Haven't made a final decision yet, but leaning towards the vest and not the tee. I don't normally take shoulder impacts, but I was contemplating fabbing up something myself.
POC Armor?
- Thread starter ebarker9
- Start date
Ha - I was thinking about the same thing. But then I decided that I didn't know how I could fab up some shoulder pads. I may just go with the tee.
I thought that some people might be interested in a recent review of the Cortex DH
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/poc-cortex-dh-helmet-2009.html
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/poc-cortex-dh-helmet-2009.html
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ebarker or something like that, when will you be at diablo?
Probably not for a couple of weeks...going to be off on vacation. The Diablo shop carries most of the POC stuff now if you want to check it out, with the exception of helmets.
Do you know if they normally have a med. in the store for the vest?
Don't know...probably, but you can always call them.
Last time I was there (Diablo, ~3 weeks now) they didn't have the VPD knee or elbow gaurds. Only the stormtrooper style knee/shins and elbow/forearm. And they only had the VPD tee, not the spine, errr vest.
Has anybody taken a good direct hit to the kneecap with your knees bent with the vpd bone leg pads (i.e. the impact would have been absorbed completely by the vpd material)? I'm looking for a new set of pads that protect the area above the knee better than my knee-saving roach fr pads.
These pads look promising, but I'm a little wary of their design on how there's no hard plastic shell overtop your kneecap.. only your shin.
These pads look promising, but I'm a little wary of their design on how there's no hard plastic shell overtop your kneecap.. only your shin.
I dont have any experience with vpd (poc stuff) but i used the 661 with the d3o all summer. I got some solid hits on them some that would have certainly destroyed my knees. It's sure that you can feel the impact a bit more than with an hard shell but for the comfort i wouldn't change them for anything else. The worst that i got is a bruise and some sort of rubbing mark from a bit of material rub on impact but the pad himself stay in place. I guess the poc would be a bit similar.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.
I've been using the shin guards for the last 3 months. They actually stay in place and are really comfortable. Today, a 8x4" rock bounced up into my shin and I was glad I had them on.
I've done a full season on the VPD Bones and haven't managed to injure my legs in any way except to bruise the inside of my thigh just above my knee. The VPD part feels very hard if you rap on it with your knuckles, but if you push your thumb into it, you can slowly push through it. I've smacked it a few times and never had any injuries. It takes a while before you get any confidence in it though, because it doesn't look protective. Don't know how it'd go with a sharp rock though, I think the times I've smacked it have been on my handlebars/frame. In any case, it protects up to a few inches above the top of your kneecap, which is definitely better than anything else I've tried.
I've also owned Roaches (2 sets) and found that they were pretty good in terms of protection and not moving when you crash, but both my sets fell apart (knee cups cracked and stitching came undone on the shin pads pretty quick on both) and were less free-moving than the POCs. They also got pulled down a couple of inches in crashes a few times, meaning the tops of my knees got hit/scraped, which hasn't happened to me so far with the POCs.
The thing that annoys me about the POC shinnies though, is that the orange rubbery connector between kneecap and shin plate pops off pretty easily. This means that the two hard plates click against each other, and the knee cup sits down, and out from your kneecap a little bit further than it should. This means that when you bend your knee, there is a considerable gap between the knee cup and VPD upper knee protector (maybe 1-1.5" or so). No part of your leg is left directly exposed, but dirt gets down there pretty easy (not really sure how but it does) and while I haven't had it happen yet, it seems like if you went down head-first, that gap between knee cup and VPD thing could provide a pretty solid edge for a rock to catch and rip the whole guard off your leg, or at least pull it well out of the way so your leg catches damage instead.
However, for the most part I like them. They're comfortable, free-moving, you get NO chafing because they don't move relative to your leg, and so far mine haven't failed me in a crash. They also have probably the best strap system I've used, it's super quick, doesn't annoy me and seems to keep the things in place. It is kind of weird working out how they're meant to sit on your leg though, where they naturally want to sit places the knee cup a little bit lower than a conventional shinnie, because it doesn't need to be kept up so high to protect the top of your kneecap. Once you get used to that though, they don't get in the way and they stay put.
When these eventually die I'll almost certainly get another set, they're not perfect but they're the best I've used.
