Following on from the review of the RXR R-Pro, I said I'd planned to experiment with some changes to improve airflow.
The original review :
For me, I find the chest area to be slightly too warm. It's ok when it's cooler or in the rain, but on a warmer day it's not comfortable.
The inside view of the chest :
The central area of the chest has no direct ventilation at all. The bumps help air move around, but no air can get in there directly.
If you look closely, it looks like they intended to run air channels through, but didn't.
Fortunately, it's quick and easy to dismantle :
The forming holes in the EVA foam line up with the chassis sections of the airbag (none air pocket areas).
So I drilled the foam, the air bag and the outer cover, starting with a 2.5mm pilot, then 6mm, then 8mm. Then heated a 6 inch nail up and passed that through to clean the holes up and seal the edges.
I then added some extra vent holes in the EVA Foam :
And fastened it all back together :
If you hold the hot nail for just the right amount of time you get a nicely formed edge in the foam:
Now get light AND air passing through :
Only had one ride in it so far like this, but it's considerably better. You can feel the air coming through to your chest. It's still warm compared to no armour, but it's not hot now !
If you were brave, you could possibly just drill straight through from the back, but if your alignment or the airbag alignment were off, you'd risk puncturing the bladder.
The original review :
RXR R-Pro Airbag Protector - Less Broken bones ?
RXR Protect was one company I missed when endlessly looking for the ultimate armour combination. Selling directly and focusing much of their promotional efforts on the MX world, they just didn't ever come up in comparisons or the multitude of...
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For me, I find the chest area to be slightly too warm. It's ok when it's cooler or in the rain, but on a warmer day it's not comfortable.
The inside view of the chest :
The central area of the chest has no direct ventilation at all. The bumps help air move around, but no air can get in there directly.
If you look closely, it looks like they intended to run air channels through, but didn't.
Fortunately, it's quick and easy to dismantle :
|
|
The forming holes in the EVA foam line up with the chassis sections of the airbag (none air pocket areas).
So I drilled the foam, the air bag and the outer cover, starting with a 2.5mm pilot, then 6mm, then 8mm. Then heated a 6 inch nail up and passed that through to clean the holes up and seal the edges.
|
|
|
I then added some extra vent holes in the EVA Foam :
And fastened it all back together :
|
|
If you hold the hot nail for just the right amount of time you get a nicely formed edge in the foam:
Now get light AND air passing through :
Only had one ride in it so far like this, but it's considerably better. You can feel the air coming through to your chest. It's still warm compared to no armour, but it's not hot now !
If you were brave, you could possibly just drill straight through from the back, but if your alignment or the airbag alignment were off, you'd risk puncturing the bladder.