Armor upgrade: Icon Viper Pro back protector D3O , level 2 CE rating
Thought I’d add a little follow up on this. My mesh jacket gets the most use here ,given my hot climate and the one area that I have always thought was weak was the thin foam back protector. While it felt like it would do an ok job reducing abrasions, it didn’t feel like it would offer much impact protection and I felt like your spine is probably the one place where you would really want protection. My jacket is a Joe Rocket 5.0 , this is the standard foam back protector.
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What I purchased for a replacement is D3O armor ( that’s Dee Three
Oh, not zero ). There are tons of videos on YouTube demonstrating it if you’re interested. I bought one sold by Icon , which came the closest to matching the shape of my existing back protector. D3O is a company in the UK who makes this proprietary polymer , they initially received a contract from the government to make energy absorbing material for military personnel armor. It is also used for for all sorts of applications, sportswear, work wear, motorcycle gear and phone cases, to name a few. Until now, if you wanted to step up to CE level 2 protection, you had to go with armor that typically is multi layered and pretty stiff.
D3O is made primarily from closed cell polyurethane foam with their proprietary polymer added to it. This polymer has a unique property. It is very flexible until an impact, then the molecules lock together to disperse the energy, and then immediately release and become flexible again.
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The ribbed side goes towards your back for airflow. Many of the ventilation holes were skimmed over from the molding process. I took a few minutes and opened all the air holes back up.
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Here is a side by side of the new compared to the old. It’s not an exact match, but as close as I could get in this product. ( note: I could get an exact match with armor made by Forcefield which is top rated, but stiff )
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And installed in my jacket. It moved around just a little. It would’ve been ok, but I’m kind of a perfectionist, so I did a little hand stitching of the mesh pocket so it doesn’t move.
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Nice ..looks like it will perform better than the original stuff...hopefully you'll never have to find out..I have never done armor upgrades...Interested in your long term report...
It’s a little heavier ( not much ) , it’s about twice as thick but more flexible than the original foam. And it should offer substantially more impact protection. Hopefully I’ll never have to test it. It’s been too hot to ride test it, but I did try the jacket on and I think it’ll feel just fine.
This back protector costs $45 just about everywhere. There is a thinner CE level 1 version available for about $30, which would still be a substantial upgrade from the standard foam.
If ultimate protection was my goal, I’d go with Forcefield Pro Lite K for about $80, but it feels like a turtle shell. Forcefield also makes the Isolator 2, a level 2 foam back protector for $60, which I had considered. It is also highly rated.
Additionally all of this aforementioned armor is available for elbow, shoulder knee and hip protectors.
I’ll check back in here with a little follow up later after I’ve worn it a while.
-Bob