M
A while back I bought one of these flak jackets and when I was shopping not many people had used them or knew much about them so I figured I'd give you guys my review.
Pro's
- The "turtle back". I really like the piece of mind knowing I have protection going from my neck all the way to my tailbone.
- The kidney belt. I have never worn one before this, but I like how it makes the whole jacket fit tight on my body.
- It has a little pocket to put your keys in if you want to use it. I haven't used it yet, but if I was to go trail riding somewhere it'd come in handy.
- A Leatt brace fits it very well. They don't interfere at all with each other.
- Good ventilation. Everyone asks me how hot it is but I actually think it's cooler than wearing a chest protector. What I do is put an under armor hot weather shirt on underneath and no jersey. I have PLENTY of air flow to keep me "cool" while riding. I'm in Texas and I've been wearing it all summer.
- Doesn't restrict movement.
Con's
- The forearm guards are a joke. They are a great idea, but they twist around to the top of your arm and provide no protection. They are removable so I just took mine off.
- Taking it off. Putting it on is easy, but taking it off takes a little bit of work. It is about 10 times easier though with the forearm guards off. The problem is it fits snug on your arms so once you get sweaty it sticks a little so your arm doesn't just slide out.
- Not much shoulder impact protection. The little shoulder "pads" that are on it prevent getting scratched up but aren't much help in an impact situation b/c they have no support to the rest of the structure.
- It's a little heavier than your average chest protector, but nothing major.
- You can only use the Leatt brace. I spoke to one of the employee's at Rockgardn and he told me they have only used the Leatt with it and could not guarantee any other neck braces fitting it. I did try one of my friends EVS RC-Evoloution neck braces and it would not work with it.
- You look like a storm trooper from Star Wars[
].
Overall
I'm happy with it. Would I buy it again? I probably would. It's nothing I'm going to urge all of you to go buy and throw their chest protectors away, but I'd suggest looking into it. I've taken a few good spills wearing it and didn't get hurt. I can't really say if the turtle back really helps in a crash but like i said before, I really like the thought of having that protection all the way down my back. I use this for motocross but think it'd work very well for snowmobiling as well.
http://www.rockgardn.com/items/body-armor/flak-jacket-flak-jacket-detail.htm
Pro's
- The "turtle back". I really like the piece of mind knowing I have protection going from my neck all the way to my tailbone.
- The kidney belt. I have never worn one before this, but I like how it makes the whole jacket fit tight on my body.
- It has a little pocket to put your keys in if you want to use it. I haven't used it yet, but if I was to go trail riding somewhere it'd come in handy.
- A Leatt brace fits it very well. They don't interfere at all with each other.
- Good ventilation. Everyone asks me how hot it is but I actually think it's cooler than wearing a chest protector. What I do is put an under armor hot weather shirt on underneath and no jersey. I have PLENTY of air flow to keep me "cool" while riding. I'm in Texas and I've been wearing it all summer.
- Doesn't restrict movement.
Con's
- The forearm guards are a joke. They are a great idea, but they twist around to the top of your arm and provide no protection. They are removable so I just took mine off.
- Taking it off. Putting it on is easy, but taking it off takes a little bit of work. It is about 10 times easier though with the forearm guards off. The problem is it fits snug on your arms so once you get sweaty it sticks a little so your arm doesn't just slide out.
- Not much shoulder impact protection. The little shoulder "pads" that are on it prevent getting scratched up but aren't much help in an impact situation b/c they have no support to the rest of the structure.
- It's a little heavier than your average chest protector, but nothing major.
- You can only use the Leatt brace. I spoke to one of the employee's at Rockgardn and he told me they have only used the Leatt with it and could not guarantee any other neck braces fitting it. I did try one of my friends EVS RC-Evoloution neck braces and it would not work with it.
- You look like a storm trooper from Star Wars[
]. Overall
I'm happy with it. Would I buy it again? I probably would. It's nothing I'm going to urge all of you to go buy and throw their chest protectors away, but I'd suggest looking into it. I've taken a few good spills wearing it and didn't get hurt. I can't really say if the turtle back really helps in a crash but like i said before, I really like the thought of having that protection all the way down my back. I use this for motocross but think it'd work very well for snowmobiling as well.
http://www.rockgardn.com/items/body-armor/flak-jacket-flak-jacket-detail.htm
