I've had several friends ask me recently where they can find armor like mine... The quick and simple answer is that they can't - I custom make mine, and I charge an arm and a leg to make custom suits for other people.
But I can point out opportunities to get low cost, good quality armor, as long as you don't need it to be bullet-proof, it should fit the bill for those times when you might need a little extra protection.
Believe it or not, there are alot of companies who actually specialize in making "modern armor" - usually they are in the niche market of "mountain bike racing"... (if you've ever seen some of these guys and gals barrelling down a 75 degree slope lined with jagged rocks and awkward tree-branches, you'll understand how the market evolved... Apparently, the human body can get quite banged up on such adventures... ;)
But because of the nature of the injuries that most of these racers sustain, the need for "pressure suits" were indicated - but these aren't your "atmospheric" style pressure suits - they call them that because of the way that they place uniform pressure across the body and by keeping that pressure even and uniform, they can prevent a large degree of impact related injuries.
At first, these kinds of suits were too bulky to use, as they cut down on the mobility of the riders, but over time, the market demand finally won out, and the maufacturers started making breatheable, super-flexible, good, solid protection.
Nowadays, you can often find and piece together full suits for less than $300, and with very little modification (say, by riveting small bands of leather across gaps in the hard shell), one could easily make a suit of armor that would withstand even a viscious edged or pointed weapon with very little damage to the armor itself... (and expect to learn how to repair your armor - it's a small prace to pay in exchange for avoiding costly medical bills and trips to the emergency room)
Anyways, I figured I'd toss a few links out there to one of the bike part wholesalers, in case anyone was interested in these kinds of things - but one word to the wise; *DO YOUR RESEARCH* on the suits you find - not all suits are created equal... (I know the topic of polymers makes non-chemists tend to glaze over, but while most layfolks just call all of them "plastic", not all of them have the same properties - some protect way better than others - steer away from the PVC blends which tend to break under pointed stress).
Also, these kinds of suits are a *really* good idea, if you're a cyclist in any large city with any congestion and irrate and inconsiderate drivers - along with a spiffy helmet, you could probably take a fairly good whollup from a car (even a perpendicular impact), and roll out of it mostly unscathed and ready to punch in a car window, if you've got the right gloves & helmet)... ;)
But you can check these out and see if that inspires you to keep digging... (or better yet, building your own!) ;)
(Here's a pair of "pressurized" shin/knee guards)
www.pricepoint.com/detail.htm
(Here's a spiffy little suit for on the cheap which gives pretty good protection, breatheability, and flexibility - it doesn't *say* it's a pressure suit, but I can tell from it's design and the fact that it is adjustable that it would fit the same bill)
www.pricepoint.com/detail.htm
(Here's one that is billed as a "pressure suit", but that only has short sleeves for enhanced mobility/flexibility)
www.pricepoint.com/detail.htm
Now, on one final note, unless you're a big guy like me, it's doubtful that you could wear these under your normal clothes, and none of these designs were designed with being "low-profile" in mind, however, with some slight wardrobe considerations, it would be a fairly easy matter to conceal (unless you have a small body frame - in which case *any* armor you use will stick out plain to see by everyone). But a simple turtleneck and oversized jacket are great to keep upper body armor concealed, and for the lower body, I recommend oversized BDUs (military fatigues) or "cargo" style pants - which can conceal such armor very easily because of the way the side pockets fit against your leg (unless bending your knees, etc).
Anyways, hope you all found this post useful! Anyone else got links to really good, cheap armor that they've found?
Happy adventuring! :)
But I can point out opportunities to get low cost, good quality armor, as long as you don't need it to be bullet-proof, it should fit the bill for those times when you might need a little extra protection.
Believe it or not, there are alot of companies who actually specialize in making "modern armor" - usually they are in the niche market of "mountain bike racing"... (if you've ever seen some of these guys and gals barrelling down a 75 degree slope lined with jagged rocks and awkward tree-branches, you'll understand how the market evolved... Apparently, the human body can get quite banged up on such adventures... ;)
But because of the nature of the injuries that most of these racers sustain, the need for "pressure suits" were indicated - but these aren't your "atmospheric" style pressure suits - they call them that because of the way that they place uniform pressure across the body and by keeping that pressure even and uniform, they can prevent a large degree of impact related injuries.
At first, these kinds of suits were too bulky to use, as they cut down on the mobility of the riders, but over time, the market demand finally won out, and the maufacturers started making breatheable, super-flexible, good, solid protection.
Nowadays, you can often find and piece together full suits for less than $300, and with very little modification (say, by riveting small bands of leather across gaps in the hard shell), one could easily make a suit of armor that would withstand even a viscious edged or pointed weapon with very little damage to the armor itself... (and expect to learn how to repair your armor - it's a small prace to pay in exchange for avoiding costly medical bills and trips to the emergency room)
Anyways, I figured I'd toss a few links out there to one of the bike part wholesalers, in case anyone was interested in these kinds of things - but one word to the wise; *DO YOUR RESEARCH* on the suits you find - not all suits are created equal... (I know the topic of polymers makes non-chemists tend to glaze over, but while most layfolks just call all of them "plastic", not all of them have the same properties - some protect way better than others - steer away from the PVC blends which tend to break under pointed stress).
Also, these kinds of suits are a *really* good idea, if you're a cyclist in any large city with any congestion and irrate and inconsiderate drivers - along with a spiffy helmet, you could probably take a fairly good whollup from a car (even a perpendicular impact), and roll out of it mostly unscathed and ready to punch in a car window, if you've got the right gloves & helmet)... ;)
But you can check these out and see if that inspires you to keep digging... (or better yet, building your own!) ;)
(Here's a pair of "pressurized" shin/knee guards)
www.pricepoint.com/detail.htm
(Here's a spiffy little suit for on the cheap which gives pretty good protection, breatheability, and flexibility - it doesn't *say* it's a pressure suit, but I can tell from it's design and the fact that it is adjustable that it would fit the same bill)
www.pricepoint.com/detail.htm
(Here's one that is billed as a "pressure suit", but that only has short sleeves for enhanced mobility/flexibility)
www.pricepoint.com/detail.htm
Now, on one final note, unless you're a big guy like me, it's doubtful that you could wear these under your normal clothes, and none of these designs were designed with being "low-profile" in mind, however, with some slight wardrobe considerations, it would be a fairly easy matter to conceal (unless you have a small body frame - in which case *any* armor you use will stick out plain to see by everyone). But a simple turtleneck and oversized jacket are great to keep upper body armor concealed, and for the lower body, I recommend oversized BDUs (military fatigues) or "cargo" style pants - which can conceal such armor very easily because of the way the side pockets fit against your leg (unless bending your knees, etc).
Anyways, hope you all found this post useful! Anyone else got links to really good, cheap armor that they've found?
Happy adventuring! :)
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