Upper body protection advise

keymandave

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Hi all,

I recently had a slow speed ( almost stopped ) accident on my motorcycle basically as I fell to the floor I have landed on my elbow and cracked / bruised my ribs.

It opened my eyes how easy it is to get injured and that small injury has cost me financially through loss of work.

I am now looking for a 360 degree protection vest / similar off the upper body. I've always fancied an air jacket but in this instance I didn't leave the bike, so it would not off been effective.

I like the idea of the forcefield rib protector v2. I've read a lot off posts online about people wearing them backwards, however these don't seem to be available anymore.

Does anybody have any ideas ?

Thanks
Dave
 
Hi Dave
Sorry to hear of your tumble. Did the bike fall on you or was it just the impact with the surrounding floor that caused the injury?
 
I swear by Forcefield gear, it's easily the best in my opinion and many of the popular brands use their protection in their own clothing. I've taken three 130mph flights into orbit on track in the last couple years as well as many less dramatic low sides and its done a great job looking after me along with my D-Air suit. Its worth noting that the air jackets often only protect your neck and collarbone areas and sometimes further down like a life jacket, the newer Dainese suits have kidney coverage but they are crazy expensive.

I use an older version of the Forcefield Adventure harness in the flight configuration when riding on the road. https://www.getgeared.co.uk/forcefield-ex-k-harness-flite-black. The back protector is a lot better than the ones built into jackets (remove those). My road jackets have good elbow protection but the full Forcefield Adventure Harness has removeable arms that I use when dirtbiking if for some reason you didn't want to get a decent jacket.

I am surprised you dont have decent elbow protection as almost every piece of protective clothing has that?
 
The bike did great, landed perfectly horizontal resting on the vario pannier and heed crash bars.
This allowed me to get my leg out.

The bike was overweight and just tipped to the ground so fast, as the handlebars spun around i've elbowed my self quite hard in the ribs before hitting the deck.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
 
Thats a great price for the old Forcefield harness. For your information @keymandave the benefit of the Forcefield gear is that it is soft so it moulds to your body but it also can be crashed in over and over again. If you crash in hard armour you risk damaging it and technically need to change it like a helmet. Obviously most people dont but then you dont know what you are buying second hand.
 
I have always used Knox don't know if its any more or less expensive than anything else but it is good stuff.
 
Helite air vest. Had a tumble being being rear ended. Not a mark on me and the vest deployed. Mine also has a level 2 back protector built in
 
I have a Forcefield EX-K and love it. I always seem to land on the same bloody ribs causing a few weeks discomfort each time. Its an old (not biking) injury that will just not go away and I think I just have to live with it. I had a little tumble last year wearing the forcefield when the bike stayed in the rut and I didn’t and low and behold same problem as before. I bought the forcefield body armour for an African trip next year and still believe its the best kit for what I need. I can put up with a bit of discomfort but broken ribs could end the trip.Its not cheap but IMO after a lot of research its the best armour on the market. If you have an old rib injury though it might not fully protect it, but then neither would any other armour

Hope this helps 🙂
 
Have you seen the new Dainese Smart Jacket, I reckon it’s the way to go... not bulky and adds that all over protection with no wires etc... you can even do away with back protectors.
 
Have you seen the new Dainese Smart Jacket, I reckon it’s the way to go... not bulky and adds that all over protection with no wires etc... you can even do away with back protectors.

Great kit, if you only ever wear one jacket. That is why I went with an air vest, I wear different jackets in the winter and summer.
 
I wear the Helite Air Vest when I'm onroad. Comfortable enough and does the job. Costs around £25 for a new cylinder and about 3 minutes of your time resetting it.

Off-road is a different ballgame.... I recently crashed awkwardly and cracked a couple of ribs... Oh my God, I'm not going through that again.

So I've ordered hard body armour called Leatt 5.5 Body Armour. This has 360 degree protection and hope it'll stop busted ribs in the future....
 
I also believe the Forcefield Rib Protector V2 is still being sold.... I know this because I've just ordered one from Sportsbikeshop to try....
 
I suppose to drive it home, one of my bests mate had an accident at about 3-5 mph just hit his chest very slightly on the screen on his cbr600, there were two para medics in the car behind with full kit, jump start pack the works.
Had the accident (car pulled out from side road) he put the bike on side stand and had a look to see if any damage, there was non of any kind to either bike or car, and he suddenly dropped down dead, having ruptured his aorta, at the inquest
the para medic sated that even if prepped for surgery in a hospital they still couldn't have saved him, from accident to fatal in less than 3 minutes
 
Why only one jacket?

It’s a vest that can be worn inside any jacket?
 
Great kit, if you only ever wear one jacket. That is why I went with an air vest, I wear different jackets in the winter and summer.

Why only one jacket?

It’s a vest that can be worn inside any jacket?
 
And that dainese jacket say it’s the same as wearing 7 back protectors? They claim that they could have gone more but it would make it bulky and wanted it to be comfortable in summer too.
 


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