Based on Zimmerframes great review, I 've just ordered the 7855.I've got a 38" chest and was undecided between a M and a L.It should turn up tomorrow so I'll add my feedback if it helps.The Leatt 5's arrived yesterday and just what I wanted after my recent lucky escape avoiding a broken hip.
Review Troy Lee Designs 7855 Armoured Shirt
- Thread starter Zimmerframe
- Start date
liv2ryd
Member
I ordered an Alpinestars Sequence vest, size med but I returned it. The elbow pads were slightly loose and i felt they would just slide around. Plus it weighed over 3lbs. So I just ordered a med 7850 vest. I'll report back on fit as well. I have a 37" chest. Also ordered a set of Leatt elbow pads 3DF 6.0.
liv2ryd
Member
My med arrived from Amazon in 2 days! I went the 7850 route with a pair of Leatt 3DF 6.0 elbow guards.
Super pleased with the 7850 fit and the level of protection that wraps completely around your torso. Looks like i'll have to make a small adjustment to the belly pad for comfort when sitting. The Leatt pads are really well executed and I like having the ability to adjust the elbow guards independent of the vest. I think the 7850 would be perfect with some CE level 1 pads in the shoulders, chest and back. For moto, I may add my Fox external chest/back protector for the ultimate in protection. Has anyone replaced the shoulder pads with something more effective? I may go this route to dial in the "perfect" upper body setup for full send emtb riding/racing.
Super pleased with the 7850 fit and the level of protection that wraps completely around your torso. Looks like i'll have to make a small adjustment to the belly pad for comfort when sitting. The Leatt pads are really well executed and I like having the ability to adjust the elbow guards independent of the vest. I think the 7850 would be perfect with some CE level 1 pads in the shoulders, chest and back. For moto, I may add my Fox external chest/back protector for the ultimate in protection. Has anyone replaced the shoulder pads with something more effective? I may go this route to dial in the "perfect" upper body setup for full send emtb riding/racing.
- Thread starter
- #35
I've swapped out my shoulders and run some old moto alpinestars ones. I thought I'd added pictures in the thread already but can't find any ..
When I was riding around with my broken ribs, broken shoulder and torn rotator cuff, I ran doubled up with this, which definitely gave a lot of protection !!
Review - Troy Lee Designs 5955 (TLD5955) Chest Protector
Product name: Troy Lee Designs 5955 Chest Protector Price paid: £190 Score (out of 10): 6 Review: Another Golden oldie from Troy Lee Designs. Like the 7855 it's also been around for 9 years - for the simple fact that it's good ! I'd discounted this from all my early research due to it's age...
www.emtbforums.com
With a full face on the upper shoulders end up acting like part of a neck brace !
- Thread starter
- #36
Shoulders : In the central area they probably don't give much more protection, but they feel like they give more overall protection round the shoulder.
Not sure if any of the D3O pads would fit in there. Will have a play around this evening and see if anything fits.
EDIT : All my D3O Shoulders are longer and thinner than the 7855 shoulder pockets .. so they won't fit . You could trim them to fit, but they might lack width.
Not sure if any of the D3O pads would fit in there. Will have a play around this evening and see if anything fits.
EDIT : All my D3O Shoulders are longer and thinner than the 7855 shoulder pockets .. so they won't fit . You could trim them to fit, but they might lack width.
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If i had this at the end of January maybe would have saved my ribs and 3 weeks wages . Looks as if it might pull in the pot bellie as well or maybe not.I've swapped out my shoulders and run some old moto alpinestars ones. I thought I'd added pictures in the thread already but can't find any ..
When I was riding around with my broken ribs, broken shoulder and torn rotator cuff, I ran doubled up with this, which definitely gave a lot of protection !!
