Last spring I bought some gear for the tour of the southwest on my VStrom; a Nolan N30 helmet, tough knuckle-armored biking gloves, waterproof armored riding boots. Seeing as I was heading into what I thought would be a hot, sunny desert climate and that in any case I'd soon be riding in tropical Thailand again, I bought a pair of open mesh cycling pants from Cycle Gear in Sacramento. Cycle Gear is a nationwide motorcycle accessories chain whose in-house brand is named Bilt. They offer a wide selection of fairly good quality gear at reasonable prices. The Bilt pants I purchased have conventional armor, that is to say plastic, knee protection and an external padded area on each hip to help prevent injury in the event of a fall. But I was never impressed with the sturdiness of those little buffer pads.As I was stashing the pants in the closet before returning to the states I noticed they were fitted with two internal velcro-flapped pockets, one over each hip, that I had overlooked before. The pockets were empty but obviously designed to hold armor pads. Strange to have pockets with nothing in them, I thought. But then, I only paid 100 bucks for them. What should I expect for that price? Once here in Eugene I decided to visit the local Cycle Gear shop in search of some genuine hip protection, ideally something made to fit those pockets. With the help of the friendly staff there I discovered D30. After a short and convincing demo in the store I ordered these hip pads and then did a little research. Here's the main d30 site. And here is a Wikipedia article.
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| D30 pads, left one is in its velcro equipped holster - $25/pair |
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| Here's some folks from Gizmag.com "testing" some D30 armor |
Apparently D30 has found wide application as a lightweight and comfortable body armor for snowboarders, police and corrections personnel, even in cases for smartphones (naturally). The first link below is to a short YouTube video from the online motorcycle store "Go AZ Motorcycles" out of Scottsdale, Arizona.
Video: In store demo from GoAZ.com
I tried the demo with a hammer on my own hand and I can tell you, the D30 works as claimed. I felt force and pressure but nothing that would bruise or break a bone.
This next one isn't about the trademarked product "D30" in particular, at least as far as I know, but about an amazing combination of a polymer, polyethylene glycol, and silica that has found its way into body armor of all sorts. The claims are similar to the ones made for D30 and I'm assuming this the same product or a precursor. And it's cool. The video is also a bit longer but if you have any interest at all in body armor it's certainly worth the 9 minutes you'll spend watching it. Towards the end you'll see some fabric reinforced with liquid armor that repelled a sharp, steel tipped hunting arrow with impunity.
Video: Liquid Armor.
Here are just a couple more:
On the properties of D30 before shaping into a pad: How does D30 work?
D30 was originally used as a protective layer in ski caps. Watch "Smack me on the head with a Shovel."
In one of the videos you can see entire sets of pads being offered to replace the ones that came with your old gear. That might be a good investment. I hope I never have the need to test these pads "in the field" but if I do, I bet they will help defend my tender parts against a bad case of road rash.
Now that I've spent a bit of time writing this, I'll probably learn that many of you already knew about D30. If so, the laugh's on me. Please consider leaving a comment if you got anything out of this....
^_^
From my experiences falling off of motorcycles, what you mostly need is abrasion resistance. Impact resistance/cushioning is great, but mostly you're going to slide for what seems like forever. You want a material that will not grind through before you come to a stop.
ReplyDeleteMy wallet in my back pocket literally saved my butt one time. As I was sliding I kept wondering why my butt didn't hurt, until after I stopped and discovered the half-ground through wallet with all the bills inside ground in half.
Anonymous, you have a valid point. You should always wear abrasion resistant clothing when motorcycling. However, this stuff should resist abrasion pretty well and would also protect you from an injury resulting from falling on a nasty old rock or an elbow or knee that comes down sharply on hard pavement. I can't see any downside to D30.
DeleteUmm, I think getting into motorcycling will be an expensive sport just for the clothing and protective gear.
ReplyDeleteDan, you can do as much or as little of this as you want. Good safety gear is expensive, there's no getting around that.
DeleteIn the U.S., where most riders spend large sums of money on gear do it because the ride's going to be the focus of an entire day (weeks?) of motorcycling. They'll solidly advocate ATGATT (All The Gear All The Time), and with good reason. But in Thailand when you're only riding to the grocery or the bank, i.e., you're using your bike for ALL of your everyday transportation, you're simply not going to find it practical to suit up all the time. Yes, you're taking a risk "riding light" but it's unrealistic to expect yourself to don all your gear every time you jump on your bike.
On the other hand, when you find yourself wanting to ride the country roads at speed or for extended periods of time, all of the riders I hang with emphatically advocate and use armored gear. And we wear our helmets all the time.
Dave, is there anything I really need to buy in the US before getting to Thailand... ie good helmet, etc? I know you can get anything there, but what about quality?
ReplyDeleteYou are better off buying a good helmet stateside. They're cheaper here and if you go to a large dealer, you'll be able to pick and choose from many styles and makers to find the perfect helmet. Big ticket brands like Arai and Shoei are available in Bangkok for sure but are going to be more expensive than in the states.
ReplyDeleteI like WebBikeWorld for their comprehensive reviews and tests: www.webbikeworld.com
I bought my Nolan N90 flip-up based on their review and I'm very happy with it.
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