Sorry for the lag...
Had some honey-do's to take care of and still have a couple more to take care of. Plus, this took a little bit longer to put together than I
expected. Brain dumps would be sooooo handy.
Brands
Some names not on your list:
Core, back and even full-on pressure suits will not provide adequate protection for your ribs in the event of an OBE,
rollover, etc. They are primarily designed for general impact and abrasion protection.
Bigkid uses the V2 version of the RibTect Protector. They are currently up to the
Ribtect V3
Other rib protector manufacturers include Pegasus with their
OMP Carbon Fiber Rib Protector Vest and Forcefield with their
TPro Rib Protector.
Some words about 3d0Comes in different thicknesses.
Available in perforated versions for better cooling with slight reduction in protection.
Still only in token use by a lot of manufacturers.
Extensive use is spendy (ie: d3o lined shorts that protect the glutes and coccyc/tail bone run North of $200).
Some use of 3do is just gratuitious (and I expect for the right to put the badge on the products). Gloves that have 3do panels in select (read
limited) segments of the knuckles but not the palm are just silly.
Current formulation isn't temperature stable and protection can be reduced in some scenarios. New variants of 3do are around the corner that address some current issues.
General notes on pressure suits
Pressure suits generally have a mesh frame that connects all the padded areas. The logic is that is this keeps the padded areas in place better and
prevents them from sliding out of the way during an impact. The downside is that if you want to opt to go lighter on a given day and just run with
elbow padds and knee pads, you have to have them seperately.
Generally the mesh area doesn't hold up well to abrasion for any length of time.
Some pressure suits use a zip front like a traditional jacket. others use a one piece chest piece with buckles or velco on the side and a velcro wrap
in the kidney/stomach area. Because the zipper usually has a thin nylon strip before joining to the rest of the mesh, that area has been prone to
failed stitching in the past with some manufacturers.
Some suits (abbreviated pressure suits, if you want) protect the torso and in some cases have adjustable/removable shoulder pads. Seperate elbow pads
are used with these. How well these stay in place depends on the strap arrangement used by the manufacturer, but they do give you a bit more
flexibility in the mix-match area.
Hard shell areas offer more impact and penetration protection at the cost of heat buildup. Some manufactuers perforate the shells and have
micro-perfed foam behind them to help with cooling. Some manufactuers angle the vents to create a venturi effect to pull warm air away from you when
you are in motion.
Depending on your preferences, black might look "cooler" and Batman chic, but is more prone to solar heating on sunny days.
Pressure suits and other torso protection come with various lengths for the back protection panel. Some stop at the middle of the lower back and some
extend to protect the coccyx/tail bone. Depending on space and heat constraints you could opt for doubling up/overlapping your armor/harness or go
with minimal overlap and lookp for tail bone protection from impact shorts.
Pricing
Pricing on most of the gear will run the gamut, but basically run into the upper and lower tiers with a small gap in between. At a certain point,
what you are paying for is fit, finish and the last 0.56% of quality. You have already felt the effects of course stitching and the same is true of
trim that overlaps and creates rub-points. There is also differences in the hardware buckles, zippers, rivts, elastic panels, etc. that are used. An
example is Forcefield that submits all of the parts of their gear for CE testing/certification and not just the parts that are involved in impact
reduction. The rationale is that you might have wonderful protection, but if it shears off your body or zippers fail in a drag, it's not going to do
you too much good.
Retailers
Some retailers to look at:
Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any additional and/or specific questions.
ATB,
Sam
"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12 - Jesus, does anyone?" - The Body by Stephen King
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