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Thread: Back/Chest/Rib Armor Recommendations

  1. #1
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    Back/Chest/Rib Armor Recommendations

    I am looking for recommendations for back/chest/rib body armor ... Cause i'm sick of breaking shit.
    My bones are shit, or i'm just a shit skier. 20 fractures so far, mostly from skiing.

    I broke 2 different ribs in 2 crashes last year, so I'm especially looking for something that'll help with rib protection.
    Specifically on the side, where your elbows are. Like these ribs:
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    I seem to fall that way instead of forward.

    The added complication of being in Japan makes such items much more difficult to source, and impossible to try on beforehand. So there's that going for me also :/

    I found a couple of other threads talking about armor. Including some suggestions for Demon United, and the POC VPD.
    Been unable to find much info about the POC armor, but it seems that it only covers the center chest, not much of the ribs. I really like the idea of the vpd product tho (and other non-newtonian fluid brand names), they sound like they'll be heaps more comfortable to wear.
    Demon have so many armor products its an avalanche of information that I don't know what to look for to sift through it all. Every one of their products is labeled "this is our new model, much better than the last", so i cant tell which is new or old. And even the product names are inconsistent when you look at buying one online (amazon.com/backcountry.com/etc). The DS5390 Hyper X D3O Top V2 seems interesting tho? (worst-name-ever)
    I also found that Marker have a few armor products. However there is zero information about them, even their armor webpage reads like a snakeoil pyramid marketing product, rather than body armor. They offer "Central spin protection" tho, so woohoo.

    Any suggestions?

  2. #2
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  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by anything View Post
    I am looking for recommendations for back/chest/rib body armor ... Cause i'm sick of breaking shit.
    My bones are shit, or i'm just a shit skier. 20 fractures so far, mostly from skiing.
    How old are you?
    If these were falls you don't feel like should have resulted in fracture, have you asked a doctor about if you have any underlying issues?

    Look at moto roost protectors. They offer hard armor, lower profile, and don't introduce the heat burden. In general moto armor will offer more ergo spine based on their more upright riding stance vs mtb armor with longer back pro d/t bikers leaning forward more than skiers.
    Quote Originally Posted by blurred
    skiing is hiking all day so that you can ski on shitty gear for 5 minutes.

  4. #4
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    It won't protect your spine, but I really like my G-form padded shirt for rib protection. I use it mountain biking mostly, but I'll wear it skiing if I'm going to ride boxes or rails in the park (along with G-form padded shorts for hip and tailbone coverage). As a low skill, old age park skier who falls awkwardly even on easy boxes and rails, these pads make the difference between a day-ending injury vs just being a little sore after a crash.

    https://www.backcountry.com/g-form-p...xoC0gsQAvD_BwE

  5. #5
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    This is what I meant

    http://www.motosport.com/dirtbike/chest-protectors

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    Quote Originally Posted by DGamms View Post
    It won't protect your spine, but I really like my G-form padded shirt for rib protection. I use it mountain biking mostly, but I'll wear it skiing if I'm going to ride boxes or rails in the park (along with G-form padded shorts for hip and tailbone coverage). As a low skill, old age park skier who falls awkwardly even on easy boxes and rails, these pads make the difference between a day-ending injury vs just being a little sore after a crash.

    https://www.backcountry.com/g-form-p...xoC0gsQAvD_BwE
    I always thought of Gform as abrasion protection rather than impact protection...
    Quote Originally Posted by blurred
    skiing is hiking all day so that you can ski on shitty gear for 5 minutes.

  6. #6
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    I always thought of Gform as abrasion protection rather than impact protection...[/QUOTE]


    Yeah, the padding isn't very thick and doesn't cover a huge amount of surface area. But I will say from experience, falling on my 39 yo hip on a box without my G-form shorts is pretty much a guaranteed end to my ski day. With the pads, good to go for another park lap.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by anything View Post
    I am looking for recommendations for back/chest/rib body armor ... Cause i'm sick of breaking shit.
    My bones are shit, or i'm just a shit skier. 20 fractures so far, mostly from skiing. Any suggestions?

    Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know

  8. #8
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    this looks to have absolutely zero rib protection, nothing on the side at least.
    i guess these people are crashing so hard they only care about not dieing, a rib or two isnt a big deal.

