Body Armour

[SkidMark]

I am looking at getting one of those fancy body armour suits and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations. At the moment my favourite is the Thor Impact Rig following the review in TBM a couple of issues ago (I think that was the issue that had a feature about some nutter that spent abit of time doing up this CRM thingy.... ).
So, details of any good or bad experiences with these suits appreciated,
Mark

[fallenmikethebike]

I am looking at getting one of those fancy body armour suits and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations. At the moment my favourite is the Thor Impact Rig following the review in TBM a couple of issues ago (I think that was the issue that had a feature about some nutter that spent abit of time doing up this CRM thingy.... ).
So, details of any good or bad experiences with these suits appreciated,
Mark

Plenty of pies i call it the bouncing bomb protection method
Chest and back are the vital areas, IMO the hard plastic stuff can lead to more breakages than riding without protection.
However, i NEVER ride without knee protectors on, damage those joints at your peril

[SkidMark]

Interesting what you say about the hard plastic stuff - the other kit I had looked at was the Forcefield suit that isn't hard plastic (also in the TBM review). The flip side is that the soft stuff won't protect when you land on a sharp rock...

[fallenmikethebike]

[quote="SkidMark"]Interesting what you say about the hard plastic stuff - the other kit I had looked at was the Forcefield suit that isn't hard plastic (also in the TBM review). The flip side is that the soft stuff won't protect when you land on a sharp rock...[/quote
Yea, take your point Mark, if sharp rocks are a feature of your riding area, then it may have to be some protection that can withstand that sort of impact, i must admit for trail riding now i only use knee, and skull protection, oh and a healthy regard for staying perpendicular, well, as much as possible

[knackeredMk1]

I used to only wear slight padding on my knees + helmet, boots and gloves unless I was racing. I now also have a jacket with thin padding on my elbows, shoulders and back. I might want some hip protection and to upgrade my knees if I was constantly riding in rocky places. Before I was ill I fell off very infrequently when trail riding - say once every year or two. (Does not include stepping off the bike when in deep mud or when lost all forward momentum).

If you are generally travelling at speed in rocky conditions you need some padding on your joints and your torso. The hard plastic with netting that supports it away from the body seems quite good - esp. in your climate as it lets air in to the skin. I used Dianese shin and knee protectors when I did mountain biking - they were excellent.