Review - Troy Lee Designs 5955 (TLD5955) Chest Protector
Product name: Troy Lee Designs 5955 Chest Protector Price paid: £190 Score (out of 10): 6 Review: Another Golden oldie from Troy Lee Designs. Like the 7855 it's also been around for 9 years - for the simple fact that it's good ! I'd discounted this from all my early research due to it's age...
With a full face on the upper shoulders end up acting like part of a neck brace !
- Thread starter
- #38
Maybe .... Ribs can be funny things, wrong angle and enough force and even with armour they can break unless you want to wear a full exo-skeleton.
I broke on rib and various other things - including a finger
with the tld7855 on during my last decent rag doll crash. But then I slammed a double tree stump with my chest and shoulder, whip lashed my face into the ground (full face fortunately), bounced and hit a tree and log pile upside down. Ricocheted off them, flipped once more and bounced off down trail. Slid to a stop. Thought "Ow, that hurt" .. and passed out. I dread to think what my body would have been like without the 7855. As it was I looked like I'd been dragged down the whole trail.
It's pretty stretchy - so don't expect too much corset action from it.
So I've worn my new shirt/jacket on a couple of rides now and I can confirm that after all my deliberations, I've made the right choice.
I'm well past my prime so just wanted something to protect me from the odd unavoidable tumble and taking the view that the best protection is the type you wear all the time, comfort was important to me. I therefore discounted all of the DH orientated hard shell options and having seen Zimmerframe's comprehensive review settled on this. I've only used it in temperatures of around 10-12 degrees, so wore a cotton t shirt underneath and my normal fairly thick softshell jacket over the top. I was warm but not overly so it should be flexible with and without under and over layers to use all year round. It appears well made but time will tell and being some that feels ripped off buying a £19 t shirt that cost £1 to make, you could be critical and say its expensive for what it is but so is everything with a brand attached. Very happy with the Leatt 5 3df shorts too. Looking for a new helmet with back of head and ear protection now.
I'm well past my prime so just wanted something to protect me from the odd unavoidable tumble and taking the view that the best protection is the type you wear all the time, comfort was important to me. I therefore discounted all of the DH orientated hard shell options and having seen Zimmerframe's comprehensive review settled on this. I've only used it in temperatures of around 10-12 degrees, so wore a cotton t shirt underneath and my normal fairly thick softshell jacket over the top. I was warm but not overly so it should be flexible with and without under and over layers to use all year round. It appears well made but time will tell and being some that feels ripped off buying a £19 t shirt that cost £1 to make, you could be critical and say its expensive for what it is but so is everything with a brand attached. Very happy with the Leatt 5 3df shorts too. Looking for a new helmet with back of head and ear protection now.
- Thread starter
- #40
I have a selection of different tops to wear under it .. eventually settled on the decathlon light weight running tops as they fast wick, are light, dry in seconds and cost very little so you can buy a handful and not worry about it. If it's really hot and I'm wearing the 7855 I wear it with the vest type tops rather than the t-shirt cut.
It might be that others don't suffer from the nipple chafing I've experienced so wouldn't need a top underneath. Hot days I also wear it as it is, with no shirt of jacket over it. Actually was warm enough to ride like that a couple of days ago .. it's freezing (literally) again now.
It might be that others don't suffer from the nipple chafing I've experienced so wouldn't need a top underneath. Hot days I also wear it as it is, with no shirt of jacket over it. Actually was warm enough to ride like that a couple of days ago .. it's freezing (literally) again now.
I just toppled over and landed on rock felt something moving when i got back on bike .Dont xray ribs in my area so never know for sure. Five weeks now so pretty well healed. Accident waiting to happen so lesson learned. 65 now need to knock technical stuff on the head i think.Maybe .... Ribs can be funny things, wrong angle and enough force and even with armour they can break unless you want to wear a full exo-skeleton.
I broke on rib and various other things - including a finger
I dread to think what my body would have been like without the 7855. As it was I looked like I'd been dragged down the whole trail.
It's pretty stretchy - so don't expect too much corset action from it.
