Anybody use "Crash Pads" protective gear?

[EdLennon]

I'm tired of being bruised and scraped up on Mondays so I've been looking into the "body armor" type protective gear. I've looked at the various brands (661 , Azonic Z5, Bombshell B2, Dianese, etc) but the Crash Pads brand seemed to catch my eyes.

They look like they have a ton of protection and seems to have complete coverage. I'm looking at their "Upper Body Bike" and "Pro Pant with Tail Shield" pants. I'm currently using the EVS SX02 knee braces so I'm not looking for a full length pant.

(I know...I know...if I could just stay upright on Sundays, this wouldn't be a problem...but you know...things happen)

Anybody use this stuff or know someone who does? Just wondering about the quailty and protection.

Thanks,
Ed Lennon

 

[altagirl]

I have a pair of crash pads shorts - haven't tried them under my MX pants yet, but I've used them for racing DH and they work fine. My only complaint is that they feel a little bulky, depending on what I'm wearing them with. No problems with durability, but I haven't worn them that much, so it doesn't mean anything at this point.

I have the Azonic Z-5 body armor jacket - which I absolutely love. I use it both when I'm on my motorcycle and on my DH bike. Comfortable, ventilates well, and has held up to an unfortunate amount of wrecking. ;)
Definitely has prevented a lot of scrapes and bruises for me. The only thing I had to figure out was to keep the straps on the elbow guards tight enough so it doesn't slide around - when I left them loose, the mesh underneath ended up scraping my skin in a fall. But since I've tightened everything properly, I've been scratch free. (Wish I could say that's because I've been crash-free, but that's not the case!)

 

[Nathan Mark]

I have the 661 body armor. It's a little warmer to wear than a standard chest protector but the protection is hard to beat. I've had some horrific crashes in it and never felt a thing, two days ago I took a nasty kick going through some large whoops (4 feet high, 18 feet apart peak to peak). I was doubling through on a new line and found a bit of a square edge at the bottom of one of the whoops. The back end kicked so hard ( I was too slow on the throttle! ) I was completely inverted still in the riding position when I hit the top of the whoop I was doubling into, the bike slammed me then continued it's flip back onto its wheels. My friends joked that I should have held on and rode it out !
The end result was nothing more than a sprained wrist, no scrapes, no bruises.
I went around to quite a few mountain bike shops (they stock lots of different kinds of body armor) to try on different brands.I found the 661 to be the most comfortable (I forget I'm wearing it when riding) and offer the best quality and level of protection for the money.The dainese was nice to but fairly pricey,rockgardn was basically the same as 661, I didn't try on the crash pads brand as nobody here carried it, but all the others were either of less quality or level of protection.
So I give the 661 pressure suit a big thumbs up !