Armour

This entry is part 6 of 19 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #14

The term ‘armour’ means different things to different riders. Here’s a few thoughts to consider when making decisions about your protective apparel.

Armour’s been around motorcycling for a long time. For some it’s a set of plastic or gel inserts in strategically placed pockets on a jacket and pants, and for others it can mean a full ‘pressure suit’, including spine protection and varying plates and padding, some of which can be detached or moved. For motocrossers the term body armour means a hard shell protecting the chest, shoulders and thorax, while other items are called knee guards, elbow guards and so forth. It’s a bewildering world of choice, and for the purposes of this piece, when we’re talking about ‘armour’ we’ll be talking about the gear adventure riders use to protect themselves from impact injuries.

In the beginning

Like so many innovations in our sport, armour was pioneered by the motocross guys, and to kick off, those guys were concerned with trying to ease the impact shock of rocks and debris thrown from bikes in front. The early examples of what we now call armour were called ‘chest protectors’.

Someone who saw the early examples of protective apparel was Australia’s first professional motocrosser, Stephen Gall.

“The first time I used something like that was one of the Torsten Hallman chest protectors,” said Gally (for those who love a little trivia, the apparel brand THOR is in fact an acronym for Torsten Hallman Original Racewear).

“It went from the mid-abdominal area and over the shoulders. Then there was an attachment that went over, and protected,the anterior or front area of the bicep.

“I think then the company Jofa produced a protector with front and back cover.

To me they were the very first examples I used. The Torsten Hallman was a roost protector, and the Jofa, because it protected the back as well, was the first body armour.”

Steve’s talking about roughly 1973, and at that time the protection was based around soft materials like padded leather that would distribute the effect of an impact over a wide area.

After a while the technology of plastics advanced to where very thin, impact-resistant shells could be moulded into curves. Acerbis was at the forefront of the use of plastics in motorcycle apparel and fittings, but there were a lot of companies who saw the potential and jumped in.

Anyhoo, over the decades, technology has had a very major impact of its own on the production and design of armour. There’s a big range of materials and designs on offer, and it’s not easy for a mere adventure rider to know which one will suit his needs. As always, opinions differ and each rider will have to decide which of the many alternatives will best fulfil his or her needs. Ray Mustafa of Held Australia sums it up well. “At the end of the day, if you’re out riding, on- or off-road, you need some level of protection, and most riders will have an idea of the type of protection they’re looking for.

Horses for corsets

There’s no possible argument that the more safety gear a rider wears, the better protected he will be. Take a look at a professional supercross or MotoGP rider to get an idea of how the very top level of the sport does it.

But does an adventure rider need that level of protection?

Sometimes different situations will demand different approaches. Adventure Moto’s Steve Smith, importer of Klim, is a good example.

“The simple rule for me is that when I’m doing more technical rides, like some of the special sections of the RideADV rides for example, I’ll be more comfortable wearing knee braces and a pressure suit, primarily because as your body temperature climbs with the hard work, you can peel off layers and remove even your jacket, and still be protected.

“But if I’m just doing a general adventure ride, I’m quite content with the armour that’s in the Klim suit I’m wearing.”

We liked Robin Box’ thoughts on primary and secondary safety and how he assesses his level of protective kit.

“Armour is secondary safety,” said the Touratech importer with his usual clear grasp of a situation.

“A rider’s primary safety is not falling off.

The question of armour’s effectiveness only arises when the primary safety has failed, so it’s secondary safety.

“A racer will be riding at speeds and on terrain that will mean his primary safety is likely to fail – a fall at high speed is probable. An adventure rider should be riding with a far greater margin of safety.

A fall for an adventure rider is less likely, and likely to be at a much lower speed, than a racer.”

Robin’s reasoning is, therefore, that an adventure rider may be justified in accepting a less intrusive level of safety equipment than a professional racer.

BMW’s Miles Davis agrees.