JoRo
Member
I broke 3 ribs with this on.
Switched to a hard body armour always tld, broke 2 ribs
Now 2 alternatives
1) no protection
2) try the leatt 5.5 pro
Switched to a hard body armour always tld, broke 2 ribs
Now 2 alternatives
1) no protection
2) try the leatt 5.5 pro
- Thread starter
- #43
Ow !
1 sounds like a bad idea .. if you broke ribs with armour on, imagine what damage you'd have done without it. You'd probably have punctured lungs, the breaks would be considerably more severe and you might be laid in up hospital for months. Armour doesn't make you immortal - you have to be an immortal to be immortal.
Even immortal's break bones though 
It just reduces and spreads impact forces.The 5.5 is HOT !!!! Unbearably, so unless you only ride where it's really really really cold, probably not a good option.
As I said a couple of posts ago, even armoured, with the right force and angle you can still break ribs.
well, for reference I recently ordered one of these and the sizing is, as usual for me, bang in between what i actually am.
typically I am a 43" chest so I tried my luck and ordered the large figuring that I wouldnt want a baggy fit.
if youre in the same boat, do yourself a favour and order the XL
| SMALL | MEDIUM | LARGE | XLARGE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measurements in inches. Measure chest 1" under armpit. | |||||||
| Chest Circumference | 26 - 27 | 28 - 29 | 30 - 32 | 34 - 35 | 36 - 38 | 40 - 42 | 44 - 46 |
typically I am a 43" chest so I tried my luck and ordered the large figuring that I wouldnt want a baggy fit.
if youre in the same boat, do yourself a favour and order the XL
Hello,
i just registered to this Forum cause i have bought exactly this long arm version Troy Lee Safety Jacket and searched the web for solutions how to add more strength padding to the shoulders and found a simple solution by myself which i want to share with you.
I don't ride Pedelecs aka eBikes, i just use Bio Bikes, so please don't hurt me
Since i own several jackets like the Ortema Orthomax, Blis ARG Comp, some 661 aso. i was searching for some months for a jacket which is for EN + DH riding on hometrails or "light Bikeparks" like in Austria Sölden or Saalbach Hinterglemm.
I tried some jackets from Leatt, Alpinestars, Acebis aso. send all back, also because i hate kidney belts and something that is moving around your belly and finally found this one.
I know SASTec and D3O paddings since ages, but have no clue about Shock Doctor padding equipment.
Anyway i can't tell nothing about the padding used here, especially not how things are rated for example on the back compared to usual SASTec or D30 certified CE ratings.
But something that put a big questionmark above my head was the flimsy padding insert used for the shoulders.
Again, i have no clue about Shock Doctor equipment, but i cannot imagine that this stuff will help so much compared to nothing or the paddings used on this jacket on the belly, chest, back, rips or l-bows for example.
So i remembered that i always kept the SASTec or D3O inserts from knee protectors or crash pants where the outer fabric is worn and ready for dumpster.
As long as the inner padding seems to look quite good i keep them.
So i took one Shock Doctor shoulder pad out of the jacket and did the same with a SASTec pad from an older Ion K-Pact Knee protector.
Then i put the Shock Doctor pad inside the slightly bigger SASTec pad for size compairson like also checking the cut arrangement.
Then i cut just two finger wide and a very tiny piece to bring up the SASTec pad in the shape of the Shock Doctor pad.
Before i did that, i saw that the original pad doesn't useses 100% of the given space in the jacket.
So i decided not to cut 1:1 the dimension of the original pad.
The SASTec pad fits like a glove inside the jacket.
Right now i just finished one side, but will also do the other.
I haven't put the jacket on right now to check how it feels. I'll do this later on.
Things to know:
- the used SASTec plate is rated CE level 2
- the shape of your shoulder after using a pad like this is expected like on your l-bows using this jacket. So not much more bulkier than before.
