Review Leatt 3DF Impact Shorts 5.0

[GrilledCheeseTriple]

Zimmerframe don't want to make your head swell or anything but you are absolutely hilarious. Your response's were amazing and so funny. You had my wife and I laughing so hard last night reading your responses!! Also thank you for your review on the MTB gear!!
I have been researching body armour and protective liner's for awhile so your review was pretty helpful.
I have crashed a lot as well which has made me get protection. Unfortunately it seems like I need to get hurt before I get protection. I like to hit jumps a lot. Last year alone I had a couple concussion's and stable fracture's in my neck made me get a helmet, Fractured jaw made me get a full face helmet, badly bruised hip has me trying to find "the perfect protective liner", partially separated shoulder has me looking at armour for my upperbody. Needless to say the countless times I have bruised and cracked ribs!! Even cracked a rib and badly bruised the others with a Fox Titan jacket on in Whistler after my front tire washed out landing an overshot jump. I seem to like to overshoot jumps a lot come to think of it and used to bomb down trails blind. Thinking maybe I should get a neck brace to ride "Park's" this summer? Everything is so expensive though.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Hi @GrilledCheeseTriple ! Welcome to the Forum.

It started out as an Asylum project to let us communicate with people in the real world .... it just grew from there .. ?

Great name by the way

Sounds like you've been down a similar route to many of us..... It won't hurt, I won't fall off .. it won't happen again .... I'll go so far as to say I think you're even kicking my arse in the 12 month rolling injury window !

 

[GrilledCheeseTriple]

Hi @GrilledCheeseTriple ! Welcome to the Forum.

It started out as an Asylum project to let us communicate with people in the real world .... it just grew from there .. ?

Great name by the way

Sounds like you've been down a similar route to many of us..... It won't hurt, I won't fall off .. it won't happen again .... I'll go so far as to say I think you're even kicking my arse in the 12 month rolling injury window !

Thanks for the welcoming!
Your quote below say's it all for me!!
"Because I'm crap and I'm trying to compress a lifetimes learning and experience into a tiny time frame ..."
But it has also enabled me to do things in a very short time frame that it takes other people a year or two to accomplish. So far and very luckily the cost has been worth it for me and I have learned a few lessons enabling me to do things safer. Aside from my shoulder I'm all good. I still ride even though my shoulder is hmmm probably 75-80% better but I am hoping it gets back to 100% before the warm weather is back. Trying to be very careful over the soaking wet roots and avoid them when possible as well as trying to be cautious flying into corner's with the mud and wet soil. Hard to get much speed in sopping wet trail's as it is but much easier to wipeout.

 

[GrilledCheeseTriple]

Tricky !

If you're already amoured up with what you have you don't want to get too cumbersome/restricted/heavy/hot.

I'm waiting for an Alpinestars paragon pro vest to arrive. I hope to wear this as a base layer under a TLD7855 to give better rib protection and back protection. It has a removable kidney belt if you're wearing other things. You need to wear a base layer anyway with a 7855 or it chafes your nipples (or tape them). The difference between the paragon and the paragon pro is the chest protector.

I bought mine from amazon, but found it cheaper here afterwards :

Paragon Pro Protection Vest

ALPINESTARS PROTECTION - PARAGON PRO PROTECTION VEST EN 1621_1:2012 LEVEL 1 Back protector is CE certified to EN 1621_2:2014 LEVEL 1. Full chest protector is CE certified to prEN 1621_3:2016 LEVEL 1. The Back Protector Insert is constructed from a high performance polymeric material blend for...

www.fawkes-cycles.co.uk

Can't tell you what it's like in real life yet though .. maybe tomorrow.

I did find a few "chest only" protectors when I was searching, but I can't find them now.

All the armours seem to either be :

Simple EVA foam - light, not very effective generally.
Layers of different density foams - slightly heavier but good protection
Reactive Foam - heavier, less air flow, chemically unstable (unpredictable life span) - but effective (when it works) and generally quite flexible.
Hard armour - effective, can be less comfortable and more restrictive.
Hard armour with a cell structure - very effective, can be more restrictive.

I should do an armour thread really ... or another one .. ...

Similar to the alpinestars one are the fox baseframes. The rear armour is smaller, but removable.

For better protection you're onto the alpinestars bionics or A1, A1 Plus (this years) A4 longer back, A4 Max (this years), and similar with the fox Roost guards and so on.

