Quote:
Originally Posted by sonny
Which ICON? The field armor that I was talking about?
|
Actually, some hard armor is more dangerous to your back then soft CE 2 armor. Since the ICON has no test results available & only rely on the fact that they claim their hard plastic armor is impact resistant, well I got news for you.
Impact plastic is a misnomer. Hard plastic transfers more energy than anything and rubber does jack & shit.
Something is not always better than nothing, more spine damage is caused by shoulder or hip impact than actually striking something with your back. If you we're to strike something at a decent rate of speed directly with your spine that could bend you back wards; NOTHING will save you. Your TOAST
With the technology available today, energy absorbing soft armor is the way to go. It's more comfortable, lighter & able to absorb that impact from the highside that landed you on your back.
The Joe Rocket speedmaster back protector is one of the most energy absorbing back protectors available in the US. It is made by Tpro Forcefield and with some searching you will find a chest protector too. It passes EN1621-2 & is rated as high performance protection.
The funny thing about the Knox armor is that it's hard shell back protector transmits the full impact through the hard shell & has been tested & found to be brittle. It also only passes EN1621-2 Level 1 (CE2), which is ok for normal street riding (not hauling ass). Their soft Contour Back Protector is made of honey comb polpropeylene which might pass CE level EN1621-1 (CE1) but it has not passed any tests.