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Thanks for the solid review Socket, that really sways me to get them now, especially since you are coming from the pad I currently wear and have had the same issues with them. (I still think the roach fr pads are great despite this!.. just not perfect)
crohnsy, for the longest time I thought that part would stay on your kneecap too, until I saw them in person. Take a look what happens when you bend your knee:
When you bend your leg, the hard knee pad drops down to your shin. This exposes your kneecap which is just protected by the 3dO stuff at that point.
Sounds like Socket has tested them well however.
It would have been nice if they stuck an extra hard plastic shell up there like they do with the arm guards.
edit:
Thought I would point out the elusive poc sizing guide:
http://www.pocsports.com/products/sizeguide.asp?season=Bike
crohnsy, for the longest time I thought that part would stay on your kneecap too, until I saw them in person. Take a look what happens when you bend your knee:
When you bend your leg, the hard knee pad drops down to your shin. This exposes your kneecap which is just protected by the 3dO stuff at that point.
Sounds like Socket has tested them well however.It would have been nice if they stuck an extra hard plastic shell up there like they do with the arm guards.
edit:
Thought I would point out the elusive poc sizing guide:
http://www.pocsports.com/products/sizeguide.asp?season=Bike
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I picked up a pair after I cracked my rockgardns in half. Really. I have tried 661, protec, and fox as well. These are hands down the best. Being a chick, it is hard to find knee/shin guards that stay up for more than a run - and these stay up all day.
I rode at Plattekill their last weekend in them, on a new bike, in the snow. Let's just say I ate **** more than once. (I think a couple guys on here saw one of the more spectacular ones from the lift...lol.) Even with all of the crashes, I didn't hurt my knees at all that weekend. Not even an ache. Thinking about it now, I'm shocked at how well they worked. I mean, christ - I took a chunk of paint off of my helmet in one of the crashes down to the fiberglass.
Oh - and my knees are pretty fragile. I have rheumatoid arthritis, and when I first started riding I broke my kneecap in half while wearing rockgardns. I never had my kneecap fixed, so it still has the line across it.
(The rockgardns wouldn't stay up correctly, and the edge of the hard plastic was in the middle of my knee when I crashed. The crack lines up perfectly with the edge, even the downward curves. Why in the hell I continued to wear them for another year until I cracked the plastic in half, only the sleeping hamster upstairs will ever know.)
I rode at Plattekill their last weekend in them, on a new bike, in the snow. Let's just say I ate **** more than once. (I think a couple guys on here saw one of the more spectacular ones from the lift...lol.) Even with all of the crashes, I didn't hurt my knees at all that weekend. Not even an ache. Thinking about it now, I'm shocked at how well they worked. I mean, christ - I took a chunk of paint off of my helmet in one of the crashes down to the fiberglass.
Oh - and my knees are pretty fragile. I have rheumatoid arthritis, and when I first started riding I broke my kneecap in half while wearing rockgardns. I never had my kneecap fixed, so it still has the line across it.
(The rockgardns wouldn't stay up correctly, and the edge of the hard plastic was in the middle of my knee when I crashed. The crack lines up perfectly with the edge, even the downward curves. Why in the hell I continued to wear them for another year until I cracked the plastic in half, only the sleeping hamster upstairs will ever know.)
Thats not at all how I pictured them to sit with a bent knee. hmm.Thanks for the solid review Socket, that really sways me to get them now, especially since you are coming from the pad I currently wear and have had the same issues with them. (I still think the roach fr pads are great despite this!.. just not perfect)
crohnsy, for the longest time I thought that part would stay on your kneecap too, until I saw them in person. Take a look what happens when you bend your knee:
When you bend your leg, the hard knee pad drops down to your shin. This exposes your kneecap which is just protected by the 3dO stuff at that point.
It would have been nice if they stuck an extra hard plastic shell up there like they do with the arm guards.
edit:
Thought I would point out the elusive poc sizing guide:
http://www.pocsports.com/products/sizeguide.asp?season=Bike
Since I'm getting back into dh riding next season I ordered myself a full POC armour setup Spine Tee, Joint knee and joint elbow. I used to wear 661 pressure suit and race lite shins. I never liked wearing my pressure suit wishing it was less cumbersome so i ended up selling it because I was tired of it sitting in my closet.
