Body Armour

Sam098765

Sam098765

Sam098765

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Joined
24 Sep 2009
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137
Guys,

I have a ski trip booked for March and have been looking at getting some body armour. This is my fifth year and I have now advanced to black runs and going ever faster. I had a small fall end of last year and it hurt my behind a lot.

I have been looking at Forcefield Imapact Shorts and Forcefield Action Shirt.

Does anyone have any experience with the above gear?

I am looking to wear them as by very base layer including the shorts which I am assuming can replace boxers?

Any pointers and steers would be great.

Thanks

Sam
 
The shorts look good, but expensive.
Get something like a core saver rather than that top. A spine protector is probably the most important thing you want and that shirt hasnt got one.

I always wear boxers under my impact shorts. If you want to wear them a few days at a time it keeps them much fresher.
 
I have some Demon impact shorts which were good when I last went. Everyone seems to rate the forcefields but I just couldn't justify the price tbh. As touch mentioned wear your boxers underneath and make sure you pull them up to the appropriate level.
 
Do you REALLY feel the need for it? I can understand if you're going to be pushing yourself, doing some heavy off pisting etc... but just for going down the pistes? Do you feel your skill levels match your speed and the style of your skiing?

I'm far from an expert, but if I go too fast or stop feeling comfortable I slow down. Sure I have balls of steel (and maybe just a little bit mad) however my skills take me down black runs fine. Sure it's not super carving lines, but I'm well withing my comfort zone. Even the one or 2 falls I have on a holiday are not really substantial ones. If I was doing some more off piste stuff then I would consider it.

I'm not saying you shouldn't get some, it just seems a little excessive to me. :) I guess what I'm asking is, are you choosing body armour as a form of mitigation for lack of skill?
 
Freefaller said:
I'm not saying you shouldn't get some, it just seems a little excessive to me. :)
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I disagree.
It will come to about £100 for a spine protector and impact shorts. Well worth it to ensure that you dont end up in a wheelchair for the rest of your life or something.

Also, it's not just your own skill level that you need to think about when your on piste, it's the others around you.

Do you wear a helmet btw?
 
Nope don't wear a helmet. :)

I do agree though that it's the others hitting you which is more likely to cause you an injury - I'm 100% in agreement with that.

However, I enjoy the freedom and the comfort of not having to be armoured up to the neck. You start you lose the enjoyment if you're so detached from the experience.

I'm not saying that he shouldn't get it, I just personally feel for my own enjoyment it would be spoiled by wearing bodyarmour. However, if it is like the padding rugby players use (i.e. to minimise bruising, and dull impacts) then sure that makes sense as it's not too invasive.

It's a personal choice, I'm not arguing he shouldn't do it, clearly he feels it's important. 24 years ago when I first learnt to ski, even as kids we didn't wear helmets - sure the technology has improved so people go faster, and the whole "liability" thing is also in place, but I don't know... it just seems excessive. However, bear in mind I'm an avid adrenaline junkie and have little fear. So I'm probably not the most rational person to discuss this with1 :D
 
It is passive padding i.e. your not armored up to the teeth. I personnally wear it because I will try things above my ability and fall. I bounce quite well but it still hurts lol
 
I can understand that, if you're pushing yourself, and going for it and you're already at a good level, then it does make sense. But after skiing 5 times, I don't really think a person is at a level where one can push oneself to the level of needing padding for self preservation? Or maybe I'm just a nutter :dunno:
 
I have never had an issue with needing protection or armour and I head down black runs happily. As mentioned, it sounds a little like you are not ready for the black runs if you feel you might hurt yourself on them.

Most people I know only wear helmets and protection if they are doing jumps or doing a lot of off piste. Hopefully on black runs you wont have too many numpties trying to take you out from behind.
 
Freefaller said:
I don't really think a person is at a level where one can push oneself to the level of needing padding for self preservation? Or maybe I'm just a nutter :dunno:
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I don't think the level the skier is at makes a difference really, the choice as to whether they wear pads or not is completely their own, if someone wants to be as protected as possible to minimise any injury even when skiing well within their skill levels then I don't see the problem.

I know nothing about skiing but I'm sure the principle is the same with any extreme sports. Mountain bike forums are littered with threads about different kinds of helmets and a discussion always breaks out with people getting the wee taken out of them because they choose to wear a full face helmet on trails where most don't for example.
 
fez said:
it sounds a little like you are not ready for the black runs if you feel you might hurt yourself on them.
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I could do a black run very safely without falling off if i wanted to. I just dont see the point in it really, i always try to push myself a little bit faster or a little bit higher - it's the only way to improve. And because of this, i fall off my board quite a lot.
 
Andelusion said:
I don't think the level the skier is at makes a difference really, the choice as to whether they wear pads or not is completely their own, if someone wants to be as protected as possible to minimise any injury even when skiing well within their skill levels then I don't see the problem.

I know nothing about skiing but I'm sure the principle is the same with any extreme sports. Mountain bike forums are littered with threads about different kinds of helmets and a discussion always breaks out with people getting the wee taken out of them because they choose to wear a full face helmet on trails where most don't for example.
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I never denied it was their choice, I'm just trying to understand the reasons, and at what stage I'd feel the need for padding myself up to nines. Furthermore, I'm not saying people shouldn't and it's perfectly understandable why - I'm just being slightly rhetorical maybe.

However from the style of the OPs question and experience it just seemed to me he's buying it to mitigate a lack of skill - that's all. :)

I wear a helmet for riding my motorbike because it's sensible and I have to. If had the choice not to wear it (which I have done in other countries) I wouldn't always choose to. Why? Because it's nice to be free and not feel constricted. In skyidving in the UK you have to wear a helmet - not because it'll save your life (because let's face it, it won't), but it reduces the chance of getting knocked out if someone hits your with a limb or if a line whips you - so it reduces the chance of head injuries. In the states, I never jumped with a helmet - it was great - it felt so so much nicer.


I guess snowboarders need more padding since they spend far more time on their arses :p
 
Thanks for the info and opinions.

We have skied the last 5 years without any protection apart from a wooly hat. We felt last year that we were a bit vulnerable if things went wrong.

Say black / red run > Ice > falling and banging something that would otherwise be a small knock.

I thought about it removing a physiological barrier as well. If you think you are going to get hurt chances you will etc.

Are there any other tops beside the forcefield that offer a nice base layer and molded protection in one? I tried on a Demon upper armour and it was very sharp and you really knew you had it on.

Edit - Also is a back protector necessary? I can understand it for snowboarding but with skiing surely its your bum and sides / shoulders?
 
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Sam098765 said:
Edit - Also is a back protector necessary? I can understand it for snowboarding but with skiing surely its your bum and sides / shoulders?
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Again that depends on what you are doing if you are jumping I'd certainly consider it.

Its all about the bails, fall > laugh > carry on when I went in january my board dug in on the nose and I faceplanted the floor (luckly I had me helmet on) I was led there on the slope for about a minute whilst all my mates where waiting for me. I was ****ing myself laughing. I think without the protection it may be another idea.
 
For snowboarding I wear dainese impact shorts - the ones with just padding. Don't wear body armour (but have it for mountainboarding). I also wear a lid and wrist protectors (have a poorly healed wrist from a very old skateboarding injury).

Personally I like the shorts for boarding but not sure I would bother for skiing.
 
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