body armour agian!

[SLR]

I need some body armour but I am not sure what to get. what are the advantages or disadvantages of soft and hard?77

I have some forcefield limb tubes for me knees which I used for my first lanes experience they seemed to work when i fell off! i hace some armour in my jacket in the sleeves and shoulder but the second time i fell off i fell on my to my back so need some thing there.

I know this is all down to personal preference. I tried some hard armour last year and it was fine but I do not know what make it was. My soft armour knee armour seems fine too. Confused of Woking

Rob

[Suzuki-Stumpy]

I used to have a set of hard 'armadillo-style' armour that's helped me in more than one unplanned dismount. Every time it's done the job and has been great. It was also relatively cheap (think it only cost me around £80, so I definitely had my money's worth). However, the disadvantages are that it was a pain in the bum to keep clean, was generally pretty heavy and could get hot and sweaty to wear for long periods. It was also a pain to pack when going abroad on tour.

I've since replaced it with a ForceField Pro Shirt which I have to say is worth every penny. The shirt is easy to clean, albeit a little fragile - but replacement shirts are only around £35 if needed. The armour seems to do the job (My big off in Mongolia a couple of months ago - the armour took the full brunt of my torso slamming onto the deck with no injuries sustained), and I've heard tell that ForceField customer service [should you need to talk to them or need to replace anything] are second to none. It's also dead easy to pack the stuff in my kitbag when I'm going away.

Ultimately, I think there's probably not that much difference in the protection levels between getting a set of hard or soft armour - it really depends on what the rest of your kit consists of - such as whether you're wearing an enduro style jacket (in which case the soft armour is probably best) or a shell jacket/mx jersey over the top in which case hard armour will give you better abrasion resistance - something the soft armour lacks.

[gavinskii]

Another vote here for the Forcefield Pro shirt. Used to have armadillo stuff but the Forcefield stuff fits inside my jacket for winter riding, or on it's own / with a shirt on warmer days.

[steve sharp]

Hi, I use Dianese but just looked for the model type and they seem to have discontinued it. That's a shame because its very comfortable. A big consideration is comfort, if your out riding all day you need something that fits properly and is comfortable. I recommend the hard plastic with the softer material/fabric inside the plastic.

Steve