Hudson
Well-known member
I visited the Johnson Leather booth at the recent Seattle IMC show and got pretty interested in their back guards. About a week later, one of the regulars on another motorcycle chat list described his crash and that his Dr. credited his back guard for saving his spine. Then I read the article about the Sport Bike writer who is languishing after his crash with paralysis after fracturing his vertebrae. I don't plan on going down (who does) but I checked the back armor in my FirstGear Denali and was pretty surprised how crappy it was. If I can spend $500 on a Russell seat just to make my ass comfy, I sure as hell can consider protecting something a bit more important like my spine and ribs. Got fitted for the back guard and the full chest protector:
The back protector is really comfy, surprisingly so. The armour is quite flexible and snug, and hugs your back. The bottom extends to your tailbone, and gives you a definite sense of protection for that area. $150. Joe Rocket makes one that is allegedly an OEM rebadged one for $25 less, but I am not sure the tailbone section extends down as far.
The chest protector comes in two types: a full chest/rib protector pictured below for $90 (I got this one), and a smaller chest only protector ($75).
The smaller one is meant as a companion piece to the back protector, but both can fit the back protector. While the chest protector surrounds your entire rib cage, it does feel bulkier and is not quiet the lightweight fit that the back protector affords. With both on, I have a bit of trouble zipping up the denali jacket over both (nothing that losing 20 lbs wouldn't cure). With just the back protector, it feels very natural. TPro makes an insert to place inside a jacket in lieu of the full back protetor, but the dealer said the wearable one offers significantly better protection as it covers more area and snugs up close.
Sizing is odd, running smaller than you would think as it is measured for height and for chest. I am 5'11" and fit the medium back protector, but the large chest protector.
Anyone else regularly wear back armour? At $240 for the set, it is a bit pricey, but maybe a group buy could convince the distributor to offer a discount.
The back protector is really comfy, surprisingly so. The armour is quite flexible and snug, and hugs your back. The bottom extends to your tailbone, and gives you a definite sense of protection for that area. $150. Joe Rocket makes one that is allegedly an OEM rebadged one for $25 less, but I am not sure the tailbone section extends down as far.
The chest protector comes in two types: a full chest/rib protector pictured below for $90 (I got this one), and a smaller chest only protector ($75).
The smaller one is meant as a companion piece to the back protector, but both can fit the back protector. While the chest protector surrounds your entire rib cage, it does feel bulkier and is not quiet the lightweight fit that the back protector affords. With both on, I have a bit of trouble zipping up the denali jacket over both (nothing that losing 20 lbs wouldn't cure). With just the back protector, it feels very natural. TPro makes an insert to place inside a jacket in lieu of the full back protetor, but the dealer said the wearable one offers significantly better protection as it covers more area and snugs up close.
Sizing is odd, running smaller than you would think as it is measured for height and for chest. I am 5'11" and fit the medium back protector, but the large chest protector.
Anyone else regularly wear back armour? At $240 for the set, it is a bit pricey, but maybe a group buy could convince the distributor to offer a discount.