    Quote Originally Posted by Summit View Post
    How old are you?
    If these were falls you don't feel like should have resulted in fracture, have you asked a doctor about if you have any underlying issues?

    Look at moto roost protectors. They offer hard armor, lower profile, and don't introduce the heat burden. In general moto armor will offer more ergo spine based on their more upright riding stance vs mtb armor with longer back pro d/t bikers leaning forward more than skiers.
    your guess is correct. im 35, but with pretty bad osteoporosis. drs and specialists cant find the cause. vitamin d is fine in all tests, and i think it's the cause, but they disagree. i haven't seen a summer in like 15 years, so i don't get much sun.
    in all fairness, i ski 100-150 days a year. not reckless, but i don't hold back. with so many days on the hill it means something has a pretty high chance of happening, osteoporosis or not.

    thanks for the moto suggestion, ill dig into what they have too.

    Quote Originally Posted by DGamms View Post
    It won't protect your spine, but I really like my G-form padded shirt for rib protection. I use it mountain biking mostly, but I'll wear it skiing if I'm going to ride boxes or rails in the park (along with G-form padded shorts for hip and tailbone coverage). As a low skill, old age park skier who falls awkwardly even on easy boxes and rails, these pads make the difference between a day-ending injury vs just being a little sore after a crash.
    https://www.backcountry.com/g-form-pro-x-compression-shirt
    ty also.
    im starting to find a lot more useful stuff from the mountain bike side

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by XXX-er View Post
    but i feel the need!

  10. #10
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    You've got to decide when and how you want to use this. If you are in a warm environment, body armor can hold a lot of heat. What's your skiing style? Proper quiet upper body? You ski park so you need to think about flexibility and rail impacts. Some of the heavy duty ski race and moto armor can be a bit constricting.

    You have to think about how you ski, how you fall, and where you want the armor balanced, overbuilt, or thin. Think about where you need hard plastic or VPD to spread the impact out (rail and rock hits, or flat surface hits to bony prominence or curved bones) vs where you just need impact absorption and foam is fine.

    Keep in mind a lot of DB/Moto/MTB stuff is going to have amazingly heavy duty spine protection. Moto/DB is going to have very heavy frontal chest protection because they are dealing with roost while MTB/Ski is not. Also when dealing with moto/db/mtb armor, look at what is merely for abrasion protection because they need that when sliding across dirt trail at 30mph. Skiers can do without that. Skiers only need impact mitigation.

    Check offerings from:

    Dianese!
    Gold standard among racers and makes great stuff but I've never owned it because of the price

    POC makes amazing stuff. Keep in mind the VPD moves with your body super well when warm, like 70deg. But if it is 40deg it can be rock hard. So you'll want to wear VPD armor as your first or second layer to get the real advantage. VPD is much heaver per unit of protection than foam/plastic, but you get the flexibility. I use VPD armor shorts for biking and they are by far the best choice out there. I haven't tried them for skiing after using bulky RED (burton) shorts until they fell apart.

    TLD is awesome. 5850 or the 3800 have stellar torso padding and good flexibilty. It is some of the most well distributed protection vs focusing in one spot. I didn't use them for biking because I thought they would be a bit warm but I use their 5450 forearm and knee guards which are amazing and light.
    http://www.troyleedesigns.com/bike/protection

    This is what I use for DH biking torso protection, but not the best lateral rib coverage and I opted for something with lighter chest
    https://7protection.com/us/product/control-suit/

    I used to use the Acerbis Koerta for DH, they now have the Koerta 2 and the Cosmic:
    https://www.acerbisusa.com/products
    Acerbis is well priced dirtbike armor

    For cheap, there are tons of moto roost protectors out there in the $50 range.

    Lastly, you have osteoperosis at 34. Think hard about the risk/reward of park. Think really hard. Also, maybe try another specialist if nobody has given you a good answer or treatment plan...
    Quote Originally Posted by blurred
    skiing is hiking all day so that you can ski on shitty gear for 5 minutes.

  11. #11
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    My buddy rocks a full rodeo rider vest after falling, breaking rob and puncturing his lung. But it’s full coverage and it’s anti bull
    I need to go to Utah.
    Utah?
    Yeah, Utah. It's wedged in between Wyoming and Nevada. You've seen pictures of it, right?

    So after 15 years we finally made it to Utah.....