“When it comes to adventure riding, the riding gear you wear is sort of like the tyres you use and the bike you buy and everything else. It’s always going to be a compromise. On an adventure bike you might be doing 150kph on the bitumen one minute, and then next minute you might be in first gear on single track.

“Some people lean toward motocross gear because that’s what their background is, and that’s great when you’re in the single track. Other people might lean towards leathers because that’s what they’ve worn and that’s what they know. They’re probably the two extremes. Somehow you have to find something you’re comfortable in and that still offers protection when things go pear-shaped.”

Hard versus soft

While ideas on the level of protection required may vary from rider to rider, there’ll be very few adventure riders who aren’t using some degree of protective gear combined with their riding jacket and riding pants, and most of us call it armour.

In the bike world armour falls into roughly two categories: soft and hard.

Hard armour is the type most often seen in motocross knee guards and body armour.

It’s usually inflexible, impact-resistant plastic. Areas that need to allow movement, like knees and elbows, require hinging of some kind, and the material is usually impermeable, so it doesn’t breathe. It holds a lot of heat, but it does offer excellent protection from impact and puncture incidents.

It’s usually not terribly comfortable,especially on a hot day or for long rides.

Robin Box is a good example of the development route many ex-racer adventure riders follow.

“I used to always wear full armour, both hard and soft,” said the Victorian plastics and composites expert. “But the armour I would use for racing was too hot when I started adventure riding. My fluid intake went up a hell of a lot as a result, and I think it brought on a bit of early-onset fatigue. The heat fatigue and the water consumption that the race armour caused made me change to lighten the load. I dress myself a lot more comfortably now.

“It’s a bit like adventure-riding boots compared to motocross boots. The adventure boots don’t offer the same level of protection as motocross footwear, but they offer a lot better comfort level. You have to get rid of your heavy gear so you’re nimble, cool and stay alert and don’t fall off. Inbuilt, flexible, smart armour is the most comfortable I’ve found.

Get smart

Soft armour, especially the new compounds often called ‘smart’ armour which lock up on impact but remain pliable in general use, offer a far higher degree of comfort with very little compromise in protection over hard armour.

The compromise is there, without doubt, but given the less-stressful scenario of adventure riding over racing, it’s usually considered acceptable, especially as the technology of the smart armour races ahead.

Miles Davis again.

“I’ve been wearing the BMW Rallye suit for the last 10 years, and the quality of the armour inserts is probably one of the key factors in the apparel’s safety aspect. There’s a degree of flexibility and there’s a degree of impact absorption. It’s not rigid, so it doesn’t transfer the energy of an impact straight through to the body part, but it’s not too soft and flexible.”

Miles actually gave a very convincing demonstration. He grabbed an empty bottle and smacked himself on the knee with a force that made everyone in sight cringe. Uninjured, he offered the same demonstration on anyone who cared to try, but everyone seemed to suddenly be busy checking their phones and noticing something interesting out the window.

There are a few examples of smart armour around these days. Touratech uses its own, Klim has D30 and Held has SAS TEC. The idea is the same no matter what the brand.

The protection is flexible, and therefore very comfortable to wear, until it’s needed as protection. On impact, the armour pad effectively ‘locks up’ and becomes a hard shell in a time so short it can be considered instantaneous.

Comfort zone

Undoubtedly, the biggest advantage in soft armour is comfort. Until smart armour is hit by something it’s flexible and allows very free movement for a rider, but buyers need to be wary about whether they’re being offered smart armour or just soft armour. Generally the price will be a good indication. If you can buy armour pads for the price of a couple of burger meals, it won’t be smart armour. It’ll be soft armour. Soft armour is definitely way better than no protection at all, but it’s a very far cry from the protection offered by high-tech – and more expensive – smart armour.

But comfort and convenience is a big consideration for adventure riders. Anyone who’s suited up for a serious motocross or road race will know that fitting high-quality knee braces, neck brace, back protector and various other safety items takes time and requires a bit of fiddling around. Adventure riders stopping for lunches, scenery, chats or any number of reasons would very quickly get jacked off with that ritual. Having armour segments within apparel makes everything so much easier.

