Neck Braces (with poll)

[Kembo693]

Whats up everyone!

After neck braces have been couple years on the market, it has become the most contoversial and opinion-splitting piece of safety equipment out there. Right now, more and more guys seems to be running without one. I heard RD cut more than half a second off from his laptimes without one, since it made his cornering much better. Dont know if that was the actual reason for his laptimes, but anyways I guess the biggest "peak" of the neck braces has gone by now.

I have been using Leatt since it came out, but been running without one for quite a time now. Since I started riding and racing offroad more than MX, I found it extremely uncomfortable at times. And it may sound funny, but I even felt that it was literally slowing me down sometimes. Especially in tight sections, sections with steep hills, anywhere where you really have to extend your neck and look around, it started to feel very bad.

Anyway, I just ordered the new EVS R4. From what I've heard, it gives your head a bit more space than Leatt or Alpinestars. I'm really looking forward to get it on and put in some laps with it to really see how it is. (Pic below)



So, what's your opinion on neck braces, and what are you using?

[twosmoke595]

ok here it goes


i got a leatt adventure pro about 3 years ago, the first few rides were a challenge, just because it was one more thing i had to get used to while riding, but after that, i haven't noticed it since, it does offer a bit less head movement than without one, but i'd rather use it and not need it, than need it and not have it.


my dad recently got a alpinestars neck brace, i did notice that the astars one is a little lighter than the leatt, it also allows for a little more head movement than the leatt, in my opinion if i could get one, i would probably get the astars over the leatt, just for the lightness factor and the a slightly more movement. But both are good, and i would recommend either of them to anybody willing to get one

[racer142]

I'm not convinced of the benefit out weighing tge risks personally. I've seen more injuries with them than they prevented personally. A friend of mine had a Leatt that the buckle malfunctioned and it actually slit his throat and was very scary luckily it wasn't deep enough to do serious damage. I've also seen small wrecks that broke collar bones that normally would have been walked away from. And finally I knew a guy wearing a Leatt that broke his back in a small crash at the exact point the Leatt stops and sent him to rehab and he won't ever ride again. Now I know there is no way to prove these injuries would have been worse without the braces just what over personally seen and been told. It's just not for me.

[Kembo693]

I'm not convinced of the benefit out weighing tge risks personally. I've seen more injuries with them than they prevented personally. A friend of mine had a Leatt that the buckle malfunctioned and it actually slit his throat and was very scary luckily it wasn't deep enough to do serious damage. I've also seen small wrecks that broke collar bones that normally would have been walked away from. And finally I knew a guy wearing a Leatt that broke his back in a small crash at the exact point the Leatt stops and sent him to rehab and he won't ever ride again. Now I know there is no way to prove these injuries would have been worse without the braces just what over personally seen and been told. It's just not for me.

I totally understand, those are the things that I'm concerned about too. Good neck muscles, great helmet and a good relationship with the Men upstairs is probably as good as braces as far as neck protection goes, lol

[GlennC]

Like the hulkster used to say, take your vitamens and say your prayers.

[metal_miracle]

I am not gone use a brace.

i just dont like the idea of having anything pushing on your back  like that..
also having plastic and bolts around your neck.

but one thing that realy steer me away is the scare tactics from makers and belivers in the brace

[cnrcpla]

I'm probably never going to wear one... My grandpa always used to say, keep good neck muscles to prevent that kind of accident. I don't need a fancy brace to take over a decent workout of the neck every so often... But that's just my opinion.

[citabjockey]

My friend, the fireman, who rides (and rides with very fast company) wears one. He has seen too many "issues" with that area of the body and that has convinced him that its the correct thing to do. I respect his opinion on the subject. That said, I am WAY overdue on updating my gear. Considering this now for myself.

[gpnewhouse7]

I`ve been riding with a Leatt now for a couple of years and after the first couple of rides I and taking the top section of my ONEAL body armor back protector and then i`ve never really noticed it since and wouldn`t like to ride without it. I`ve landed directly upside down on my helmet when I was seatbounced over the bars and got up without a single bruise, scratch or even a sore neck. I love anything that stops me getting hurt so bad.

[beaner]

I bought an EVS thinking it was the smart thing to do.
To make a long story short, I stopped wearing it after the third concussion in 2 seasons. The final (and very bad) one from a very light crash on a sand track. I'm still aware of the dangers, and wear a neck roll now instead.
If you go down and your head can't move, your brain might and then you're concussed.

[dbf498]

I've been running an Alpinstars for some time and really like it. I had to do some creative trimming on my chest protector to get it to fit but they fit together nicely now. I've biffed it a few times and I honestly feel that it helped cut down on any stiffness in my neck unlike before I had one. 

[streaks383]

I used to wear one.  I never broke a collarbone until I had one, then I broke both of them in very minor get offs.  Next I have spoken with one too many guys who are paralyzed from the sternum down, broke the back at the bottom of the leatt's rear strut.  Lastly there is no third party testing like DOT or Snell for helmets, it is all manufacturers claims.  Oh yeah last time I checked David Bailey broke his back, not his neck, so his sobby video did nothing for me.  It is a personal choice for each rider to make, put your trust in what you feel you should, I am not telling anyone they are wrong I am only stating why I don't wear one.

[MXLord327]

Never worn one, I'd rather spend the money on a top quality helmet like my Shoei.

[Kembo693]

I bought an EVS thinking it was the smart thing to do.
To make a long story short, I stopped wearing it after the third concussion in 2 seasons. The final (and very bad) one from a very light crash on a sand track. I'm still aware of the dangers, and wear a neck roll now instead.
If you go down and your head can't move, your brain might and then you're concussed.

That doesn't sound good at all. And how about all the brain injuries that has happened in the era of neck braces? Masterpool, Trettel, Mcfarlane, the list just goes on... Neck Braces might steer the force to wrong place, which in this case would be the brains.

[racer142]

Agreed. The amount of force ur body is gonna experience is constant (meaning it is equal to itself based on speed height and angle) the problem with a brace is it takes the force off one body part but doubled it on another part either deemed less important or able to withstand more force. The only problem is the body isn't designed to take that much force in one specific area. So u in turn get injuries from otherwise small crashes bc the force is filtered to one place. I'd say if u have a problem with the nose of the bike taking a dive a neck brace would be an option but if ur a nose high or a non jumping kind of rider I wouldn't think it would be worth it. Which is actually odd for me bc I'm a nose down kind or rider I like to the the front tire on the ground bc that's 90% of my control and 80% percent of my braking but it's not for me at the moment.