| Spinal
Tap Simon Bradley Back protectors
are a fairly new thing, certainly when it comes to road
riders. In fact, thinking about it, I don’t remember seeing
anyone wearing a back protector, even on the track, before
the mid 90’s, and even then it was considered a little
over the top for a while. But now people are starting
to look at back protection as being right up there with
helmets as essential wear, and rightly so. As a motorcyclist
you probably don’t need reminding that your spine is terribly
vulnerable – even if you don’t hurt yourself falling off
there are still things like kerbs to bounce over – so
you probably already wear a back protector anyway. But
just in case� As you may
know, Racer are an Austrian company who are fairly
new to the UK market. They don’t have a huge product range,
but what they do have is a limited number of items all
made to an extremely high standard. And their Bodyguard
back protector is no exception – it feels solid and shows
some really good thinking in the design. Good
ideas include the fact that it comes in two parts,
joined by a zip and some of the most ferocious velcro
I have ever seen. This means that if, for example, you
are tall and fat you can get a long protector and a large
lower section. Likewise, if you’re short and thin then
you can get a smaller upper section and a small belt.
Or you can have any permutation you like from small to
extra large. Being CE approved means that after a knock
you really ought to replace the armoured sections. The
fact that in most cases that means throwing away the whole
protector generally means that this doesn’t happen, and
as a result loads of us (including me) ride around with
back protectors which may not work properly a second time.
The Bodyguard gets around that by having replaceable CE
parts which are reasonably priced and readily available.
They’re also quite easy to change, which is a novelty.
It’s also nice to wear a back protector which doesn’t
make me overheat. The Bodyguard is vented, is covered
in a wicking material and is mainly made of leather, all
of which work together to make wearing it, even on a hot
day, far less unpleasant than it might otherwise be. I’ve not used
this in anger yet, and hope to avoid doing so for
a while yet. But I have ridden about 2000 miles in the
four weeks since I got it, including a track day, and
I can say without a doubt that it is far more comfortable
than the one it replaced. As well as being cooler and
lighter, the design makes it much less restrictive when
I’m moving around on the bike – something I admit that
I do a lot, especially on track days. The shoulder straps
look as though they should be uncomfortable but aren’t,
despite not being elasticated, and the waistbelt is soft
and wide. In fact, the only criticism I can level at the
Bodyguard is due to the fact that the test one we have
is too big for me at the waist (beggars can’t be choosers,
it seems) and the waist belt is a little loose as a result. Overall
this is a well designed, well made product that I am confident
to use and would not worry about in the event of everything
going pear shaped. Allied to the extremely competitive
price of just �59.99, this is a very attractive back protector
which is certainly worth a look when you’re next in the
market. | Price | £59.99 recommended retail | | Comfort | 4 Star | | Protection | 4 Star | | Overall | 5 Stars – Highly recommended | |
Racer back protector review and spinal protection tips
Spinal
Tap
Simon Bradley
Back protectors
are a fairly new thing, certainly when it comes to road
riders. In fact, thinking about it, I don’t remember seeing
anyone wearing a back protector, even on the track, before
the mid 90’s, and even then it was considered a little
over the top for a while. But now people are starting
to look at back protection as being right up there with
helmets as essential wear, and rightly so. As a motorcyclist
you probably don’t need reminding that your spine is terribly
vulnerable – even if you don’t hurt yourself falling off
there are still things like kerbs to bounce over – so
you probably already wear a back protector anyway. But
just in case�
As you may
know, Racer are an Austrian company who are fairly
new to the UK market. They don’t have a huge product range,
but what they do have is a limited number of items all
made to an extremely high standard. And their Bodyguard
back protector is no exception – it feels solid and shows
some really good thinking in the design.
Good
ideas include the fact that it comes in two parts,
joined by a zip and some of the most ferocious velcro
I have ever seen. This means that if, for example, you
are tall and fat you can get a long protector and a large
lower section. Likewise, if you’re short and thin then
you can get a smaller upper section and a small belt.
Or you can have any permutation you like from small to
extra large. Being CE approved means that after a knock
you really ought to replace the armoured sections. The
fact that in most cases that means throwing away the whole
protector generally means that this doesn’t happen, and
as a result loads of us (including me) ride around with
back protectors which may not work properly a second time.
The Bodyguard gets around that by having replaceable CE
parts which are reasonably priced and readily available.
They’re also quite easy to change, which is a novelty.
It’s also nice to wear a back protector which doesn’t
make me overheat. The Bodyguard is vented, is covered
in a wicking material and is mainly made of leather, all
of which work together to make wearing it, even on a hot
day, far less unpleasant than it might otherwise be.
I’ve not used
this in anger yet, and hope to avoid doing so for
a while yet. But I have ridden about 2000 miles in the
four weeks since I got it, including a track day, and
I can say without a doubt that it is far more comfortable
than the one it replaced. As well as being cooler and
lighter, the design makes it much less restrictive when
I’m moving around on the bike – something I admit that
I do a lot, especially on track days. The shoulder straps
look as though they should be uncomfortable but aren’t,
despite not being elasticated, and the waistbelt is soft
and wide. In fact, the only criticism I can level at the
Bodyguard is due to the fact that the test one we have
is too big for me at the waist (beggars can’t be choosers,
it seems) and the waist belt is a little loose as a result.
Overall
this is a well designed, well made product that I am confident
to use and would not worry about in the event of everything
going pear shaped. Allied to the extremely competitive
price of just �59.99, this is a very attractive back protector
which is certainly worth a look when you’re next in the
market.