For slightly more protection in the vest format, the nicest one is probably the sweet protection enduro vest.

Enduro Race Vest

Designed and constructed especially for Enduro racing, this vest is optimized for moving fast uphill and riding hard downhill.

www.sweetprotection.com

Quite hard to find. Much higher level of protection but a bit bulkier. Let down slightly with a central zip which lessens the effectiveness of the chest protection, but tough enough that it probably makes up for it .. still haven't decided if I should buy one of these or not. Really like it, but concerned that using it as a base layer it might be too warm.

Also, just incase what you wearing let you attach chest/rib protection, something from here might do it ?

SAS-Tec Protectors - buy cheap online ▷ FC-Moto!

SAS-Tec Protectors - buy cheap online ✓ top reviews ☆ low prices ✚ fast delivery | Order now at FC-Moto!

www.fc-moto.de

Is the floppy part on the back of the Sweet Protection Enduro Race Vest protection for your tailbone or is is just a floppy piece of material for who know's what?

 

[Zimmerframe]

Is the floppy part on the back of the Sweet Protection Enduro Race Vest protection for your tailbone or is is just a floppy piece of material for who know's what?

It's slightly tricky to know for sure !! It has an optional section for carrying things in - like an inbuilt bum bag/waist bag (fanny pack?) At the time I came to the conclusion it was an hinged coccyx protector, but don't think I ever read anything to confirm that - just from staring at pictures. I did almost buy one as it seemed like a really nice unit. Now, I suspect it's probably a bit warm on the back in summer with the SAS-TEC protector. Even back then they were fairly hard to find, I suspect they're discontinued.

 

[Zimmerframe]

There's quite a good image you can click on and then zoom in on here : Looks like it's very thin protection .... maybe just a bit of foam ???

(press escape to get out of the image once you've clicked on it and then clicked again to zoom in !!!)

Neue & Gebrauchte Oberkörper-Protektoren kaufen und verkaufen: Entdecke 1 Angebote im MTB-News Bikemarkt

Oberkörper-Protektoren ➤ neu & gebraucht ➤ Fahrrad kaufen und verkaufen auf Bikemarkt.MTB-News.de ➤ Riesige Auswahl - gute Preise ➤ sicher, einfach und schnell ➤ aktuell 83 Angebote

bikemarkt.mtb-news.de

 

[GrilledCheeseTriple]

It's slightly tricky to know for sure !! It has an optional section for carrying things in - like an inbuilt bum bag/waist bag (fanny pack?) At the time I came to the conclusion it was an hinged coccyx protector, but don't think I ever read anything to confirm that - just from staring at pictures. I did almost buy one as it seemed like a really nice unit. Now, I suspect it's probably a bit warm on the back in summer with the SAS-TEC protector. Even back then they were fairly hard to find, I suspect they're discontinued.

View attachment 48968

Oh wow that pic is self explanatory. Bit of foam or something there. All I could find was the pic below.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Oh wow that pic is self explanatory. Bit of foam or something there. All I could find was the pic below. View attachment 48972

Sadly, a lot of armour pictures don't often represent the product very clearly - leading to wasted time and frustration !!

It's a shame they're not all zoom able like the German second hand listing ! Finding a Youtube video is often a good start but still not always that clear.

Some of the troy lee ones are CGI for some reason, so they end up looking like a cross between life preservers and bullet proof vests. ????!!

I forgot to say hi to Grilled Cheese Triple .... Sorry Mrs Grilled Cheese Triple . HI !

 

[GrilledCheeseTriple]

Found this for $200 Canadian Looks good for Bike Park days and that's a great price!!

https://m.fortnine.ca/media/catalog/product/cache/ebf34714cec2745c0e39126f8327d63b/catalogimages/leatt/55-pro-hd-chest-protector-black.jpg

 

[GrilledCheeseTriple]

Sadly, a lot of armour pictures don't often represent the product very clearly - leading to wasted time and frustration !!

It's a shame they're not all zoom able like the German second hand listing ! Finding a Youtube video is often a good start but still not always that clear.

Some of the troy lee ones are CGI for some reason, so they end up looking like a cross between life preservers and bullet proof vests. ????!!

I forgot to say hi to Grilled Cheese Triple .... Sorry Mrs Grilled Cheese Triple . HI !

Yes I think I might just order a couple of things and try them on and send the one's I don't want back. The Mrs. say's Thank You and hi back!!

