chinjab]

I have never worn armor... Unless you would define heavy leather jackets and chaps and boots and gloves as such.

The plastic foam stuff I have always just taken out of my clothing - too awkward feeling and never line up correctly with my body frame anyway.

 

[Farmer Mike]

Well I’ve ridden bikes since I was a young child, and I never even considered wearing armor and I don’t think it even existed
during my earlier years( broke a few bones, nothing time didn’t heal). Then I joined the military and saw many unfortunate things happen to the human body (unrelated to being shot), after my stint with the Army I went to work in a level 1 Trauma center, and saw much more carnage, numerous examples related to motorcycle accidents. It was 94 here yesterday and I ran a couple errands on Donkey… in full riding gear. Do as you wish, America is a wonderful place where we allow you do die almost any way you choose, and I would resist any change to that. But I can state without any question there are fate’s worse than death. As for me I will continue to look at all viewpoints and as time goes on I will upgrade my gear based on a review of data more than what the industry promotes. I do not fear death really, it’s that other thing that keeps we awake at night. If applied properly that thing between your ears is the most effective tool for remaining safe, use it to it’s full potential when riding and wear gear for the parts out of your span of control… just one man’s opinion.

 

[Low-gear]

I have a mesh jacket with armor and it is perfectly comfortable in hot temps. The technology has come a long way. Most people think leather is the only means of protection but that is not the case at all. This is all covered in the MSF basic course. There are apparently many people on the road who have not taken it as I see many riders who are woefully underprotected. Makes me cringe! ATGATT!

 

[m in sc]

yup. having have crashed w armor, I can say 100% it works. don't wear it & crash, well, don't expect sympathy either. Living in a non helmet law state, if someone here bins it and dies of a traumatic head injury a helmet could have saved them in, well, that's a choice as well. But if they didn't care enough to protect themselves.. well..

 

[dmonkey]

There's still a lot of cheap bulky armor that comes with gear that I will remove. Luckily there's CE Level 1 and 2 flexible armor available on the market that can easily replace it in most cases and is way less annoying to have at your knees and elbows, though it sometimes requires modifying the armor pockets to get it positioned appropriately. IMO the best protective gear is the kind that you'll actually wear and not leave at home.

 

[Otony]

There's still a lot of cheap bulky armor that comes with gear that I will remove. Luckily there's CE Level 1 and 2 flexible armor available on the market that can easily replace it in most cases and is way less annoying to have at your knees and elbows, though it sometimes requires modifying the armor pockets to get it positioned appropriately. IMO the best protective gear is the kind that you'll actually wear and not leave at home.

Modifying the pockets is pretty darn important in my estimation. The zip up under jacket I have lets some of the pads slip around into inconvenient spots. Fortunately my wife is a professional seamstress, so she was able to nip and tuck here and there to better fit me. Not all of us are that fortunate, which is why I was curious about horse armor and air bags after watching the video.

The air bags have a ton of potential in my eyes, but when listening to the Bennetts video, I gather by reading (listening) between the lines that improved armor is on the horizon to some extent. Ryan grabbed a spine protector at the end that he said was “better”, but he didn’t really identify it. Anyone know what it is?