Your choice in protection?

[bitefirst]

Yeah, I know I'm practically cluttering the forums right now, but I'm wondering how many of you ride in jackets and how many in just plain bodyarmor (alpinestar is the brand im looking at) http://www.motorhelmets.com/htm-appa...c-2-jacket.htm

I'm pretty new to this overall, so wondering whats the pros and cons of jackets and plain bodyarmor. Also would i look like a total douche in the bodyarmor? I'm kind of partial to its looks

[Gumby]

Just remember. Spend the money on good gear. It's cheaper than surgery.

[Shifty1]

I prefer to ride with a jacket, long pants (jeans, military camos), gloves, riding shoes (sometimes sneakers if I'm going somewhere riding shoes would look funny), and definitely, a helmet. I've got two jackets, 1 leather and 1 textile for the hot days. I looked at the vests and armor and stuff but prefer the jackets because they offer more protection on the arms and I figure if I go down I'll probably be tumbling rather than perfectly balanced, sliding on my back or chest. But I'm no gear-nazi and will not preach. I think the vests are more practical for the stunt scene but for street riding I would rather sweat than bleed. The Alpinestars armor does offer more protection than the Icon Field Armor vest but, for me, I prefer a little more material. As for looking like a douche, you might. I'll reserve judgement until I see pictures.

[bitefirst]

Originally Posted by Shifty1

As for looking like a douche, you might. I'll reserve judgement until I see pictures.

Thanks, haha. Just wasn't thinking the full jackets gave that much more protection? Do they have more padding or something? Friend slammed into a car and slid/rolled for quite awhile and was missing a lot of the leather, padding was pretty much left in place though. He cried over it, was his favorite.

I'm just trying to get the best protection I can, but I live in Florida so keeping things cool is a big factor with me.
What would be good to look for in terms of rugged but very well ventilated?
(gets 100-105 in the summer sometimes)

[Shifty1]

The only reason I would doubt the protection of the Astars armor is that in that pic in the link, it appears to be a bunch of interconnected pads over a black long-sleeved t-shirt. Compared to my jackets, which are all Icon just to let you know, the armor is pretty close. Mine all have shoulder, elbow and forearm protection and a back pad. It is all CE approved armor. However, I would have to bet that the back pad is not as kick-ass as the Astars armor protection-wise. You can really get a good feeling if you go out and try some of this stuff on and give them all a good fondling. And since you are down in Florida, there should be no shortage of bike shops for you to check out. I know when I am down in Jacksonville there are like 7 bike shops all within 5 miles of Atlantic Beach that I check out. There are some good deals to be had down there, I always bring back something. I really do think that you should find a shop or two that have the options you are looking at and going to check them out in person. Good luck.

[bitefirst]

Originally Posted by Shifty1

The only reason I would doubt the protection of the Astars armor is that in that pic in the link, it appears to be a bunch of interconnected pads over a black long-sleeved t-shirt. Compared to my jackets, which are all Icon just to let you know, the armor is pretty close. Mine all have shoulder, elbow and forearm protection and a back pad. It is all CE approved armor. However, I would have to bet that the back pad is not as kick-ass as the Astars armor protection-wise. You can really get a good feeling if you go out and try some of this stuff on and give them all a good fondling. And since you are down in Florida, there should be no shortage of bike shops for you to check out. I know when I am down in Jacksonville there are like 7 bike shops all within 5 miles of Atlantic Beach that I check out. There are some good deals to be had down there, I always bring back something. I really do think that you should find a shop or two that have the options you are looking at and going to check them out in person. Good luck.

Alright, thanks for the help. Jville is a 3 hour drive (even with how I drove) so I'll have to wait a bit before I get out there. I'll hit up Panama City to just see what they have, if you know a place with a great selection in Jackonsonville or Tampa, leave me the name, I'll check them out come November.

[clarkmanning]

stunters wear body armor
riders wear jackets
squids wear neither

what are you?

[Summerwolf]

I have a joe rocket jacket that is mesh with a lot of padding and a spine pad. I used to have an Alpinestars full leather jacket and while the leather I think offers more protection, living in Tucson now just wasn't going to work with me.

[the_gunslinger]

Trojan magnum

[Mike91]

Originally Posted by bitefirst

Friend slammed into a car and slid/rolled for quite awhile and was missing a lot of the leather, padding was pretty much left in place though.

Look at it this way - without the leather, that would have been missing skin.