 

[High Rock Ruti]

Zimmerframe don't want to make your head swell or anything but you are absolutely hilarious. Your response's were amazing and so funny. You had my wife and I laughing so hard last night reading your responses!! Also thank you for your review on the MTB gear!!
I have been researching body armour and protective liner's for awhile so your review was pretty helpful.
I have crashed a lot as well which has made me get protection. Unfortunately it seems like I need to get hurt before I get protection. I like to hit jumps a lot. Last year alone I had a couple concussion's and stable fracture's in my neck made me get a helmet, Fractured jaw made me get a full face helmet, badly bruised hip has me trying to find "the perfect protective liner", partially separated shoulder has me looking at armour for my upperbody. Needless to say the countless times I have bruised and cracked ribs!! Even cracked a rib and badly bruised the others with a Fox Titan jacket on in Whistler after my front tire washed out landing an overshot jump. I seem to like to overshoot jumps a lot come to think of it and used to bomb down trails blind. Thinking maybe I should get a neck brace to ride "Park's" this summer? Everything is so expensive though.

High Rock Ruti

Not as expensive as a new neck!

Warm Regards Ruti

 

[GrilledCheeseTriple]

High Rock Ruti

Not as expensive as a new neck!

Warm Regards Ruti

Not going to deny that!! I was lucky, especially since they were stable fractures. I was also brand new and had no idea what I was doing, how to do it or what I was getting into and no one to teach me.
Not saying that's going to stop me from trying new bigger nastier stuff or trying to go faster but I will have more awareness, skill and some knowledge of my limits
and soon some protection.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Aside from my shoulder I'm all good. I still ride even though my shoulder is hmmm probably 75-80% better but I am hoping it gets back to 100% before the warm weather is back.

I hope so. My shoulder injury has been my longest and most debilitating injury I've had over the last couple of years. It's made the fractured pelvis seems like a slight tickle and minor inconvenience. Still not right months later. I guess we expect a lot from it - it moves in all directions, lifts, pushes, pulls, turns . I think mine needed time to heal at the start but sadly wasn't an option with working, so I think I probably made it worse. Other than splitting wood and a couple of rides, it's been getting a relatively easy time over the last couple of months, add in lots of stretching and press ups and I'm finally getting more mobility and less pain ! Still, it's freekin annoying !

Of all the armour's, Neck braces do seem the most crazy priced and hardest to justify.. You look at the price and then repeatedly read this description looking for "Fully automated AI air bag deployment system" "Next Gen computer controlled hydraulically actuated head stabilisation flaps"

But no ..

All you're getting is a re-branded toddlers toilet training seat ..

 

[GrilledCheeseTriple]

I hope so. My shoulder injury has been my longest and most debilitating injury I've had over the last couple of years. It's made the fractured pelvis seems like a slight tickle and minor inconvenience. Still not right months later. I guess we expect a lot from it - it moves in all directions, lifts, pushes, pulls, turns . I think mine needed time to heal at the start but sadly wasn't an option with working, so I think I probably made it worse. Other than splitting wood and a couple of rides, it's been getting a relatively easy time over the last couple of months, add in lots of stretching and press ups and I'm finally getting more mobility and less pain ! Still, it's freekin annoying !

Of all the armour's, Neck braces do seem the most crazy priced and hardest to justify.. You look at the price and then repeatedly read this description looking for "Fully automated AI air bag deployment system" "Next Gen computer controlled hydraulically actuated head stabilisation flaps"

But no ..

View attachment 48991

All you're getting is a re-branded toddlers toilet training seat ..

View attachment 48992

LMFAO. You're awesome! That's so funny and I couldn't agree more!
Just trying to put a kit together over the next little while. If I'm going to ride Park a lot I think I end up with a neck brace. Getting some winter ride pants hopefully today and then, protection liner/shorts no chamois and I am hopefully going to get a used Fox Titan jacket today if it fits.
I have a couple months or more till the nice weather comes and I start venturing/riding at speed and doing lots of features so I am hoping shoulder will be good by then?
Do those Batman Ears on the Leatt 5.0 interfere with the fit in the waist of your Short's?

 

[EME]

@GrilledCheeseTriple Please don't encourage the animals. He is dangerous.
I suspect your parentage involves leaving the UK and an honest gene pool. Alas, @Zimmerframe represents the dangers of interbreeding including madness and self-harm.
Recent efforts at spreading his wings have, unfortunately, produced little more success ( in terms of distance) than a reverse - Bleriot.
Doctors have suggested much spending in reducing the effects of self-harm; you see the results in abundance above.