“Inserts inside comfortable, all-season gear means you just grab it, put it on, and you know you’ve always got the protection inside it,” said Miles Davis. “You don’t have to mix up and protect things. It’s just straightforward.” Steve Smith, importer of Klim, agrees, but makes an interesting point.”

“You want to make sure that, although the armour inserts are convenient, they have to be in the right place to work properly,” he said, just back from a 4000km ride in the US.

“Quite often there’s a little flexibility in the fit of a jacket or pants, because everyone has different limb lengths and body sizes.

I can only speak for Klim, but you can actually adjust the positioning of your elbow pads and knee pads. There are little velcro strips that allow you to pocket the armour inside the sleeve or pant to suit your height. So if you have short arms or legs you can adjust them up.

“The thing is to spend a bit of time getting the jacket and the pant to fit your body, but also make sure the size is right.

Don’t get an extra-large if you’re a large, just because you like a lot of room to move. You want it to be comfortable, but you also want it to fit well so you don’t have the armour moving around. If you take a fall, you don’t want the armour to shift so it’s your elbow or knee that’s scraping on the ground, if you know what I mean.”

Ray Mustafa of Held Australia is another fan of smart armour for adventure riders.

“Obviously comfort is important, and it’s also important that the smart armour moulds to a rider’s body shape. Every rider is completely different, so you want armour that’s universal and can mould to an individual’s needs without expensive or time-consuming modification. It needs to be light and durable, and of course it needs to pass all the CE certifications to make sure it gives true protection.

“The SAS-TEC armour you’ll find in our Carese touring jacket is exactly the same armour as you’ll find in our world-class race suits. The SAS-TEC technology allows that high level of comfort and safety in all situations, and that versatility is important.”

Hard up

What about hard armour?

Strangely, no-one we spoke to had anything to say about hard armour, and by ‘hard’ we mean hard plastics.

Curiously, Adventure Rider Magazine’s editor uses hard-plastic AXO knee guards he’s had since the mid-1990s. And it’s not unusual to see an adventure rider open his jacket at a stop to reveal a motocross upper-body protector. There are plenty of seasoned riders who still use hard armour and feel it’s the option that best suits them, but the number changing to high-tech smart compounds seems to be rising fast.

And that’s the crux of the armour decision.

Every rider has to decide what will best suit their needs.

Have a good look at yourself and your riding. Try and see where you feel vulnerable and try and find protection to cover that vulnerability. Past injuries are an excellent indicator of areas deserving special attention.

Ray Mustafa said it well: “Some riders don’t like to ride with a chest protector, but then, if one of those riders has a decent shunt and detaches a sternum, he’ll wear a chest protector in future.”

What Ray’s saying is that choosing your armour isn’t an exact science, and what suits one rider may not suit the rider on the bike next to him, but we learn as we go.

And it’s a situation that can – and should change. As your riding style and type changes, as you age, even with a change of bike, safety requirements need to be constantly assessed and adjusted to suit.

The case for hard armour

All our industry correspondents favoured smart armour for adventure riding, but one very experienced figure was keen to ensure hard armour options weren’t dismissed.

Among his other undeniable achievements, Stephen Gall is Australia’s most senior accredited motorcycle coach and pretty much pioneered the way Australian off-road racers train and prepare, including their choices and use of safety apparel.

Now happy and comfortable on a Super Ténéré when there’s an adventure ride on offer, Gally’s still a big fan of hard armour.

“We adventure riders are playing with heavy machines over a variety of surfaces at sometimes high speeds,” said the thoughtful Gold Coaster. “After witnessing many crashes by adventure riders I’ll always lean towards the stronger, harder protection.

“The body temperature control can be varied by the careful jacket and pants selection, and correct undergarments.

“Most of us think, ‘It won’t be me that crashes,’ but, as we all know, it catches up with all of us. When it does you’ll be thankful for good personal protection!”