Armor  By  bobshaw (Read 4,132 times)

Aah, did you see the price of those things? Maybe if I was trying to ride in Arizona during the summer, but, that seems a little extreme for Georgia and Florida..

Cycle Gear was running a half price sale on their heat-out base layers and their evaporative cooling vests were running about $39. All were the Bilt store brand and carried a 5 year warranty.

www.cyclegear.com/search/go#p=R&w=heat%2520out&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.cyclegear.com%2fsearch%2fgo%3fw%3dheat-out%26ts%3dajaxv2&rk=1&uid=569959220&ts=racv2&rt=racsug&rsc=yNjNkhgP8IQK1iSl&asug=heat out?apelog=yes

www.cyclegear.com/CycleGear/Street/Base-Layers/Tops/brand/HEAT-OUT/Base-Layer-Crew-Neck-Tee/p/41713_59409_199

www.cyclegear.com/CycleGear/Street/Base-Layers/Bottoms/brand/HEAT-OUT/Base-Layer-Riding-Shorts/p/41710_59409_199

www.cyclegear.com/CycleGear/Biker/Base-Layers/Tops/brand/BiLT/Cooling-Vest/p/29038_60744_1936

The heat out is a base layer compression garment so it helps fight fatigue and evaporates persperation much faster than a cotton tee. I tried the short sleeved heat out tee and shorts on a 5 hour ride on a humid day with roadway temps over 100 degrees and was impressed with the results. Pack your shirt in the top case and wear just the heatout under your jacket and the shorts instead of your BVD's. The shorts really helped with the 5 hours in the saddle too. They had a special a few weeks ago that got you a free heat-out helmet liner with the purchase of a top and bottom. I wish I had jumped in a bought more than just one set to try out and am thinking that the long sleeve top may be better against the mesh liner and armor in the sleeves of my jacket.

The $39 cooling vests also work however you have to soak them in water every few hours and if you don't wring them out correctly they drip and you get drenched.

I wear an Xelement TriTex Silver Ignitor mesh jacket with Level III armor from Leather Up which being all light silver and highly reflective helps with the Florida Sun. I am tempted to get the matching riding pants as jeans can get searing hot from the sun at traffic stops.

Don't forget a decent pair of gloves too. I work with computers writing software and without good gloves even a minor off could make working very difficult during the healing process. I lean towards Cycle Gear Sedici which can be had for around $39 when on sale and if you save your receipt can be the last pair you'll ever have to pay for due to their lifetime warranty.

A good friend didn't think he needed armor and thought his helmet with bubble face shield was good enough. After a low speed bump below 25 mph and several days unconsious in the ER he began to think differently especially as he began to take inventory. Fractured jaw since he did not have a full face helmet, broken shoulder and elbow damage from lack of armor, chipped vertabrae again no back protection armor, hand and knuckle damage including fractures from lack of riding gloves and the worst was since he was not wearing riding boots his shoes came off and he split one of his feet between the toes all the way to the shin bone on a sheet metal sign post. He spent a few months in the hospital and several more in hospice care before he was able to be transported back to Florida to enter a hospice closer to his home since his accident occured a thousand miles away from here. He will never walk straight again or ride and was in hospital and hospice care away from home for a full year and then took another year at home to go though physical therapy to be able to walk again having several follow up opreations to start removeing the temporary metal fixtures they had put inside him to lock his joints up while the bones mended.

Plumaria grows well here in Southern Florida too however there is mesh and perforated leather armored gear that works well in our tropical heat and humidity. Leather Up has Xelement Level 3 Mesh Armored Jackets that cost around $50/$60 on sale and work well in hot humind climates.

www.leatherup.com/p/Mens-Mesh-Motorcycle-Jackets/Xelement-Mens-Silver-Igniter-Tri-Tex-Fabric-and-Mesh-Motorcycle-Jacket/53267.html

soldier, quite honestly I usually feel rather over-dressed when I'm all geared up and getting on my scooter. But I don't care about how I appear. I'd much rather feel safe that should I go down ever again my skin should stay where God put it.

And while KS likely doesn't get as hot-humid-muggy as HI, we do get icky days. I haven't felt too hot in my mesh jacket/pants/gloves. I flip up my visor at stops is all. I will admit though I finally remembered I bought a Cool-It vest and wore it the last couple hot days, and was fine ever at stops.

My coworker's boyfriend refuses to wear gear 'cause he can't handle hot at all. Wears an armored vest. He had his rear tire hit a grease spot (they think) and go out, then throw him. Rashed his knee, the backs of both hands, one arm, and cracked ribs. His helmeted head was unhurt.

My question then--would you rather worry about your comfort level like he did, and worse your appearance, and maybe go through the discomfort (pain, annoyance) of healing skin? Or ride in mesh and look overdressed and maybe feel warmer at long stops? Me, I'm going for safety, always and always no matter what speed or how short a trip I'll be going.

>'Kat

It was the wreck that pushed me to the armor. Wearing a polo shirt, shorts and sandals, I laid the bike down, I locked the brakes up (I think), and was down and sliding, on my belly, in a heart beat. I got first and second degree road rash on both arms, and my right leg and some third degree on my knee, elbow and knuckles. In additon, I sprained my right shoulder, and my right hip/thigh was bruised down to my knee. That was 3 1/2 months ago, and I still have problem with my shoulder and my leg still looks nasty. And yes, I was picking asphalt out of my arm for weeks. I didn't think I needed to suit-up since I was just running up to the store. Where I had clothing, I didn't get road rash, although the asphalt rubbed holes in my denim shorts and shirt, and the large straps on my sandals mostly protected my feet, and got ripped off. I must have been a sight, because the ladies in the emergency room panicked, and expedited my treatment. I was in and out in less than an hour. And the worst part, I coulden't ride for a couple of months. I think the padding in the armor would have prevented the injuries to my shoulder and arms. It's right where I hit and slid. I think I'll wear my armor and at least blue jeans and solid shoes, hope I don't need them.

So after reading this yesterday i looked online for something that I might be able to feel comfortable in and is also in a sort of affordable price range and thought maybe I could wear something like this, UNDER a baggy t-shirt;

www.revzilla.com/motocross/troy-lee-bp-7850-hot-weather-armored-shirt

Although it does not protect elbow down, they have a long sleeve version too for the same price. I wonder though
if it will look odd at all, or fit the shape of my upper body under a shirt. Does anyone own one of these?