i thinking of buying some body armour for mtb and snowboarding. I'm having trouble finding some comparisons of different brands.

I'm considering the 661 http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=24906
Can anyone recommend any? any thoughts about the 661 comp pressure suit?. Also, what is the sizing like? i normally where medium t-shirts, so was expecting to buy the body armour in the same size.

Cheers,

Tim

What kinda MTBing you using it for? DH I hope!

my plan is to visit a ski resort during the summer (maybe morzine) and use the body armour for downhill. I also intend to use it at some of the uk trail centres. I mostly ride xc, so would like some extra protection when riding some more challenging trails.

Do you need all that armour? really? I'd really reconsider it TBH, it's pretty cumbersome, hot, and it's expensive kit, I don't think you'd really need it. Knee and (at a push) Elbow pads are pretty much all you'd ever need for even techy XC, and trail centres. Even in the Alps it'd be overkill unless you're doing days and days on the DH runs…

Do people even wear armour for snowboarding?

People dropping cliffs or learning to jump big in the park definitely wear armour for snowboarding, yep.

When we're racing BMX I use traditional MX armour as I have it for the MX bike anyway. One of my sons has the 661 Pressure suit and it's very good and nicely made. My other son uses a Wulfsport Deflector jacket – very similar and it's also very good.

You can't wear a full suit for anything with climbing involved, it gets unpleasantly hot very quickly, even on a cool day.

I have a dainese 3/4 shuttle suit and its fine (for DH with uplift), friends have had various others including 661 and brand-x and were also happy with their choice.

No idea on 661 sizing though. Worth trying some on if you can.

Jeez, I won't be wearing something like that at trails centres (although plenty do ay Glentress for some reason…) you'll be roasting on the climbs. Knee and elbows at the absolute most I'd say. I don't wear any and can't think of any trails centre you'd have too.

Like people have said… would only were full armour for full on uplifts/ski lift DH days. I've recently got the full thor static suit and it fits beautifully and quite low profile considering its amount of protection. had a dainese impact jacket before and wasn't as comfortable. I'd have a look at the new 661 evo pressure suit on the 661 website though. Not sure when it is coming out but looks super lightweight.

slw "You can't wear a full suit for anything with climbing involved, it gets unpleasantly hot very quickly, even on a cool day."

Tell my mate Andy, he wears a pressure suit, POC Bones leg armour, wrist and ankle guards, think it's 661 arm armour… Looks like he's going jousting. He swears it doesn't bother him on the climbs, personally I think he's nuts but it's his call. But the idea that you can't do it is just as daft. There's been times when I feel like my brain might boil but he just keeps going.

FWIW the pressure suit is very good. But the nature of serious cycling injuries does mean that there's only so much they can do. Like, when I broke my ribs, if I'd been wearing one or a core saver, there's a reasonable chance it might have helped. But for the standard broken shoulders/collarbones, it's all about leverage from the arms and momentum from the body and that's hard to armour against (american football kit can do it). So, it's a lot of hassle/inconvenience possibly, for only fairly limited benefit. Still, once you up the risk, speed and especially distance of fall, stuff like this does start to make more sense.

Personally i use Raceface FR leg armour and occasionally Dianese elbow/ forearm armour too.

Mostly ride the Stanes and usually fall over rather than wipe out.

I just carry the Fr armour up the hills in the camelbak and bung it on for the downs.

One thing i would say is to protect your knees. It does not take much of a hit to damage them and you could easily be off the bike for months if they take a good hit.

The Fr leg armour is also superb for when you are laying laminate flooring !

Yeah, a light flexible pad like the Kyle Strait knee pads are no bother at all to ride in, no more sweaty or restrictive than wearing socks, but offer decent protection. People who don't like the idea of pads tell you they're uncomfortable or chafey or sweaty but it's just not the case these days, get a good quality, good fitting pad and though you won't forget it's there, it should never make any difference to your ride. Unless you use them of course.

The way I see it is that pads can help prevent a proper injury, but mainly they're there to prevent the little ones- it only takes a small knock to ruin a day's riding, or to put you off the bike for a couple of weeks, and that's a pain in the **** more than a pain in the knee. I knee'd the left shifter pretty hard today while sliding on some ice, never even came right off the bike but I was very glad for my pads when I did it.

But you never know, someday it might stop a big one. And knees are fairly complicated components, they tend not to heal very well and they're very useful for cycling.

Northwind, your mate Andy must be very tolerant of being roasting hot, fair play to him.

if you wear armour for dh why not at a trail center?
both involve going fast down a hill no?

got back from skiing earlier and there were people wearing this type of armour of piste and in the park….

i personally dont but im not a hardcore skier.

I use 661 Kyle Straits most of the time. Don't really notice them any more. Keep my knees warm in the winter too. Taking them boarding in Jan too, as I found I was getting pretty sore knees. Got some chicken wings too, but found they're a bit crap tbh except when your arms are out straight. Hopefully my xmas stocking will have some hard armour in it.

Sorry, didn't click the link so didn't realise you meant a proper suit thingy.

slw, he's genuinely not, he just doesn't find it as hot as you'd expect. He's not constantly dripping with sweat, in fact some rides he seems cooler than I do. It's annoying frankly 🙂

Benji, chicken wings are pretty hopeless, elbows have so much articulation that trying to make a small, compact pad means you end up with something very enclosing and restrictive. Totally counterproductive, you're better off with a bigger pad.

Can't recommend the POC Bone arms too highly, they look a bit bulky and excessive but because of their size and full articulation, they don't need to be tight fitting or enclosing- the end result is though they offer more protection than the Chicken Wings, they're also much more comfortable- not as tight, only very slightly restrictive, and they're actually less hot to wear as well. Total win really.

They just look a bit overkill when you wear them 🙂 And at this point, only available in very unsubtle white. But they have as much protection as you're likely to want yet they're totally XC-suited too. Ace.

(I'm a bit of an armour fan, as I have osteoperosis- brittle bones. MTBing isn't really my sport 🙂 )

Having tried a 661 Core saver on earlier this year after fracturing 6 ribs I can say that it would not have helped one iota, I have fractured ribs twice in the last 18 months and both times they have involved impacts to the side under my arm, the core saver provides no protection in this area at all and nor do any of the other suits that I have looked at.

I use a 661 assault pressure suit (i.e. it has no arm protection). It still gets hot if you do any climbing though.

For DH and strp on eblow and forarm guards, and Fox assualt inners for the shorts and knee and shin pads. Rockin teh storm trooper look.

Thanks for all the replies, they give me a few things to think about.

cheers all.

The higher end 661 pro stuff is skinnier fit than the std stuff, which may influence you. Being fairly lanky (6'4" and 80kg) it's the best fit for me mind.

All armour is uncomfy and sweaty if it's hot/you're going up much. Fit is very important though, else it won't work. So try it on first! CRC/wiggle/ukbike are good at returns though, so if you're not sure of fit, just send it back! (or order a couple and see which is best). No point in armour that doesn't fit right, it'll move about and do no good.