The armor protects you against impacts. The leather protects you when you're sliding or tumbling on the pavement.

Like someone else said, armor is for stunting, because they tend to go slow and fall straight down.

IMO a good jacket is just as important as the helmet. What good is protecting your head when you've scraped all the skin off the rest of your body and bled to death on the side of the highway?

[LT1MAN]

^^^ agreed.

i wear the Field Armor carboflex jacket, jeans, alpinestar riding shoes, rocket gloves and fulmer helmet. my jacket is 95% as abrasive as leather. the mesh jackets like icon and joe rocket are for the people who know better than to ride squid, but dont really want to wear a jacket. when you go into a slide with a jacket on that is made of basketball short material....basically you just hope you skid on the pads. i would highly recommend the Field Armor jacket to anyone in the market for a mesh jacket. its extremely breathable, extremely protective for a non-leather jacket, and very flexible.

[bitefirst]

So anything with Carboflex is going to be my best bet for safety without risking my health in 100+ weather?

[bitefirst]

Something else I forget til now (makes me a bad boyfriend I suppose!) is that my girlfriend is a vegetarian and she may not exactly be in love with me getting leather if I can avoid it. So I'd be looking for the next best thing, which stinks because I'm liking the http://www.joerocket.com/productJR.cfm?products_id=232

[LT1MAN]

Originally Posted by bitefirst

So anything with Carboflex is going to be my best bet for safety without risking my health in 100+ weather?

yes.

Originally Posted by bitefirst

my girlfriend is a vegetarian and she may not exactly be in love with me getting leather[/url]

well then she definitely won't be in love with your muscle meat/flesh strewn about the highway

[bitefirst]

Originally Posted by LT1MAN

yes.



well then she definitely won't be in love with your muscle meat/flesh strewn about the highway

Alright, thanks for the help. And I'll be safe, very safe. Full riding gear unlike the people I see around with just a helmet. And thats only because they're under 21. Saddens me to see people so reckless.

[Shifty1]

Originally Posted by bitefirst

Something else I forget til now (makes me a bad boyfriend I suppose!) is that my girlfriend is a vegetarian and she may not exactly be in love with me getting leather if I can avoid it. So I'd be looking for the next best thing, which stinks because I'm liking the http://www.joerocket.com/productJR.cfm?products_id=232

I don't like the whole killing animals thing either, (although I am not a vegitarian), but if it's between me and a cow...I'll strangle that thing with my bare hands if I have to. If she has a problem, ask her which she would rather have their skin, you or the cow. Or you can do what I did when my ex (vegan) gave me shit for buying leather..."Honey, we are here, in the store, it's already dead, and I'm chilly."

[bitefirst]

Originally Posted by Shifty1

I don't like the whole killing animals thing either, (although I am not a vegitarian), but if it's between me and a cow...I'll strangle that thing with my bare hands if I have to. If she has a problem, ask her which she would rather have their skin, you or the cow. Or you can do what I did when my ex (vegan) gave me shit for buying leather..."Honey, we are here, in the store, it's already dead, and I'm chilly."

Haha nice, I always bug her about carrots and how she doesn't care that shes killing an entire family but it's wrong for me to eat one tiny bit of a cow. She's generally good about not getting annoyed but when I showed her that Sonic 2 jacket, first thing she said was 'Leather.' and considering she'll be holding onto it while we ride I may try to find an alternative for when she rides along.

Any recommendations on specific jacket brands and not just what its made of?

[ninjaman08]

i ride in leather jacket and leatherpants with protectors on the joints.also backprotector and leatherboots made for riding.and gloves.
when riding in rain i use cordura jacket/pants with gortex.
and i alwais zip jacket/pants together

[ninjaman08]

Originally Posted by bitefirst

Something else I forget til now (makes me a bad boyfriend I suppose!) is that my girlfriend is a vegetarian and she may not exactly be in love with me getting leather if I can avoid it. So I'd be looking for the next best thing, which stinks because I'm liking the http://www.joerocket.com/productJR.cfm?products_id=232

hehe.she dont have to eat the leather
sorry,just had to

[Scabbs]

if your worried about leather.
id recommend the danaise D-stone jacket.
its called the Horizon.

tensil strength, its 7 times stronger then leather.
fits me differently though, but im sure wants it breaks in it will be a nice fit.

plus, they allow it for track days, so it is track worthy.