California Riding without any chest protection..?

[RabidDove_NorCal]

I have taken a great liking to riding without anything covering my core. Am I tempting fate by doing so? Does anyone else ride without any chest protection?

I was reading about Nathan Wood. Granted I am not jumping table tops, but it got me thinking about even slow moving falls and hits to the chest...

[Dust_Devil]

By all means, ride with no protection.

I have shattered the front of a Moose XCR chest protector (smashed chest first into a jagged rockpile) so I will continue to wear one.

[hockdog]

I'm old and don't absorb falls as well anymore, things break now... Stuff happens out there, don't tempt fate, use a condom.

[RabidDove_NorCal]

By all means, ride with no protection.

I have shattered the front of a Moose XCR chest protector (smashed chest first into a jagged rockpile) so I will continue to wear one.

Snarky!

I will take this as a vote for chest protection....

[KennyMc]

I am going on two weeks now and my two upper most ribs on the right side are still pretty sore. Hurts when I cough, sneeze, try to pick things up. Just a pain, nothing major. Fell off going about 3 miles an hour down a technical, rocky single track. Landed in the rocks on my chest. I could not imagine what I would feel like today if I was not wear my chest protector. My suggestion is to get one. ?

[Dumb_Fee]

Practically every old chest protector I have is cracked in the front

[Speed-Freek]

I have 4 broken chest protectors, now I wear a FOX full body armor cause I do "stuff" that could end up bad, and I am scared..and due to all the scrapes and scuffs on it you can tell I use it!!

[J_YZ2fittyX]

Ill always wear one. I just dont think it hinders me at all, at least to a point i notice. If Im flyin along in the trail and get off, land on a log with some points to it...id rather have it on for the CHANCE it could deflect it. Also would seem like it would help distribute blows. But its all my opinion, so take it as such.

[CR250_182]

I really won't ride without some type of chest protection. I used to wear a hard plastic sixsixone protector, but I decided to change to a Thor Sentinel because it fits better with my leatt (please no one start the leatt debate)....

[J_YZ2fittyX]

I really won't ride without some type of chest protection. I used to wear a hard plastic sixsixone protector, but I decided to change to a Thor Sentinel because it fits better with my leatt (please no one start the leatt debate)....

Come on, you cant say words like leatt, 2stroke, 4stroke, or js7 without starting a way off topic debate. lol

[BigMattyG]

I agree with everyone here, you should definitely wear some sort of chest protector, that being said, I don't wear any kind of core support or protection, they make me hot and my helmet hits the neck in the front and the shoulders on the sides, it's just in my way, not saying its right just telling you your not alone

[paulskirocks]

The times I crashed without pads, I got really hurt... The times I crashed with pads, I didn't get hurt much at all... Coincidence? I don'd know, but I always wear full core protection...

[KennyMc]

Come on, you cant say words like leatt, 2stroke, 4stroke, or js7 without starting a way off topic debate. lol

JS is down AGAIN??

[helix66]

I have 4 broken chest protectors, now I wear a FOX full body armor...

Which one do you use?....I got one of the titan, for me all the gear all the time.

The asterisk cells a have been a high value item too.

[SILENTSHOK]

Not a good idea. Ride with as much protection as you can ?

[RabidDove_NorCal]

I actually have the Fox Titan full body armor. I just overheat. Have my entire life, it is just something I bear. Ran myself sideways as a kid playing soccer, would puke even in college. More than one occasion had to strip and take an immediate ice cold shower after a BJJ or boxing fight leaning against the wall to hold me up.

And riding gets you to that point quick for me. Doesn't help I am way outta shape.

But you guys are really making me think. Multiple busted chest protectors? Eesh! Sounds like I may be playing with fire if I am wanting to push the technical and not wearing one. I appreciate the responses all....I think I will go with one...just not the full body armor.

[Dust_Devil]

Forget the rocks, if you hit head on with a rabid dove you are gonna be hurtin.

[Cube Steak]

.....

Edited April 14, 2013 by Jeff aka BOLT

[superslyko]

Hey!

I once got speared by a manzanita bush. I didn't even think twice about it riding up the trail.............. I saw it............. thought it would just bend............. no biggie. It hit me just in the stomach & did not bend. It acted like a javelin. Ripped me off the bike!

The chest protector shattered like a spider web. This all happened in BFE. If I wasn't all padded up I'd be dead.

Enough said.

[Speed-Freek]

I even wear full protection jacket in the dead of summer because I am certain I will crash sooner or later, been riding my whole life and know "incidents" happen at the most inopportuned times, apparently I dont choose when to make love with dirt or rocks.

My take is if your ALWAYS protected your chances of getting hurt really bad are minimized as much as one can control, I was 30 minutes away from death as a teenager racing a hare scramble (back then there werent jackets like today,this was in 1987) and with a punctured lung, lacerated spleen and kidney (from the broken ribs), broken L. hand and L.foot and collarbone and 4 ribs, I would had probably faired much better in that situation, even then I was wearing a chest protector, but the handlebar got under it and hit me.

I kept riding after coming to and at the next checkpoint they pulled me off the course due to medical (one pupil was fully dialated) since I also had a pretty good concussion, half a front fender and no helmet visor..but isnt a protective jacket restrictive? Kinda, but to me its worth the burden...