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Old 15-09-2019, 06:18 AM   #6
yellowfever
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: London
Bike: S2r 1000
Posts: 172
SAS-tec: German company. The cheapest (at least at normal retail prices) and the largest range of shapes and styles, so they offer loads of options for coverage, venting, thickness and performance. Website not always super clear e.g. which dimension is which but they are very helpful and responsive to emails in English, so great customer service. Only some of the range is available with velcro attached however. They do pretty well on performance, though Forcefield are typically better for same or less thickness (for instance Forcefield isolator 2 shoulder armour is 12mm thick and passed level 2 at 11.08kN SAS-tec sc1/03 shoulder armour passed level 2 at a nearly as good score of 13kN, but was also slightly thicker at 13mm). SAS-tec also don't test in optional hot and cold conditions (unlike Forcefield). The armour is generally a similar weight to Forcefield (both are typically lighter than D3O). Material is pretty soft and flexible - maybe between Forcefield (generally a bit harder/stiffer) and D3O (the most flexible/softest). Venting can be pretty limited/non-existant depending on exact model chosen. For me they looked best either for kit that was a bit loose where you deliberately want thicker armour to ensure it's snug and stays in place or where you want extra/different coverage. I found their shoulder armour in particular offered something extra in terms of coverage beyond just the outside of the shoulder. Good price and customer service too.

D3O: well known orange coloured armour and provide lots of OE armour in decent kit (often branded to their partners brand). More limited range than SAS-Tec but still plenty of options. Performance is up there especially on the T5 evo pro X and LP2 pro ranges, for instance the T5 evo pro shoulder armour passes at around 10kN, slightly better than Forcefield and SAS-Tec offerings but this is also thicker than both the others at 14mm. The D3O LP2 pro passes at a nearly as good 12kN but is thicker still at 15mm. Some D3O armour is tested at optional hot and cold as well, some not (informative website gives the details). My main issue with D3O is the limited coverage, it's consistently got a smaller coverage area than other offerings (often quite markedly so), so the risk of the armour not being between a hard object and you in a crash is higher. And despite being smaller it's also heavier than SAS-tec and Forcefield. On price, it's more expensive than SAS-tec and a similar cost to Forcefield. Some options have good breathability. The real draw for D3O is its flexibility and softness. It's much less rigid than the SAS-tec and Forcefield offerings, so some people may prefer D3O for that, and also if you have small armour pockets this will still fit where other armour may be too large.

Cont/
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