Opinions on hip protectors?
 

I think just about every riding pant I have ever owned has had hip protectors of some sort. My girlfriend is a beginner rider and is about to get new gear - and with lack of funds, she won't be shopping from the top shelves.

What we have found is that a lot of gear these days don't even have inside pockets to add protectors to later on - and very few of those that have such pockets actually supply the armor with the pant (you have to buy them separately, and sometimes from another vendor). This seems to be particular true for ladies pants. This might be because women have wider hips than men. With more diversified hip, waist and bum shape combinations among women than men, in addition to women pants often being more tailored to shape (more form fitted and tight) - the combo mat quickly lead to hip protectors becoming more uncomfortable to wear. In addition, ladies might be more concerned about their figure and how the extra padding makes them look? Or maybe it is just a matter of ladies pants often being a "pinked and shrinked mens pant - where hip protectors simply don't fit well? Whatever the reason - a lot of women pants don't offer the option of hip protectors.

How important are such protectors really? Relative to other protectors like: knee, elbow, shoulder, back, neck, toe, ankle, shin, heel, etc?

How concerned should she be about not having hip protectors?

She is a beginner rider, and her off road riding including gravel roads will be less than 10% of her riding (at least in the beginning). The more technical bits will be limited to a minimum, and everything off the pavement will be taken very carefully.

I am in particular interested to learn what our fellow women adventure riders think.

On my older riding jeans I had hip protectors, but they made the pants uncomfortable to ride in. In addition - the whole point of having such jeans in the first place was for them to look like normal pants when walking about - and with the pads in, they looked strange indeed. In addition, pulling down my pants road side - to take in/out knee and hip protectors - well it led to some odd looks. I ended up removing the hip protectors all together and only wearing knee/shin protectors - but on the outside.

Personally I'm a fan of hip protectors, and won't ride without them. Mind you I'm ATGATT all the way - now. In my early days jeans, a corduroy jacket and runners/trainers was awesome. Gloves? What for?
A few years ago a friend crashed very badly, lucky to live, and literally destroyed his hip (along with several other broken bones). A dozen screws, several plates and at least three surgeries later he's walking. He was only doing about 80k and hit a curb/traffic divider that "just jumped out". We all make mistakes.

I'm "older" and am more at risk of bone fractures, so I'm super careful. I wear riding pants with D3O pads in the hips, and for off-road, padded riding underpants too. The underpants are available from many vendors such as Dainese etc, in both ladies and mens, but watch - some are useless, just a bit of compressible foam, and designed for skateboarding or similar.
I personally think that a beginner needs at the very least MORE protection than an experienced rider. We KNOW they will fall, and one good hard fall that HURTS can put them off completely. I have seen it happen. :(
You can get less expensive gear and replace the armour with D3O, upping the protection considerably, just make sure it's possible and the fit is loose enough. Don't forget a top quality back protector.

Of course it's always a balance between great protection, riding comfort, and price. Only the two of you can make that decision.

In a typical lowside on asphalt, your hip is likely to be one of your first impact points. An impact like that can mess up your pelvic bones and/or spine. Improving your chances of not having those injuries is easily worth the twenty euros per side.

I've bought extra hip protectors for my jeans. If you find a set with pockets at least, look into Seesmart - it's very thin (and effective). Neither the hip protectors nor the knee protectors look bulky, the jeans (Rev'It Philly 2 in my case) wear like regular pants - and I've gone all day in the office in them, often.

All the 6-7 motorbike pants I have bought throughout my lifespan have had hip protectors. Wouldnt buy any new bike pants without...

I am getting more and more safety conscious and aware the older I get - mostly because the years has allowed me to get into numerous accidents and close calls myself, as well as witnessing other people getting hurt badly - and not the least, having too many people over the years who share stories of themselves having ate it in a bad way, or had it happen to someone close to them. I consider myself extremely lucky never having gotten injured.

Oddly enough though, where I have sinned the most is with my feet - even though I have been acutely aware of the fact that the most common injuries occur to namely the feet and lower legs (over 40%). On short trips where I needed regular footwear upon arrival - until recently I have often been wearing regular boots (comfortable for walking or suitable for the office). My MX/Enduro boots simply did not fit my needs all the time. I finally invested in a costly pair of Sidi Adventure 2, as well as a pair of motorcycle boots that look like regular boots. In a similar fashion I've also invested in some Rokker Rokkertech riding jeans and Leatt knee and shin guards to wear on the outside of the jeans. I sin no more!

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We decided in the end to go for the pants that neither had protectors, nor pockets to add the armor later on. We get them at 50% discount and also get them fitted to her body for only $40 - the deal is just too good to pass on with her budget. The pants do have some extra padding on the hips though - but not enough to qualify even close to a EU level 1.

I do however have armored shorts that she can use, offering superior protection over simple hip protectors in a pant (femur, hip and tail). However comfortable they are to wear all day, I still presume that the shorts will be left at home more often than not - she simply won't be bothered with the extra hassle involved unless going on a long ride. I will therefore see if I myself can retrofit some pockets/protectors once they arrive. I assume it can't be too difficult, this as I have four pair of outdated riding jeans that I could use as donors - for both pockets and armor.

Thanks for your input.

My take on it is that body armour is good for preventing bruises but less good for protecting bones. With some caveats - back protectors protect the vulnerable spinal column, and if you land on this you can do some real damage, as I found in a racing incident some years ago. On other areas I'm less convinced. If you hit a kerbstone or tree at 50 mph a bit of foam isn't going to do you any good. I do use them if they're built in to jackets or trousers but it's not a big deciding factor for me.

if you wear an "adventure type " jacket they are normally longer. and will give you some hip protection.
Best protection is the rider who rides safe and within his/ her limit and the road/ weather conditions !
Ride safe to all.............. after surviving covid you do not want a spill !! ..................:scooter:......:scooter::scooter :.................:oops2:::

For the last several years, I've switched from leather riding pants to armored denim jeans. I have a couple of pairs: one that is very heavy with extra Kevlar in the seat and knees, and armor in the knees and hips. I've never taken a spill in them, but I think if I did I'd do fairly well.

The other pair just has Kevlar lining, no armor. I almost never wear those - maybe on a hot summer day for trips around town.

I had a big motorcycle crash in Bolivia near the top of a mountain. There was snow at the last couple hundred feet to the top and I was riding at night in the rain and didn't see it.

Ended up jumping off the bike and landing on my hip (Was wearing a Aerostitch jacket). I had to do a week of bed rest after that.

Hip injuries definitely come back to haunt you later in life. It messes with the alignment of your spine and causes you lower back problems too.


The Helite airbag jackets and vests look like a great product. It would definitely take some getting used to, clipping and unclipping the teather, but I'm sure it would get to be second nature after a while.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWQbMfx8rOU