    Thanks BCSAR and POWMOW Ski Patrol for rescues

    8, 17, 13, 18, 16, 18, 20, 19, 16, 24, 32, 35

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  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Summit View Post
    You've got to decide when and how you want to use this. If you are in a warm environment, body armor can hold a lot of heat. What's your skiing style? Proper quiet upper body? You ski park so you need to think about flexibility and rail impacts. Some of the heavy duty ski race and moto armor can be a bit constricting.

    You have to think about how you ski, how you fall, and where you want the armor balanced, overbuilt, or thin. Think about where you need hard plastic or VPD to spread the impact out (rail and rock hits, or flat surface hits to bony prominence or curved bones) vs where you just need impact absorption and foam is fine.

    Keep in mind a lot of DB/Moto/MTB stuff is going to have amazingly heavy duty spine protection. Moto/DB is going to have very heavy frontal chest protection because they are dealing with roost while MTB/Ski is not. Also when dealing with moto/db/mtb armor, look at what is merely for abrasion protection because they need that when sliding across dirt trail at 30mph. Skiers can do without that. Skiers only need impact mitigation.

    Check offerings from:

    Dianese!
    Gold standard among racers and makes great stuff but I've never owned it because of the price

    POC makes amazing stuff. Keep in mind the VPD moves with your body super well when warm, like 70deg. But if it is 40deg it can be rock hard. So you'll want to wear VPD armor as your first or second layer to get the real advantage. VPD is much heaver per unit of protection than foam/plastic, but you get the flexibility. I use VPD armor shorts for biking and they are by far the best choice out there. I haven't tried them for skiing after using bulky RED (burton) shorts until they fell apart.

    TLD is awesome. 5850 or the 3800 have stellar torso padding and good flexibilty. It is some of the most well distributed protection vs focusing in one spot. I didn't use them for biking because I thought they would be a bit warm but I use their 5450 forearm and knee guards which are amazing and light.
    http://www.troyleedesigns.com/bike/protection

    This is what I use for DH biking torso protection, but not the best lateral rib coverage and I opted for something with lighter chest
    https://7protection.com/us/product/control-suit/

    I used to use the Acerbis Koerta for DH, they now have the Koerta 2 and the Cosmic:
    https://www.acerbisusa.com/products
    Acerbis is well priced dirtbike armor

    For cheap, there are tons of moto roost protectors out there in the $50 range.

    Lastly, you have osteoperosis at 34. Think hard about the risk/reward of park. Think really hard. Also, maybe try another specialist if nobody has given you a good answer or treatment plan...
    you ask yourself "why not" a lot when living with these sort of conditions.
    i could stay indoors, in bubble wrap, and do just as much damage to myself falling up some stairs for a cup of coffee. when i could have been outdoors instead.

    im not so much into park, mostly backcountry and little/big mountain stuff. but those trees move! or they hide branches under the snow to snag your skis!

    i also run super hot, so im afraid of too much armor or full sleeve armor models making me even hotter.

    Dainese looks like a goldmine. I've already found a vest that i really like the look of. its nearly $1000US in japan, or $200US online... guess which option im going to use.
    thanks for the help!

  13. #13
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    I've got a Leatt Protection Vest at home, hardshell thing, that protects my elbows from my ribs.

    Closest I could find on their site is now this if you want the soft armour: https://www.leatt.com/shop/bike/ches...df-airfit.html
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  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by johnnyg82 View Post
    I've got a Leatt Protection Vest at home, hardshell thing, that protects my elbows from my ribs.
    Closest I could find on their site is now this if you want the soft armour: https://www.leatt.com/shop/bike/ches...df-airfit.html
    woah that looks super beefy. its not too big and heavy?

  15. #15
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    I use love the Troy Lee 7855 for moto. Mine has lasted several seasons, but the arms are basically shredded from hitting branches.

    It is super comfy once on, but kind of a bitch to don or remove. I don't ride much when it's 90+ degrees, but this is the coolest full-coverage pressure suit I've worn, and I've tried a lot of them. I think they also make a sheet sleeved version which would be the ticket for you.

    Otherwise you can step up to a Tekvest. It's the standard for slednecks, and it's crazy protective but also quite bulky.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-T707A using TGR Forums mobile app
    ride bikes, climb, ski, travel, cook, work to fund former, repeat.

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