I really like the look of this stuff in terms of mobility and not feeling like its restricting anything and reviews seem to be all positive.
Bummer for me I don't my gear until spring sometime...
If I understand this VPD stuff correctly, nelsonjm, I don't think comparing it to D3O does it any justice. high).
I don't know if anyone posted this but Universal Cycles has POC stuff now!
http://www.universalcycles.com/company.php?Company=POC
http://www.universalcycles.com/company.php?Company=POC
pft I posted that already you cant repost
Okay, I'll get slapped endlessly for this. Buy WTF doesn this sh** have to be white?
really.
trend over.
Please.
really.
trend over.
Please.
haha huck banzai you're right
still
the POC stuff is the best fitting and working protection i ever used...
coming from dainese... which i loved dearly for quite some time.
still
the POC stuff is the best fitting and working protection i ever used...
coming from dainese... which i loved dearly for quite some time.
Dont know if this is posted but looks like QBP will have POC in stock 2/1/10
Just placed an order for POC Bone elbow and knee/shin stuff. I couldn't wait, and hucknroll.com had them (and they offer free shipping on $big$ orders, including on the returns + a 30 day unconditional return policy). I hope to have updates on my impressions next week.
The Bone elbow and knees arrived yesterday. I ripped open the box and threw the pads on immediately. The first thing I was impressed by was the packaging: nice plastic bags with HANGERS included! Opening the plastic, it smelled like a Footlocker shoe store; I'm not sure what the common ingredients are between these and shoes, but they smell like they are the same.
First, I'm 6'1" and about 180lbs. I'm lean and have an "athletic" build, so I have some muscle size, but I'm not super-worked-out, nor am I a pot-belly with girly pencil-limbs. I just returned the RaceFace Zero knee/shin and arm pads because the "large" size was a bit small in the arms, and way small in the legs. I was concerned about the S/L only options (those were the sizes on HucknRoll.com).
The elbows - There is a very soft, micro-fiber portion that wraps around the forearm, and two adjustable perm straps (no velcro) that are on the upper-most and lower-most sections of the armor. The fit was a bit snug over the bicep and the forearm, and it took some pulling to get everything lined up. Once the pads were on, the articulation in the joint showed itself as the highlight of these pads. It allowed for plenty of movement, and while there was an intial bit of settling, the pads held solid once they found a home (they rode a bit lower on my arms than I would like, but not off the mark by much at all). As I wore them around the house I could feel the fit improve as the warmth allowed the materials to relax. I think there will be some break-in and the fit will open up. I had the adjustment straps all the way open, so there is plenty of room to tighten up.
The knees/shins - I thought these would be a strap-on (yeah, I said it) type of deal that wouldn't require shoe removal. However, there is an upper band that goes above the knee which requires you to slide a leg through, so the shoes gotta come off. Once on, there are two velcro straps (knee/thigh, and ankle), and one snap/lock bit that wraps around the calf. It is a nifty system and allows for the addition/removal of the calf protector; I living-room tested without the calf protectors on. Again, the fit was snug but it could be felt easing up with some wear, indicating some break-in will be needed. Again, the articulation is fantastic. It has been noted that with the knee bent, the hard cup moves down over the patella, and the top of the bent knee is only covered by the VPD. I'm not terribly worried, as the VPD looks and feels tough, and I don't know that I've had many crashes where I took impact in that location.
The pads are warm, and you can tell they are there. However, after a bit of walking around, I kept noticing the articulated joints allowed for better freedom of movement. You still feel the snug restrictions of the straps, but when you flex, the straps don't cut in, rather they stay at the same level of tightness. I think this is what will make these pads a winner. With other pads, a bend of the joint increases the restriction and compression at the points of contact. These pads seem to keep a nice even pressure through the range of motion, so once you settle in to accepting them as being strapped to your body, you can forget about them as they don't sneak up and bite you when you flex and bend.
First (off)road test is tomorrow on a long DH shuttle. More reports then.
