Modern Vespa

A few weeks after getting my scooter, I wanted to buy armored jeans to go along with the armored jacket, gloves and FF helmet.

I ordered a pair from Newenough only to discover that the placement of the knee protection was lining up at mid-shin (completely worthless). I tried on two more pairs at the Cycle Gear store in Allentown, PA. Different brand jeans, same problem.

Figuring it must be some sort of design problem (I think my legs are normal), I went with Icon's Field Armor Knee Protectors:
http://www.newenough.com/armor/elbow_shoulder_knee_worn_on_the_body/icon/field_armor_leg.html



Pros: virtually undetectable under all the jeans I wear, better protection than the "kevlar" no-tear pads found in most "armored" jeans, helps block the wind in the cooler weather, adjustable to fit (most), makes any pair of pants a pair of "riding pants", makes kneeling to take photos (a hobby of mine) virtually painless

Cons: keep you warmer in the warmer weather, something else to put on before going out, velcro straps could be longer for people with more full-figured/muscular calves.

I do feel more confident at speed on the scooter, maybe I am kidding myself, but I figure that a broken leg can be set, but skin grafts would be no fun. The armor itself is hard, but the patting and neoprene are soft.

I don't put them on if I am just jutting across the neighborhood to pick up some takeout or to go to the post office, but if the ride is 15 minutes away and/or involves highway speeds, then yeah, I'm wearin' 'em...

In my experience, it is easier to put these on prior to putting on your pants.

Barring that, it is easier to drop your drawers and put them on your exposed knees than it is to pull your pant legs up high enough to put them on properly (unless you are wearing really loose fitting jeans).

If you do end up pulling your pant legs up to put them on, consider putting your foot up on a chair or a few steps up on a staircase -- that makes is a little easier too.

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Combine with Icon's Field Armor Motorcycle Shorts for as complete protection as you'll likely find...
http://www.newenough.com/protective_apparel/vests_underwear_and_misc_/icon/field_armor_motorcycle_short_2.html

After tearing up my left knee after a crash I still feel the pain. Thanks for the write up. I have been thinking about getting some knee armor, and most armored pants seem to fit me the same way they fit you.

thanks!

I would be interested to know if anyone have this pair or similar knee protectors and how well they stayed in place after an accident. My road rash was more painful than the break, so I now own riding pants. They seem secure enough to stay in place ( I hope). I've read some threads where jackets and pants didn't do much because they didn't stay in place at the time of the accident.

Although my pants have a removable liner for warmer weather, I would consider knee protectors for short errands.

Nice review, Marcster....thanks for posting it.

I have a weird question - is it possible to wear these leg/field protectors on the OUTSIDE of your jeans? Or do they have to be worn on the inside?

What would be the benefits or drawbacks of outside vs inside?

I'm guessing one benefit - if you can wear them outside - would be that you don't have to get dressed specially to wear them for a ride - just strap them on and go....

What do you think?

Miguel

The problem with strapping them on over your trousers is that the velcro straps might not be long enough to keep them from coming off just when you hit the ground.

I, too, would like a simple solution. My calves, alas, are too muscular (or is that fat?) for these shields.

A motorcycle buddy of mine has a pair of these. They look very substantial, and he wears them under his riding jeans all day at work without bother. He says you don't even realize they're there after a while.

Miguel -- these couldn't be worn on the outside of your jeans unless you had calf diameters of a child. However, there are other (motorcross-style) knee protectors that could be worn on the outside. Knee protectors on the outside would protect your pants in case of a crash at the expense of fashion.

Outside protection:
http://www.newenough.com/armor/elbow_shoulder_knee_worn_on_the_body/alpinestars/bionic_motorcycle_knee_guards.html

Putting the guards I wear really isn't that big of a deal though.

TonyF -- if you were handy with a sewing machine, you could always make "extenders" for the straps on the Icon knee guards.

I was wearing a similar pair of knee pads when I crashed on my dirt bike. When I hit the ground moving, the knee pads were simply pushed out of place by the slide. I did not break anything, but I had a huge hole in my knee, tendons were sticking out, and it was quite a mess. I have a lovely scar now. I would rate those at better than nothing, and fairly useless.

Alice: I assume you were wearing something similar to the Alpinestars knee pads, not the Icon Field Armor, right? I realize none of the above may stay in place if the force of the impact is severe enough. But I would imagine/assume the Icon would have a better chance of staying on since it has a greater surface area of contact to your leg as opposed to the 2 straps of the knee pad.

I think I'm going to get a pair of the Icon's for my short rides.

Seems logical. If you're wearing over the ankle boots, it would seem as though they would prevent them from merely sliding down because of the attached shin guard. Of course, if it was bad enough it could just rip them off completely, but I don't really see these sliding down. Weird things happen when you crash, though.

Tell me about it! When I crashed my Allstate, it made me want a motorcycle...and I got one! It's good thing I have room for both in my life. I've read some comments (on another forum) where people say their cage and motorcycle fight who gets more attention. Hmmm, my rides don't talk to me. They only scream if I shift wrong.

That's a good point... I have a 32" inseam and the shin guards start about two inches above my boots. I wear these:
http://www.newenough.com/closeouts/boots/teknic/sturgis_motorcycle_boots.html

(Yeah, I've purchased most of my gear from New Enough).

