Moonrocket
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Curious what you ladies like for protective gear- I'm totally new to this!
Thanks!
Thanks!
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Best DH biking protective gear?
- Thread starter Moonrocket
- Start date
geargrrl
Angel Diva
I wear pads for XC riding, elbows and knees. I really like the POC stuff as it's comfortable for pedaling. At the class we taught this weekend, there was a big discussion. The DH coaches emphasized to never ride without a neck brace; good idea. G form is another popular lighter weight knee pad.
I find no one carries anything that fits women in my community, so I have to order online or shop when I travel to Canada.
I know this doesn't really answer your question but maybe it can get you started.
I find no one carries anything that fits women in my community, so I have to order online or shop when I travel to Canada.
I know this doesn't really answer your question but maybe it can get you started.
Moonrocket
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Very helpful! I was wondering how the gear fit women- are their special women's pads, or just smaller sizes of unisex?
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I love my neck brace. I have tried a few back braces - they tend not to fit well and ride up because of my belly. I've switched to a neck brace and realized that the Camelbak I wear while riding is a pretty decent amount of back protection. It's not the same as a brace, but then I don't really trust a brace that won't stay put correctly, anyway.
Full face helmet. Wear it. I saw a guy gushing blood on a trail. Later found out he shattered his orbital socket. There's just no need to risk it.
I love my goggles, which help protect against stuff actually getting at my eye, but I'll admit they're much more fog prone than sunglasses - the moment I slow down, the goggles come off to vent.
I've tried a lot of different leg protection, and most of them chafe my knees. The ones least likely to chafe are the ones that are shaped like a sleeve instead of like a soccer shin guard - unfortunately that also means you have to remove your shoes to put them on or take them off.
Full face helmet. Wear it. I saw a guy gushing blood on a trail. Later found out he shattered his orbital socket. There's just no need to risk it.
I love my goggles, which help protect against stuff actually getting at my eye, but I'll admit they're much more fog prone than sunglasses - the moment I slow down, the goggles come off to vent.
I've tried a lot of different leg protection, and most of them chafe my knees. The ones least likely to chafe are the ones that are shaped like a sleeve instead of like a soccer shin guard - unfortunately that also means you have to remove your shoes to put them on or take them off.
lynseyf
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I have never found a problem getting elbow and knee/shin guards to fit but I really want some shoulder protection and nothing fits. If you are a petite woman XS or S in men's seems ok, I need a L for chest size but the shoulders on this are massive and it is tight across the hips. I have a 10" difference between bust and underbust, anyone else with similar stats wear any kind of upper body armour? I'm not even sure that women@s specific stuff would help as it will probably be made to fit up to maybe a D cup so 4-5" difference between bust an underbust?
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I have a women's back protector with shoulder pads and yeah, not big enough for Double Ds. (Or my belly) But GForm makes a base layer tee out of stretchy material that has shoulder pads. men's sizing, but it works for me. They're not big bulky shoulder pads, but they're something.
lynseyf
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Thanks @bounceswoosh is this it? It's pretty much exactly what I wanted, not too bulky. I tried a similar item form another brand but the shoulders were too big so will look out for this and give it a try
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@lynseyf - I don't see a link?
Mine is this except maybe with a few fewer pads: https://g-form.com/products/pro-x-compression-shirt/
Mine is this except maybe with a few fewer pads: https://g-form.com/products/pro-x-compression-shirt/
geargrrl
Angel Diva
Well crap where did the post go ? Anyway, I recently altered a pressure suit. The gal had lost 75 pounds and it needed to be refitted. This is the kind that zips and velcros everywhere, long sleeves with a back protector that zips on. The main thing I did was to reposition the shoulder cups, a couple of zippers, and shorted up a lot of the velcro cinch straps in various locations.
lynseyf
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
yeah forgot to post the link @bounceswoosh d'oh!
@geargrrl I have looked at the full on pressure suits and thought they are probably easier to accommodate more shapes and sizes but not sure I want that yet. I think there is a lot of choice out there but finding somewhere to try them all on can be a problem.
@geargrrl I have looked at the full on pressure suits and thought they are probably easier to accommodate more shapes and sizes but not sure I want that yet. I think there is a lot of choice out there but finding somewhere to try them all on can be a problem.
I always had this issue too - I'm about 8-9" difference. At this point I just wear a Leatt neck brace and shin and elbow pads and call it good. But when I was racing I would wear the upper body armor jacket with shoulder pads and everything and my main problem was that if it had the hard plate chest protector it was always at a weird angle due to boobs. I did it anyway when that was all I had, but it was weird looking and annoying. I have wide shoulders so that wasn't a problem for me, just the chest/waist ratio. The best solution that I found was to skip any sort of hard plate in front and buy the ones that have a soft pad in front - at least that stretches and doesn't just out at a weird angle.
This is the one that probably fit the best. https://www.ebay.com/itm/like/321037740457?lpid=82
Though I ended up not liking the elbow pads and just cut it off at the arms and used the separate elbow pads that I like. And this was before I had a Leatt brace so I don't know how well they work together.
Regarding men's vs. women's fit armor - I also found the women's specific stuff still wasn't big enough in the chest for me. And with knees/elbows - it depends on the brand. RaceFace makes women's specific stuff and some of it fits me, other stuff doesn't. The hard knee/shin that they make fits well in the women's design. The soft knee-only Khyber, I believe is the name of it? - too small for my knees in the biggest size. I could get them on, but they were totally uncomfortable to ride in and I gave them away. The unisex Flank works best for me for knees.
CarolB
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hey, great job on the refab. I go through my pressure suits fairly often as I dirtbike and I've often wished I had the sewing skills to rebuild them.
GG does this for a business...https://specialtyoutdoors.com/
