joeyd,

I wear a kidney belt and it does help. I never noticed my sides hurting when not wearing it. It does help my lower back.

 

<< Yes but some people /kids /adults get the illusion of invincability(sry about spelling) with gear. The chest protector is better than a jersy but it wont stop a bullet or 400lbs of machine. Thats all I was trying to say. >>




Hmmmm....even in this forum, I doubt if there is anybody dumb enough to infer they can substitute a chest protector for a kevlar vest. Get real.

As far as stoping a quad, I got hit on the kidney, and the quad drove through with enough force to break one of my pedicles (small bone on the spine) without actually hitting my spine. I tend to think I may have avoided a break altogether had I been wearing a chest protector with full back coverage, combined with a kidney belt with hard plastic on the back. It's no substitute for avoiding the crash in the first place, but when you ride a machine that's as fast and heavy as a sport quad, you can never have too much gear on.

vraptor, yikes!! That had to hurt!

 

Yes, you should always wear protective gear. If you don't believe me just look at bigscrambler's latest post

<< banchees are the best yamaha that was ever made >>

. He must have been riding his scrambler without any gear, wrecked and scrambled his brain. Then instead of using the insurance money for his much needed brain transplant he went and bought a banshee.

 

i know a set of boots would have saved my ankle/leg and the cost of having surgary to have my ankle ang leg put back togather with 2 pins in my ankle six and plate in my leg
if you are woundering my toe it rocks i was going over and then pulled my leg underneath the quad/back wheel
and for all you think that you are young and you will heal quickly think I am 16 (will be 17 in just over a week)agine i did all this two weeks before thanksgiving and still cant still cant ride any thing faster than 2nd gear and if my engine is cold i have to start it with my right foot

 

Crash and get injured once, and you decide really quick that the best equipment is now cheap enough for you.

The chest protector will not save you from your quad, but it may help to diffuse the impact to a wider area. I have flown off my machine (with full equipmen) to hit a major rock with my back, and walk away. No protector, no walk. Having your full equipment on at all times just improves your chances of reducing the injury.

In fact I have also found that if you get hurt, and you immediately stop riding for the rest of the day, reduces your healing time. (Jumping my 400EX, and got sucked under the rear tire. Rode for the rest of the day, and back at camp, couldn't even walk on my knee. Took me 3 weeks on crutches. Ouch. Wish I would have iced it right away.)

Get good equipment, and wear it all the time. Especially if you have to work on Monday.....

RM