First, I'm 6'1" and about 180lbs. I'm lean and have an "athletic" build, so I have some muscle size, but I'm not super-worked-out, nor am I a pot-belly with girly pencil-limbs. I just returned the RaceFace Zero knee/shin and arm pads because the "large" size was a bit small in the arms, and way small in the legs. I was concerned about the S/L only options (those were the sizes on HucknRoll.com).
The elbows - There is a very soft, micro-fiber portion that wraps around the forearm, and two adjustable perm straps (no velcro) that are on the upper-most and lower-most sections of the armor. The fit was a bit snug over the bicep and the forearm, and it took some pulling to get everything lined up. Once the pads were on, the articulation in the joint showed itself as the highlight of these pads. It allowed for plenty of movement, and while there was an intial bit of settling, the pads held solid once they found a home (they rode a bit lower on my arms than I would like, but not off the mark by much at all). As I wore them around the house I could feel the fit improve as the warmth allowed the materials to relax. I think there will be some break-in and the fit will open up. I had the adjustment straps all the way open, so there is plenty of room to tighten up.
The knees/shins - I thought these would be a strap-on (yeah, I said it) type of deal that wouldn't require shoe removal. However, there is an upper band that goes above the knee which requires you to slide a leg through, so the shoes gotta come off. Once on, there are two velcro straps (knee/thigh, and ankle), and one snap/lock bit that wraps around the calf. It is a nifty system and allows for the addition/removal of the calf protector; I living-room tested without the calf protectors on. Again, the fit was snug but it could be felt easing up with some wear, indicating some break-in will be needed. Again, the articulation is fantastic. It has been noted that with the knee bent, the hard cup moves down over the patella, and the top of the bent knee is only covered by the VPD. I'm not terribly worried, as the VPD looks and feels tough, and I don't know that I've had many crashes where I took impact in that location.
The pads are warm, and you can tell they are there. However, after a bit of walking around, I kept noticing the articulated joints allowed for better freedom of movement. You still feel the snug restrictions of the straps, but when you flex, the straps don't cut in, rather they stay at the same level of tightness. I think this is what will make these pads a winner. With other pads, a bend of the joint increases the restriction and compression at the points of contact. These pads seem to keep a nice even pressure through the range of motion, so once you settle in to accepting them as being strapped to your body, you can forget about them as they don't sneak up and bite you when you flex and bend.
First (off)road test is tomorrow on a long DH shuttle. More reports then.
I have a VPD Vest (spine only version) en route. Will report back.
but where do you clip the suspension hooks for your shows?
So which size did you go with for the legs? Large? Are they like 661 "large" where the straps are designed for someone with legs as wide as my torso? Or can someone smoewhat thin get the pretty tight?
Went Large. I've got about 19.5" thigh, just above the knee, with my leg bent at 90 degrees.
Awezome, I think I might try to get a set of these and the full upper body suit. I'll try and do a full video review of them. None of the reviews I've seen have really shown off the "dynamics" of the pads. Which to me would seem to be the most important part given the semi-novel sorta hinged-2-piece design with the vpd and all
the length of the straps is adjustable
Test ride Saturday was solid. I love the knee and elbow pads. I didn't have any crashes, so I can't say how well they protect. However, my guestimate as to how they would perform was dead on. I knew I had pads on, but they allowed for the best freedom of movement of any I've tried. Pedaling was easy, and I never felt restrictions or constrictions on my arms or legs.
Spendy, but nice, so smoke em if you got em.
Spendy, but nice, so smoke em if you got em.
Cool. I'm mostly worried about fit- the Giro Remedy fits me pretty well, but I'm not wild about a couple other aspects of it. So you don't really have much to compare to fit wise? Anything else you've liked in the past?
Was wearing a M/L Remedy, my chin stuck out the bottom of it. Tried on a M/L D3, M/L and XL 661 Evolution (I think it's called). TLD D2's, Fox's and any others I cant remember. This is the only helmet I found that fit my chin, granted the mouth peice sticks out pretty far.
The Remedy comes in distinct M and L sizes. Do you remember which it was? How was the fit aside from the chin issue?
That's a medium. I've got the same year in a large, bought it on sale because it was last years color. Mine's labeled a 59-63, so maybe even the L-XL Cortex will be small? I've worn large helmets in all kinds of brands, models, even different sports (hockey) and never needed an XL. Weird.