I had a bit of a DH session a couple of weeks back on a cold, wet, slippery Aston Hill and decided to don my rather ancient and pretty humming old body armour, which does an admirable job but is long overdue for replacement.
So I’ve been browsing what’s about now and noticed there’s a few more of these “Padded compression” type tops available now (661 Sub Gear, Nukeproof Critical, and the like), looking at them I think they’d actually suit me a shade better than a full hard shell, armoured jacket especially if I got a separate spine protector (Or even just reused the detachable one from my current armour)

A lighter, closer fitting, impact padded compression top just seems to make a little more sense to me now, anyone used one of these especially in combination with a separate back protector, how do they compare to a full on armoured jacket/suit?

-Do they Wick sweat as they claim?
-Do they do away with nipple chafage?
-Are they much use in a tumble? (primarily the shoulder padding I guess)

I’ve had the 661 sub gear, both in short and long sleeved for the Alps the last couple of years.

Whilst i would say they are never going to be as good as proper “storm trooper” body armour, I found that they are a lot more comfortable for wearing all day long, especially where you might have to do some actual pedalling back up the hill again. They do wick sweat very well and never had issues woth chafing, probably less from this that loose fitting thick DH tops that can move back and forwards.

I had a subluxated AC joint in my left shoulder when i went out to Alps last year and fell on it again and the padding took the force of the impact well.

The one thing i did do was cut out the annoying chest plate/ padding part though.

Wore my Nukeproof to Aston on sunday with a 3/4 sleeve jersey on top and felt pretty good for nine runs, but it was a cold day. It felt very comfortable and I wasn’t really aware I was wearing it, but this could be very different come summer. I imagine it is quite difficult to remove when sweaty, but it only cost me £35, so I’m happy with it and usually only wear armour on rocky tracks.

I’ve not actually made use of the padding yet, but I’m sure it will be much better than bare shoulders and elbows.

The one thing i did do was cut out the annoying chest plate/ padding part though.

That’s interesting, TBH I’ve never made much use of Chest protection in crashes, mostly Shoulder, Back Ribs (more or less in that order I suppose), chopping the un-used areas of padding away is an option I suppose.

At the minute I’m favouring the short sleeved version of the 661 Sub Gear, I don’t normally wear elbow/forearm protection (did cut them off of my current armour), the sub gear does offer some shoulder padding and it costs very little, but I should keep an open mind, there’s other stuff available including a Troy Lee thing that looks like it has more coverage padding wise, not sure if that’s a good thing or not…

I’ve got a nmearly new pressure suit if anyone want’s it.

Crashed twice in it and broke my arm the 2nd time so now following the lead of the fast irish guy on the uplift bus and only wearign knee pads as anythign else just prevents cosmetic injuries for the most part.

Have had a ls SubGear since day one and got the ss derivative last year.

I don’t think they’re exactly impact resistant they’re more suited to fending off trail rash and glancing blows from trees etc. Having said that I’ve fallen fairly heavily on my shoulders a few times and the shoulder armour has coped quite well. The forearm armour on the ls is also quite good if you’re in the habit of using your elbows as brakes.

They’re a snug fit like lycra and wick like mad but if you’re sweating a lot on a coolish day they get clammy and on a cold day it’s worse I find them quite uncomfortable & wear a merino underneath. On a warm/hot day they’re great perspiration disperses and evaporates quickly.

No problems with chafage etc they move with you and when new they are quite odour-resistant although this seems to wear off after repeated use/washes. The long-sleeved SubGear can be quite a challenge to take off 🙂

Not sure about the chest pad- even full pressure suits etc aren’t that much use for chests, it’s generally your momentum that breaks your ribs not the thing you hit.

I think I’ll take a flyer on the Sub Gear SS then…

Cheers all.

I’ve got the 661 sub gear. I’m not gnaar enough to properly test it but it seems to take the knocks. I can happily wear it all day without overheating. The fit is a bit odd on mine, monkey arms and rather tight round the middle but it works.

Compress they do! Large T shirts are generally a bit big on me, large 661 Subgear is hard work to get on or off…