- the knee pads are used over its wide dimension instead long as they were used in the knee protector originally. Since these SASTec pads used in this ION protector have some factory horizontal cuts for better knee fitment i knew this might also work really good for your shoulder, doesn't matter how you cut it compared to a pad which is like it is.
- SASTec pads seem to be a bit harder compared to D3O pads, but both become more flexible as much your body heat warms them.
If you're interested in, i could make some photos and share the link.
i just registered to this Forum cause i have bought exactly this long arm version Troy Lee Safety Jacket and searched the web for solutions how to add more strength padding to the shoulders and found a simple solution by myself which i want to share with you.
I don't ride Pedelecs aka eBikes, i just use Bio Bikes, so please don't hurt me
Since i own several jackets like the Ortema Orthomax, Blis ARG Comp, some 661 aso. i was searching for some months for a jacket which is for EN + DH riding on hometrails or "light Bikeparks" like in Austria Sölden or Saalbach Hinterglemm.
I tried some jackets from Leatt, Alpinestars, Acebis aso. send all back, also because i hate kidney belts and something that is moving around your belly and finally found this one.
I know SASTec and D3O paddings since ages, but have no clue about Shock Doctor padding equipment.
Anyway i can't tell nothing about the padding used here, especially not how things are rated for example on the back compared to usual SASTec or D30 certified CE ratings.
But something that put a big questionmark above my head was the flimsy padding insert used for the shoulders.
Again, i have no clue about Shock Doctor equipment, but i cannot imagine that this stuff will help so much compared to nothing or the paddings used on this jacket on the belly, chest, back, rips or l-bows for example.
So i remembered that i always kept the SASTec or D3O inserts from knee protectors or crash pants where the outer fabric is worn and ready for dumpster.
As long as the inner padding seems to look quite good i keep them.
So i took one Shock Doctor shoulder pad out of the jacket and did the same with a SASTec pad from an older Ion K-Pact Knee protector.
Then i put the Shock Doctor pad inside the slightly bigger SASTec pad for size compairson like also checking the cut arrangement.
Then i cut just two finger wide and a very tiny piece to bring up the SASTec pad in the shape of the Shock Doctor pad.
Before i did that, i saw that the original pad doesn't useses 100% of the given space in the jacket.
So i decided not to cut 1:1 the dimension of the original pad.
The SASTec pad fits like a glove inside the jacket.
Right now i just finished one side, but will also do the other.
I haven't put the jacket on right now to check how it feels. I'll do this later on.
Things to know:
- the used SASTec plate is rated CE level 2
- the shape of your shoulder after using a pad like this is expected like on your l-bows using this jacket. So not much more bulkier than before.
- the knee pads are used over its wide dimension instead long as they were used in the knee protector originally. Since these SASTec pads used in this ION protector have some factory horizontal cuts for better knee fitment i knew this might also work really good for your shoulder, doesn't matter how you cut it compared to a pad which is like it is.
- SASTec pads seem to be a bit harder compared to D3O pads, but both become more flexible as much your body heat warms them.
If you're interested in, i could make some photos and share the link.
- Thread starter
- #47
I think quite a few posts ended up in other parallel threads which have been running.
In the end my only modification to the 7855 has been the shoulders - post 36 in this thread - where I replaced the shock doctor pads with rubber alpinestar pads (I prefer them to the reactive foam ones as they feel like they give more protection). As mentioned in the post above, the shock doctor shoulder pads don't have the coverage they could have or the impact resistance it's nice to have on a shoulder.
I had intended to make various upgrades to it, but at the time, I changed tact and tried to work with off the shelf solutions, like wearing it in conjunction with a 5955, but removing the 7855 armour where it doubled up with the 5955 (for more air flow and less bulk) :
However, most of the time I just run it in it's default setup (with the better shoulders) and it's fine for 99% of my off's.
