I got a Vanson Mark II perforated jacket for my birthday (after much obsessing). It came without armor, and I'm debating what kind of armor to put in it. Obviously GP style armor would provide the most protection, at the expense of looking like the terminator all the time, and pretty much negating my desire to wear it around when I've arrived somewhere (seriously, it's a stylish enough jacket to wear off the bike). CE armor would be more comfortable, and less bulky, but obviously at the expense of protection.
For my mountain excursions/longer trips, I have an Alpinestars Octane suit, which has GP armor throughout. This jacket would be more for around town usage.
Thoughts? Should I go CE? GP?
I started with CE in my Vanson. Then I bought GP. Then I replaced it with T-Pro. Personally, I wouldn't even bother with the Vanson stuff and would go straight for T-Pro. Softer, more flexible and more energy absorbing than the GP. More protection than the CE and still flexible, but somewhat bulkier. Main T-Pro downsides: weight and cost.
The CE armor is fine to crash in (I've done it), but it's air pockets might need replacement afterward. The GP is good to crash in (done that too) and feels like it gives more protection. But the GP bruises you up because the impact is translated through the hard armor . And it grinds through the leather because the leather is pinched between the hard plastic armor and the asphalt.
If you're going to wear it off the bike a lot, you'll probably want the CE armor. Personally, I don't mind hanging around with the GP or T-Pro in the jacket. Also, the GP armor doesn't make you look like that much of a terminator b/c it fits the jacket pretty well. But the CE is substantially more comfortable than the GP and a bit more comfortable than the T-Pro and a lot lighter.
Thank you SO much - that's exactly what I was looking for. Any advice on where to get good deals on the T-Pro stuff?
Please PM me if you've got any.
Spidey, do you have any thoughts about this armored shirt from T-Pro? I could theoretically simply wear this under the perf Vanson and not put ANYTHING in the vanson itself...
http://www.kneedraggers.com/details/TPro_Body_Armor_Forcefield_Shirt--642535.html (http://www.kneedraggers.com/details/TPro_Body_Armor_Forcefield_Shirt--642535.html)
I don't have any experience with those shirts. I know that folks around here have 'em (or something similar), but personally, I've never understood gear like that shirt. I'd get one to wear under a race suit where I knew that I would wear it all the time. But for anything else, it seems like an extra hassle, and would inevitably cause me to ride around with just the jacket and none of the armor. And for an around-the-town jacket, it doesn't make much sense. You'd be wearing the shirt under the jacket and tehn take it off at your destination and carry it around with you? More often than not, I'd end up going the easy route and forgetting altogether. I'd rather have armor that I know I'm wearing all the time. It's the reason I have an in-jacket back protector in all my jackets. If I'm going on a spirited ride, I'll take out the in-jacket protector and wear a strap-on protector, but I want to be sure that I have a back protector on at all times.
I don't know of any places for good deals on T-Pro. I've bought mine from a local shop at MSRP - 10% racer's discount. It's expensive stuff. :-[
Spidey, you are full of good advice! [bow_down]
I've been debating which kind of back armor to get, and you make a great point about having an around-town jacket with no protection because you only have in-shirt-armor that you never wear around town.
I think I'm going to go with TPro back insert Shape A (medium).
(http://www.skywaymotorcycleaccessories.com/images/Tpro_back_inserts.jpg)
Sizes:
S Shape A(10.5"W x 16.5"L)
S Shape B (11.5"W x 15.5"L)
M Shape A (10.75"W x 20.5"L)
M Shape B (13.5"W x 18.25"L)
Justin at KMMotorcycleleathers.com seems to have a pretty good price on the TPRO Forcefield armor. 920-894-3730