(Only joking .. of course, but watch your good lady when he's around ... he really cant help himself)

 

[Zimmerframe]

Do those Batman Ears on the Leatt 5.0 interfere with the fit in the waist of your Short's?

Nope, they seem fine. I put them on first (well, knee pads, then they overlap the top of the knee pads) no underwear so they end up in the wash a lot - but in summer that means they're not hot at all and are comfortable. Everything else goes over them in one way or another so "Batmans Ears" just sit against you and you don't notice them.

The Titan's a good option ! I don't think I ever actually broke anything when I was wearing the titan - it's chipped to hell so certainly did it's job.

Not sure how the neck brace would interface with the Titan, so if you go somewhere to try one, take the Titan with you. A lot of armours have removable sections so the neck brace can sit correctly - though it might be possible to size correctly to go over armour, sadly - no idea !

 

[GrilledCheeseTriple]

Nope, they seem fine. I put them on first (well, knee pads, then they overlap the top of the knee pads) no underwear so they end up in the wash a lot - but in summer that means they're not hot at all and are comfortable. Everything else goes over them in one way or another so "Batmans Ears" just sit against you and you don't notice them.

The Titan's a good option ! I don't think I ever actually broke anything when I was wearing the titan - it's chipped to hell so certainly did it's job.

Not sure how the neck brace would interface with the Titan, so if you go somewhere to try one, take the Titan with you. A lot of armours have removable sections so the neck brace can sit correctly - though it might be possible to size correctly to go over armour, sadly - no idea !

Yes I saw the pictures of your Fox Titan and it definitely had some war wounds. Good suggestion on the helmet brace fit.

 

[GrilledCheeseTriple]

@GrilledCheeseTriple Please don't encourage the animals. He is dangerous.
I suspect your parentage involves leaving the UK and an honest gene pool. Alas, @Zimmerframe represents the dangers of interbreeding including madness and self-harm.
Recent efforts at spreading his wings have, unfortunately, produced little more success ( in terms of distance) than a reverse - Bleriot.
Doctors have suggested much spending in reducing the effects of self-harm; you see the results in abundance above.

(Only joking .. of course, but watch your good lady when he's around ... he really cant help himself)

LMFAO I would accept nothing less. For some @Zimmerframe is their worst nightmare but for me he is my favourite gift from Santa. Finally someone who can relate! We can encourage and feed off of each other to become more insane!! Perhaps we can hide in the bushes and throw sticks in people's spokes as they fly down trails and see how good their protection is? LOL

 

[GrilledCheeseTriple]

Well I can't find the Leatt 5.0 impact Short's anywhere. Only a US store that wants to charge me shipping and I would also have to pay taxes and import fees to whoever delivers it!! BS everywhere I look there are no medium's I can find here in Canada. Disappointing!!

 

[GrilledCheeseTriple]

Found these? Not sure how legit they are though?

Husqvarna Impact Short 3DF 5.0 by Leatt | BFD Moto Canada

Husqvarna Impact Short 3DF 5.0 by Leatt available at BFD Moto. Free shipping on orders over $100 anywhere in Canada! Find dirt bike/ snow bike/ adventure touring/ street bike parts and accessories, Husqvarna Motorcycle Accessories, motorcycle tires, riding gear, oil, apparel and more at BFDMOTO.com

bfdmoto.com

 

[Zimmerframe]

Found these? Not sure how legit they are though?

Husqvarna Impact Short 3DF 5.0 by Leatt | BFD Moto Canada

Husqvarna Impact Short 3DF 5.0 by Leatt available at BFD Moto. Free shipping on orders over $100 anywhere in Canada! Find dirt bike/ snow bike/ adventure touring/ street bike parts and accessories, Husqvarna Motorcycle Accessories, motorcycle tires, riding gear, oil, apparel and more at BFDMOTO.com

bfdmoto.com

View attachment 49290

Yup, they're exactly the same. Not sure why but husky had some branded ones made up.

 

[GrilledCheeseTriple]

Yup, they're exactly the same. Not sure why but husky had some branded ones made up.

Ok perfect thank you!!!

 

[GrilledCheeseTriple]

Ok perfect thank you!!!

