Body Armor???

[motuman]

Has anyone had any experience with any of the following body armor jackets.

Velocity Gear -
http://www.highvelocitygear.com/armor.html

661 Pressure Suit-
http://www.vsportgroup.com/gearmoto/...ssuresuit.html

Rock Gardn Flak Jacket-
http://rockgardn.easystorecreator.co...parent_ids/0,1

I am looking for a lower cost alternative to the Dainese, and all of the above can be found for just over $100 (with some careful shopping). Sounds like a good deal if the quality is acceptable.

Thanks

[mfilozof]

No, But I Just Purchased A Jacket From Kneedraggers.com. Alpinestar Airflow With Body Armor. Costs Around $140.00.

[kirkmoon]

I have the older version of the Six Six One body armour and think it is great. It has saved my hide more than once. Well made. Not too hot.

[Gregg Wannabe]

I have this piece from EVS and like it especially the integrated kidney belt.
http://www.evs-mx.com/product_detail...ductSubcatID=8

[Bradley]

I've been looking for a system similar to this where you would wear the armor, then layer insulation and a shell on top of the pad. I'm particularly looking for a Cordura Gortex shell to wear over everything that is not armored.

[iillyyaa]

I have a SixSixOne Pressure Suit. It fits me well and doesn't feel bulky. Seems to be fairly high quality construction and nicely finished. I've only ridden with it on two off-road rides, and haven't fallen badly enough to need this sort of protection. So, I can't testify first-hand to the protection it provides. Feels tough though.

I don't have experience with the other ones, although that Velocity Gear one loks like a Dainese knockoff. The back protector plastic parts look very similar to Dainese's. Finish looks somewhat lousier in pictures, but it's hard to tell. It may be that they are manufacturing their armor under license, too, but somehow I doubt that. FWIW.
--
Ilya

[frog]

I use a 661 pressure suit when I'm on my downhill mountain bike.About two weeks ago I was at dear valley and at shit on a corner.Broke my femur but did nothing else, not even a scrape.I think if I didn't have the pressure suit on I would of broken more then I did.As for on a GS you had better be doing some serius offroad shit to warrant that kind of armour.

[Stevil]

I bought the 661 pressure suit a month ago and have been very impressed witht the build quality and the protection. I like it much better than my Joe Rocket Phoenix jacket and it is much cooler. Don't know if you will find one for less than 100 bones though. Got mine at JensonUSA. $136 and very good service. Late.

[cxwing]

Is anyone wearing that type of armor for their non-offroad rides to turn a regular jacket / poorly armored jacket into a more serious motorcycle jacket? Just wondering...

[iillyyaa]

Originally Posted by cxwing

Is anyone wearing that type of armor for their non-offroad rides to turn a regular jacket / poorly armored jacket into a more serious motorcycle jacket? Just wondering...

It's comfortable enough that I would do that, except that all of my jackets have hard armor, and wouldn't fit over the pressure suit. I wouldn't recommend wearing this type of armor *instead* of a jacket on the road, because while it's impact-resistant, it is certainly not abrasion resistant, and only protects certain key areas. (Off-road riding is a different story - there you have a lesser risk of abrasion, but significantly higher risk of impact.)

But with an abrasion-resistant shell (whether leather or tough fabric) over such suit, I think it would be a good combo for the street.
--
Ilya

[Mack]

Been really happy my older version of the 661, though I wish they made it in a long version. (Pic of The Fist and myself wearing 661)

[Mack]

Heavy duty MSR Gore-Tex jacket for abrasion (D/S) and rain protection. (Get something for knees as well.)

[velocitygear]

Hello.

Found this board using our website tracking software. Thought I would drop in and provide some useful information on back protection/body armor.

We currently offer the lowest cost Level 2 armor in the World. Our armor actually exceeds Level 2 certification with a 4.49 kn transmission level. If you are unfamiliar with CE certification let's just say there isn't anything currently available from Dainese, Joe Rocket, Bohn, Helimot, Alpinestars, Spidi, etc,etc that will surpass Level 2 in terms of impact absorption. Let me go on to say that a majority of these same companies use their customers lack of knowledge on CE certification to their advantage.


If a company offers a product that is CE certified my guess is that most consumers will take that as being the pinnacle of protection. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth.

If a company offers a CE certified back protector you need to find out what CE certification it has received. Currently CE EN1621-2 LEVEL 2 is the highest rating used by current manufacturers. One step below this is EN1621-2 LEVEL 1. The difference between these two is roughly 50%. That is Level 1 absorbs 50% LESS than Level 2. Pretty big difference for just one number. Furthermore, old CE standards exist that are far below EN1621-2 and some companies will use these CE standards to call their protective gear "certified". Obviously, you want to stay away from anything that is certified below En1621-2.


Here is a link to more information on CE certification

http://www.highvelocitygear.com/CE_information.html

Our body armor is cheap in terms of cost, mainly because we don't hire factory riders or spend thousands on full page magazine ads. As with all of the major players in the apparel game, the customer is paying not only for the product but for rider salaries and huge advertising costs.

Basically, if a company doesn't specify exactly which CE certification their armor falls under then you might want to look elsewhere. Any company that doesn't CE certify their armor (Helimot, Bohn, SIXSIXONE, ROCKGARDN for instance) should not even be considered for personal protection. Bohn actually claims to have their armor built to Ce standards but they don't actually have their product tested. Sounds Great!! Lets see, I have a new helmet coming out that's "built" to SNELL standards but it's not actually tested. Any takers????

I have also heard of Helimot doing demonstrations of their back protector with a hammer, not too convincing in my book.

Whatever you do, do your research before buying in to the BS that's out there. The big players are taking advantage of their customers, seriously overcharging and hiding behind "unknown" standards.

Here's a review of our armor in case anyone's interested.

http://www.cbrworld.net/global/cbrworld.asp

If anyone has a question about CE certification please feel free to send us an email at support@highvelocitygear.com


__________________
www.highvelocitygear.com

The Lowest Cost Level 2 Armor in the World

[iillyyaa]

Hello, Mr. Anonymous from Velocitygear. Thanks for joining the conversation and providing the information.

I have a question: it appears that your back protector is an exact replica of a Dainese's product, but with the "Dainese" logo replaced with yours. Can you please clarify why you are copying your competitor's product, and then claim it to provide better protection?

By the way, I am not making a judgement on the quality of your product based on this observation. But I do question your business practices. I will however suspend my judgement until I hear your response.

Ciao,
--
Ilya

[Renazco]

The Dainese is nice and I use it as well, I bought the black one. If I had to purchase again I would buy the white for three reasons,
A) Doesn't get as hot in the sun
B) More visible
C) Built in chest protection
Had I been wearing chest protection in my head on accident I wouldn't of been in so much pain from the guys handlebars sticking me in the ribs
Lessoned learned as my Dad would say "The hard way"