Body armour

I have a nasty habit of bruising my ribs under my arm because when I fall off to the side, I put my arm and then land on a rock sticking out of the ground. I am looking for some gear that is going to protect this area without being too bulky. I tried a rib guard from lacrosse but it's too thick and hot. I'm almost thinking of a tekvest, but they are expensive. If anyone has any recommendations.. please post, thanks
Laura

I did get a TekVest a few weeks ago.
http://www.tekrider.com/
This being Canadian winter, I've only used it a couple times.
It does protect the side ribs better than other systems I have tried.
It is bulky, though.
With my backpack on top it seems really bulky.

Just saw the Leatt 3DF in a magazine ad.
Looks interesting, but doesn't look to protect those short-ribs much.
http://www.leatt-brace.com/index.php/choose-your-sport/enduro/body-protector-3df
I had tried a Leatt Body Protector and didn't like it at all, returned it.

Thanks for the links Fasteer. The Leatt 3DF looks great, but I wish the foam on the sides of the ribcage were just up a little higher... Very cool product though. Hopefully tekvest makes a model for women. I'll go check their website out.

Happy Birthday.. by the way

im more scared of lancings. been harpooned off the bike more than once and thankfully the hard plastic stuff stopped it from running me through. always like the acerbis and thor chest protectors. then i went to the BJS by EVS but that was a wet blanket though i could move better. still had holes where stuff sneaks in. so i just ordered this, give it a whirl, looks fairly puncture proof to a point (got seperate elbow pads etc in gear bag). im liking the underjersey stuff now...

also- above thingy is leatt freindly. been toying with the idea of one for off-road. i rarely land on my lid but..ya know.

anyone use a neck device off-roading??? is it a trash collector and inhibitive? ive never used one.

My old acerbis armour has side rib and kidney protection. The ballistic shirts are nice but when you ride (and fall down in) heavy rock and ravines, there is no substitute for external type plastic armour. My Acerbis armour combined with the EVS padded shorts and a pair of GII knee braces make me fairly indestructable. It could use a bit more spine protection which I might add. Cam.

If you're going to use a neck brace, use an Atlas. It won't put pressure directly on your spine on a hard collision which can cause permanent spine damage and paralyzation.

My rockgardn flak jacket...never leave home without it!!
http://www.rockgardn.com/items/body-armor/flak-jacket-flak-jacket-detail.htm?1=1&menu=1

It may feel a bit more bulkier than your Thor pressure suit but hell of unit when it comes to protection.

I totally agree with you guys. Out in the desert down here, we never ride without body armor. I wear 40lbs of armor and gear when I ride.

yup. that's a good combo. use the EVS padded shorts myself too. took two nasty slap-downs on the ice last week and them shorts paid for themsevles (again).

I started wearing one of the EVS ones last year. I've taken two nasty falls since then, one resulting in bruised kidneys and one in a sprained elbow and stitches. In both cases my neck was not a bit sore the next day, and both were REALLY hard hits.

I'm a believer.

I have been using the Leatt Neck brace and Impact rig (Full Body Armour) they work well together and have tested it out 3 times now, once landing on my lid, drove helmet into brace and only ended up with a sore trapezes muscle from brace and neck only stiff next day. But if you hit the ground at 30MPH it will safe fore arm and shoulder but ribs can still be cracked. I am now used to the brace and always where it off road.