Done ordered today all in regards to your experiences and your personal review of them. So a big thank you to you. Ended up getting them for $114.00 !!! I thought that was great! Should have them by Hopefully Friday but probably Monday I would imagine?

 

[Zimmerframe]

Done ordered today all in regards to your experiences and your personal review of them. So a big thank you to you. Ended up getting them for $114.00 !!! I thought that was great!

Seems pretty reasonable ! ? There were a few things I wasn't 100% sure about at the start when comparing them to other things, but now I won't ride without them. They're still like new, so hopefully they'll last you through many crashes !!

 

[GrilledCheeseTriple]

Seems pretty reasonable ! ? There were a few things I wasn't 100% sure about at the start when comparing them to other things, but now I won't ride without them. They're still like new, so hopefully they'll last you through many crashes !!

LOL ya I am unfortunately bound to crash again sooner or later!! Comfort/ climbing and hip protection as well as no chamois are the 3 most important things to me. Good Tailbone protection would be nice but such is life. Perhaps I can have some better protection sewn in there. Thanks again for your review and your opinions It's greatly appreciated!!!

 

[GrilledCheeseTriple]

I have been looking at this for days I am riding gnarly, steep stuff. Paragon Pro Protection Jacket - Long Sleeve.
I was looking at the one with zip off arms but I think I will use a shirt instead like this for less dangerous rides. Flank Core

 

[Zimmerframe]

I have been looking at this for days I am riding gnarly, steep stuff. Paragon Pro Protection Jacket - Long Sleeve.
I was looking at the one with zip off arms but I think I will use a shirt instead like this for less dangerous rides. Flank Core

I quite liked the idea of the alpinestars stuff as the majority of it doesn't use reactive armour (can be heavy/hot). I didn't get on with the paragon though. The chest piece is a joke (though, my prefered armour at the moment is the Racer Motion 2 top, which also has hardly any chest - the difference is that alpinestars claim the chest is CE1 and it's not). The kidney belt is removable which is good, in my mind, if you're going to have a sweaty kidney belt, it should at least be armoured in some way .. it isn't, so it's just extra heat. The foam on the sides is just squidgy open cell unfortunately, so won't do anything for protection. I was going to cut mine out. The other issue was the stitching, not sure what they'd done, but if you have even remotely sensitive skin, the stitching is really uncomfortable and jabs you.

We're all have different body's though and different requirements/ideas so it might be perfect for you.

I've not tried the raceface. I have a friend with one and he loves it. When it's hot he just wears that as I would the racer.

 

[GrilledCheeseTriple]

I quite liked the idea of the alpinestars stuff as the majority of it doesn't use reactive armour (can be heavy/hot). I didn't get on with the paragon though. The chest piece is a joke (though, my prefered armour at the moment is the Racer Motion 2 top, which also has hardly any chest - the difference is that alpinestars claim the chest is CE1 and it's not). The kidney belt is removable which is good, in my mind, if you're going to have a sweaty kidney belt, it should at least be armoured in some way .. it isn't, so it's just extra heat. The foam on the sides is just squidgy open cell unfortunately, so won't do anything for protection. I was going to cut mine out. The other issue was the stitching, not sure what they'd done, but if you have even remotely sensitive skin, the stitching is really uncomfortable and jabs you.

We're all have different body's though and different requirements/ideas so it might be perfect for you.

I've not tried the raceface. I have a friend with one and he loves it. When it's hot he just wears that as I would the racer.

Thx for the info on the Alpinestars Jacket! I will stay away from it!!

 

[Zimmerframe]

Well bugger ..

I was always concerned that the thigh pad was just soft foam, but so far had not been a problem ..

Came off this morning and must have got that spot perfectly as my leg is now 50% it's normal size and hurts like something which hurts a lot.

I think I got everywhere pretty well. Left hand is sore. Right forearm has cuts below the TLD7855 armour. Right shin is cut (despite shin guard) Right calf - how did I do both sides ? Thigh is painful. The only amusing bit was it looked like someone had dug a hole with a spade in the middle of the trail - which was the Smith's mainline doing it's stuff.

On the bright side, Whilst re-assembling the bike, I seem to have fixed the annoying creak which I couldn't find.

 

[Zimmerframe]

@ZF,
Dainnese E1 Pants were featured on Revzilla.com as good motorcycle pants;


What do you think of this design? I like the ventilation, given that I would be wearing underpants underneath.

@Pivot Can you tell us more - are these designed to protect you from women ??