Interesting product- I went down a couple of weeks ago and luckily didn't break anything but bruised both knees very badly (still colourful). I was considering some sort of athletic kneepads.

I'm using the ones made by EVS.

Pros: reasonable price, easy to put on, strong velcro
Cons: use of only two velcro strips (doesn't seem as secure as the Icon product)

I would think that even though the protectors would shift after impact leaving serious road rash, the protector should protect from a fracture at the initial point of impact. Crap, did I make sense?

Kind of like an airbag that inflates in a split second, but then deflates...

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At any rate, I have no plans to test these out to prove or disprove the theories that MVers have come up with.

Yep. And that's why you'd want to pair armor with a abrasion resistant clothing. Wearing these under regular jeans or pants, IMO, makes as much sense not wearing your seat belt in a car and just relying on the airbag in front of you. That may or may not be enough in an accident, but do you really want to just go with just "some" or "all"?

I think if you're going to commit, don't go half way. Otherwise, wear whatever and at least be 100% comfortable and super sexy.

I had these ICON knee/shin guards. They were good, but didn't like taking them on and off with all the straps and stuff. I sold them on eBay when I bought a pair of decent-enough-looking textile pants with built in armor and also wear Bohn armor pants (the long underwear ones you've seen with the really bad looking photos of the hairy dude wearing them in their ads) under leather pants or kevlar reinforced jeans.

One needs to get over their own personal issues of wearing armored panty hose under their pants, but I think they're easier to live with on a daily basis. Meaning, my daily ride in to work routine means that I change into office clothes every day, and it's just easier for me to change everything and not just pull armor off of half my legs. Of course, this assumes that you're ATGAAT and not just wearing knee guards under regular chinos.

If that isn't to your liking, see my earlier statement about being super sexy.

I'm new to this forum and this is my first post. Sort of off topic, but I have a question for those of you who tore up your knee pretty bad from a fall.

I did the same thing about 3 years ago when I crashed and have pain everyday. Did it ever recover or are you still in pain? What was your treatment, or did you get surgery?

Thanks.

A good pair of pants should have adjustable armor, on my Fieldsheer 4 Season Pants the armor can be moved up to get it in the right spot.

Wayne B

Are you sure you didn't sustain more damage than road rash? My pain (5 mos later) is due to a torn ACL and deep bone bruising. But I just had my ACL surgery, so I'm hoping that'll take care of it. It really sounds like you damaged more than skin. Should go get that checked out. Have them do a MRI and ultrasound. You may have also developed a clot, which can be pretty serious.

Joints are tricky. I fell on ice carrying equipment to the bench during my son's hockey practice, landed on my right shoulder, and it has never fully recovered. That was a year ago, and I've had tons of physio. It's gotten better, but I still have pain.

Thanks for the replies. I should have been more clear in my post. I have seen several orthopedic surgeons and still have no diagnosis. I've had MRIs and X-rays, but they're all negative. So the pain remains a mystery.

I did physiotherapy for several months, where I did stretching, strengthening and even tried orthotics for my flat feet. The pain is not life limiting, but it's very annoying and stops me from doing some things I used to. I'm only 31 by the way, so it kind of sucks having to deal with this the rest of my life.

My doc said he could do arthroscopic surgery and take a look inside, but he's not sure if he'll see anything wrong. So I'm wondering if I should give surgery a shot, or just accept that the pain won't go away.

Sorry for hijacking this thread. I probably should have started a new thread.

MRIs and X-rays won't reveal a DVT (deep vein thrombosis). If you haven't had that done yet, request an ultrasound. My surgeon was concerned about the 3+ months of swelling and had an ultrasound ordered just to rule out a DVT. I'm glad I was cleared because I wasn't too excited to start blood thinners.

Just also keep in mind any injury to joints may also lead to early arthritis. Hope they uncover your mystery pain. Best of luck!

for you situation it really need to ultrasound it , just for safety..


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Ultrasound Repair

Miguel, all-

I actually have a pair of Fox Launch shin/knee pads that I bought for mountain biking but have used on my scooter both over and under my pants. The pads have a hard plastic shell, an open cell foam layer and some kind of comfort layer...they are well articulated and quite comfortable. Perhaps the best feature is the way they attach...while you adjust the fit with velcro the first time you put them on, for subsequently taking them on and off you use a cam/tab mechanism that is molded into the plastic shell (you can see it on the lower detail shot here http://www.xsportsprotective.com/fox-launch-knee-shin-guards.html). This prevents you from wearing out the velcro which is a common occurrence on such pads and makes for quick ons and offs.

As for advantages/disadvantages of wearing them in/out...wearing them over your pants looks a little funny, but the plastic generally slides much better on asphalt than your pant legs would. The downside of wearing them under is that on warm days they can be a little hot off the bike and that--converse to the above--the fabric of your pants could snag and put you into a roll easier that the slippery plastic. In either configuration you benefit from extra wind and rock protection for your legs.

Though I have (thankfully) not put them to the impact test on my scooter, they have saved my knees and skin several times mountain biking. I have their elbow pads too, which I wish I had been wearing when I did a front 1 & 1/2 pike off my mountain bike on Friday. Fortunately it's just a flesh wound.

Hope that helps!

Don

PS - They sell the same pads for motocross as well, if that matters to ya.

Thanks for the post. Great review, and great follow-up comments. I am slowly building up my protective gear wear, and this type of information benefits so many of us!