Riding armor - Under jersey armor questions

TECH & HOW-TO
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Since Gino has our jerseys available to order thru Canvas, I, having no moto experience with armor, wanted to ask what people use under their jerseys?

How much room should I make when ordering a jersey?

What armor to buy?

What’s reasonable prices?

Brands to avoid? Preferred brands? Price range? Used a good idea?

Any help is appreciated. I have full riding gear but it’s heavy canvas and not the best for hot days, and it’s a cheaper brand but I got it used for not a lot of money….so I works for now.

But I want to look stylish with my BCADV jersey and proper armor under it while riding in short shorts and sandals in the dirt!

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I’m busy avoiding some work I should be doing, so let me create an “Armor Thread” in the Tech section.

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Mike, I have the LEATT Airfit “soft” armor which comes with the D30 pad inserts. I’ve tried hard armor when first racing but found the soft armor provided more mobility and ventilation. I also wear this when doing aggressive adventure day rides when it’s hot out with a moto jersey over it. I typically size up one jersey size to accommodate the armor.

Concerning cost, LEATT is pricey but has lasted me for years in woods riding/racing, and adventure riding. Mine is an older model but there are two newer options ranging from $380 to $318.

Hope this is helpful.

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See The Armor Thread here for a broader discussion

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To be clear: there’s no such thing as the “best” or “right” armor. With that:

How much room should I make when ordering a jersey?

Specific to these CanvasMX jerseys, I cover this in the jersey post. Reread it under IMPORTANT FIT NOTE.

What armor to buy?

This is so personal, and depends on your risk tolerance, how much coverage you want, and what your heat tolerance is.

A better question to ask is “What’s my minimum level of coverage that I’m comfortable with?” For me (Gino), it’s CE Level 2 for chest and back, and CE Level 1 for elbows and shoulders for off-road riding. You can read more about CE Level definitions here.

From there, it comes down to A) what is your budget and B) can you try it on before buying it? Fit is everything for long days on the bike.

What’s reasonable prices?

This totally depends on your budget. There’s simply not a right answer. That said, armor is quite often on sale at places like Revzilla, RMATV, etc.

Brands to avoid? Preferred brands? Price range? Used a good idea?

The brands I use are 100% based on how they fit me, how they perform in hot weather (I do terribly in warm weather), and level of coverage. For me (a sample size of one), spending good money on protective gear is more important than the bike itself; If I had $4,000 to spend, I’d spend half on a bike, and the other half on protective gear (boots, helmet, armor, etc.).

That said, I’ve had a good experience with many Leatt products, and to an extent, Alpinestars products. I’m currently testing Mosko’s new armor, and so far am unimpressed (even though I love other stuff they make.)

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This stuff is all a matter of personal choice and preference but here’s a couple of thoughts:

I haven’t worn anything under a jersey in a long time. Pressure suits, soft armor shirts, etc. have always been way too hot, sticky and smelly for me. I hate the feeling of tight material against my skin no matter how light and breathable it is.

Like Rich’s detailed breakdown in his armor thread I have a lot of different gear for different occasions but if I’m doing ADV or singletrack stuff I’m likely wearing an Alpinestars A-10 chest and back protector. I can wear this over a jersey on hot days, it flows a ton of air and comes off quick and easy at stops. I can fit a light trail or full on goretex ADV jacket over it when things cool down. For real cold I’ll wear it over an electric jacket liner where it will compress the liner against me for maximum warmth.

For me this is a super versatile piece of armor that also provides a lot of protection for my spine and organs.

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My issue is I sweat like crazy, and with being able to get a group jersey I don’t have lightweight armor, just my heavy jacket and pants. I don’t want to raw dog it on a motorcycle because I’ve taken some slow speed spills and the current gear worked well, so I don’t want to take that chance.

Guess I’ll need to wander into a store and try some stuff on, it’s overwhelming at times as to what is needed and what isn’t.

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Yeah, unfortunately, there is a bit of a learning curve in terms of what works for you and what doesn’t. I’m always hesitant to make specific product recommendations for people because what works great for one person may not work at all for the other. It’s definitely worth going into a shop like RevZilla or Cyclegear to just try on some things in person to get an idea of how it feels before you pull the trigger on anything.

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Go to Performance and check things out. IMO, boots are the most important, then upper body armor.

unfortunately, getting started in ADV usually requires different gear from road riding. Road = abrasions. ADV = falls in rocky terrain = armor. And those rocks are right near your feet = beefy boots.

Pro-tip: leave the wallet at home your first trip

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I’ve got good boots I really like, just that soft armor if I wear a jersey.

But I’ll go check then out!

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Report back on what you find!

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Road boots or ADV / Motocross boots. IMO, road boots don’t offer enough protection. For a slide, yes. Slamming into a rock at 25mph, no.

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Also, legs with MX boots tend to fare much better than legs with road or “ADV” boots when a bike falls on them. Lateral protection is everything.

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I have a pair of O’Neal MX boots, full ankle support, very little front and back movement movement (enough to operate the bike safely), almost no lateral movement, and zero rotational movement.

Super comfy and I’ve ridden all day in them, just a little hot but it can be dealt with.

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Call me cheap but I get the eBay special upper body armor. Very similar to name brands, made in the same place, with no logos.

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