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Forcefield Pro Shirt for overlanding - anyone? Forcefield Pro Shirt for overlanding - anyone?
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  #1  
Old 24 Sep 2014
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Forcefield Pro Shirt for overlanding - anyone?
Hi all,

I saw one of these today when picking up a new helmet. Having recently fell off and come away with a fractured shoulder, I am all of a sudden very safety conscious and have a new awareness of the limitations of the human skeleton.

My jacket is nothing fancy and just came with pretty standard armor, though I did install a decent third-party backplate. Sometimes I think with cheaper touring jackets, etc, it seems the armor can move around a bit, I certainly found this with knee protectors, so much so that they were often rendered useless by twisting around my leg (bought a set of velcro kneepads - which are great). I was thinking about ditching the internal amour and buying that shirt instead, as internet folk claim this increases comfort and possibly ventilation too...

So interested to hear if anyone any thoughts or experiences with protection such as the above mentioned? It`s around 300 USD so not cheap, but the discomfort/expensive/time loss of broken bones is much worse in the long-run. Is it overkill for touring or maybe added and valuable protection against spills? Any users out there?

Cheers!
RTW
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Old 24 Sep 2014
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Liz and I use them for our adventure so far. I had a spill on a wet wooden bridge (around 50mph) a couple of weeks ago and It did it's job, as in no serious damage to me.

They are comfortable, when wearing them they aren't really noticeable.

I'd recomend this kit to any adventure rider, also double up as a wicking base layer.
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  #3  
Old 25 Sep 2014
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Forcefield make an excellent product. It gets great reviews from many riders and is certainly 1000% better than the companies early efforts 10 years ago that I tested.

I've been impressed with rider feedback reports and am thinking of buying it myself. It IS pricey ... but I thing it's something you would use everyday.

The only question I have is how will you fare wearing it in very hot and humid
climates. At 4000 meters i'm sure it's fine, but in subtropical lowlands will you have to ditch it and ride in a T shirt?

All true about standard armor in most riding jackets moving around. It does.
The Forcefield eliminate this.

You could also look at Dainese and Alpinestar, both make similar products, but from what I've heard ... Forcefield is BEST.

Smart move on the velcro on knee protection. I've used them for years to protect the Titanium plates in my legs/ankles.

Safe riding.

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  #4  
Old 25 Sep 2014
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In terms of riding in hot places. The forcefield shirt is also a wicking base layer, so perfect for hot places and better than a tshirt in case of a crash.
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  #5  
Old 25 Sep 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fantastic Mister Fox View Post
I'd recomend this kit to any adventure rider, also double up as a wicking base layer.
I also use mine to extend a short Thermarest, a good bit of kit.
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  #6  
Old 25 Sep 2014
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Another + for armoured shirts.
Your understanding of having good fitting armour is correct.
I have an Alpinestar mesh top which can be a bit of a pain to remove when I'm hot, although not an issue when moving. I too may upgrade to a wicking top.

I also wear the Forcefield knee protectors that use Velcro. I have padded legs so purchased the L size but after 2 weeks of wearing them every day, they started to fall down. Forcefield UK swapped them for a M size free of charge
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Old 25 Sep 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fantastic Mister Fox View Post
Liz and I use them for our adventure so far. I had a spill on a wet wooden bridge (around 50mph) a couple of weeks ago and It did it's job, as in no serious damage to me.

They are comfortable, when wearing them they aren't really noticeable.

I'd recomend this kit to any adventure rider, also double up as a wicking base layer.
Hi all,

Thanks for the responses... I am very close to buying one!

Given you guys have used them for touring have you found that they held up well to heavy useage? Some complained about the stiching being weak? Any issues with this?

Cheers!!
Rtw
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Old 27 Sep 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ridetheworld View Post
Hi all,

Thanks for the responses... I am very close to buying one!

Given you guys have used them for touring have you found that they held up well to heavy useage? Some complained about the stiching being weak? Any issues with this?

Cheers!!
Rtw
some times you need to be gentle when taking them on and off. Especially after a hot days riding when you are sticky. But if you are gentle with it you shouldnt have a problem.
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