had my first outing on a basic mx/enduro track yesterday and have absolutely fallen in love with it! wanna start looking at getting some enduro specific protection and will start with a pressure suit. has anyone got any tried and tested recommendations? looking for something i can wear all year round... cheers
I wear an Alpine Stars Bionic BNS jacket. It has an upper section of the backs cervical protection area that is removable to accommodate my Alpine Stars neck brace. It has a built in kidney belt, plenty of shoulder and elbow protection. Good cervical protection. The arms and elbow pads are removable if necessary at the biceps. It has held up well over the last few years. I ride the hot Arizona high desert all summer with this and it's not too hot. The Boinic BNS jacket itself is a fine mesh cloth that's pretty tough, so it vents pretty well for warm weather and has suffered very little damage as a result of the the thick thorns and desert brush here. The only issue with it, is I had was one of the back zippers coming partially undone occasionally. you can see that same picture in the second photo of the back of the jacket I attached. It's for removing the backs cervical panel which isn't needed for what I do. So I put a spot of some adhesive on the end of the zipper. It has been good ever since I've done this. I wear my Scotts Enduro jacket when its really cold, Its nice to use it on longer rides where we are riding fire trails and the pockets come in handy also. The zipper goes either up or down so I can raise the zipper up from my waist to let in some airflow in and its more comfortable while sitting down. I will wear a separate kidney belt with this jacket and I have a set of other elbow pads that fit inside the sleeves nicely that I wear under it and I still always wear my neck brace as the collar seems to clear it just fine without any real interference.
thanks for taking the time to write that up fella. i've been looking at the alpinestars ones actually so it's good to hear they hold up to a few years use...
Check out the Forcefield EX-K Harness Adventure also! http://www.forcefieldbodyarmour.com/product/ex-k-harness-adventure/2439
I used an acerbis one but it did not keep it for long it was way too hot and restrictive for my taste. It ruined me at the wickenberg national enduro (DNF). And yes I know that the rally guys use those types of equipment. For moto/enduro least/less is more. and I actually wear more than most with my choice of EVS elbow pads.
ah ok, fair enough. i'm in the UK and we're in autumn/winter now so hot won't be a problem! the alpinestars armour sounds good in that you can remove armour so will help regards movement. cheers for your input, much appreciated
Old thread but here's my .02- i bought the Alpinestar and found it small- get one size larger than normal. I then bought the Fox version . I like the Fox suit better. The mesh is heavier but breathes well. Certainly less expensive. The zippers are sturdier. A friend who is much smaller than me tried it on . I'm an XXL and he's a medium. He really liked the fit and feel. We were amazed it fit him as well as me.
I use a 661 armour suit, its solid and well vented. Has removable spine protection but nothing really else just arm and roost guard. personally when I have the money i will be upgrading. The alpine stars does look awesome. Specially that removable bit for my leatt gpx to fit in. P.s. The stars bionic bns is online brand new for £125. That's an issue the 661 was out before neck braces so no thought to them has gone into it at all.
I'm using a POC DH suit. High quality, not cheap. I did find it on sale. Fits like a 2nd skin. The front and back protectors mold to your body when they warm up. Shoulder and elbow protectors are hard caps. I don't like it in warm or hot temps... but most of my riding is in the wet Pacific NW where temps are cool. POC has plenty of other protection options too. I also wear Klim Tactical shorts which are long and padded for hips and tailbone. Love 'em.
Thanks again for these fellas. Good to know there's a few price point options. Using past experience as a guide I think I'll opt for the forcefield stuff as that looks to be good for all year round. Will post up when I get it and let y'all know what I think of it
Been wearing a Forcefield Pro Jersey for almost 4 years. Been excellent as a vented base layer with armor. Otherwise I would wear a base layer/compression jersey and then armor. Had some stitching come loose and they replaced the jersey under warranty as they revised style was newly reinforced. I prefer this to wear under a jersey most of the year. I use their G2 back protector in my street jacket when on the road. Great armor that conforms and is reasonable for use year round. They have a few options available and would buy again. http://www.forcefieldbodyarmour.com/product/pro-shirt-x-v/2434
My forcefield adventure harness arrived yesterday. I used forcefield's size chart to determine my size which came out as a medium (I am 6ft tall, 42" chest). It seems to fit pretty well. I think this was the right size as the armour fits well although some of the adjuster straps are at their loosest and some are at their tightest. I'm guessing things will loosen up a bit with time. It offers great, hard protection and is pretty comfortable. The only slight negative is it does leave your floating rib area unprotected. The large size may have covered this area but would've been too big everywhere else. I think this is the lesser of the evils as slightly oversized armour will get annoying and probably ride up and move around. Something I already like about this pressure suit is that it offers good rib cage protection by wrapping around the ribs. A lot of the suits I've seen only really protect the front part of the rib cage so this is a good feature of the forcefield one. should also say it's also compatible with neck braces too. Will give it a test out on the track in the next few weeks but am happy with my choice so far. Will post up more thoughts as they develop. I managed to find it for £280 which was a saving of about £80 from the next cheapest place I could find https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400996725899