@Kiwi in Wales extensively modified a 7855 with considerable upgrades - adding additional armour in the none armoured lower band and doubling up armour on most of the shirt with a selection of different armour types. I think he did a post about this somewhere, but can't find it, I have some of the pictures here though so I'm sure he won't mind me sharing them again.
put it in the for sale section dude, dont forget to add the size !
Mabman
E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Carbon Fiber/titanium chain mail prototype shown.
Should be right up you bloke's alley?
Should be right up you bloke's alley?
It's here. Size M
For Sale (PARTS) - 2021 Troy Lee protector shirt - New - 7850HW M: 70
Bike / Product Year: 2021 Manufacturer: Troy Lee Model: 7850HW Size M Asking Price: 80 Location Hartley, Kent, UK - a nearby postcode is DA3 8EQ Description Troy Lee 7850 protector shirt. Short sleeved. New with tags, never worn. These are £150 from an online shop. £70 no offers. Can...
www.emtbforums.com
Thanks for these. Really appreciate the info and effort you've put into this thread its been a good read and a lot of help
I've just got an alpine stars bionic v2 which I intended to take to bike parks. Worried it'll be too hot (I ride full face, long sleeve and long pants/trousers in the summer for protection) even for me. First outing this weekend...
Was on the fence about the 7855 for trail use but I'm gonna grab one I think. I'm too fat for size m unfortunately or I'd have had that members one at 80 quid
- Thread starter
- #53
The bionic v2's nicely designed with the type of armours and the protection is generally pretty good. There's a few places they've put in really soft foam (like a sponge - zero protection) which does nothing except add heat, but they're easy to cut out. The main heat issue is the chest/back panels which appear really well vented, but there's not enough holes in the foam - so it's worth modifying. I gave mine away as I found it too hot for all year riding for the degree of protection it gave. It's still a nice setup though.
- Thread starter
- #55
Yeah .. it's counter productive .. I find the more I think about not falling off, the more I fall off !
There are some good sales prices currently but in general Bike retailers sell most armour kit at or near RRP whilst MX/motrbike outlets often have a broader choice of gear including the well known brands at lower prices.............I guess because they have a much bigger market. I mostly use Leatt for armour and always check outlets like FC Moto etc first. A lot of the top brand armour is in any mostly aimed at sports like MX!!.............Shame MX boots a re bit lumpy for MTB!!
It is because I have three pairs of them still...
I use my old Mx armour since Sam started riding and I gave him my 7855
Bought a Short sleeve 7850 after a decent crash this week. This thread and my DH riding buddy have convinced me, it does look a little lacking but the comments suggest its way better than it looks. I figure what if I hit a tree stump, maybe I'd wish I was wearing a hard shell chest protector instead?
I've spent a couple of months mulling over what to get for trail riding. The 7850 has basically been out of stock far as I can tell so was considering a chest protector. Namely the Alpinestars Bionic one with shoulder pads as I like the Alpinestars suit I bought. I am tempted to buy it and try it on just in case.
Where does it stop though? its all too much protection until you need it I guess. Everyone else manages with a normal lid and some knee pads and I'm dressed up like I'm about to go to war. Maybe I should give up.
I've spent a couple of months mulling over what to get for trail riding. The 7850 has basically been out of stock far as I can tell so was considering a chest protector. Namely the Alpinestars Bionic one with shoulder pads as I like the Alpinestars suit I bought. I am tempted to buy it and try it on just in case.
Where does it stop though? its all too much protection until you need it I guess. Everyone else manages with a normal lid and some knee pads and I'm dressed up like I'm about to go to war. Maybe I should give up.
I would melt with that on and it would stink to high heaven. I broke ribs a year ago so it would have definitely prevented that i would say . Just watched video of guy crashing Whistler bike park yesterday. Paraplegic now . Take care im coolling down now at 66 ive had my day .
carlbiker
🛡️🚵🛡️
You’ve answered your own question, 90% won’t bother, have a hospital trip and have their mtb career ended early, this stuff reduces the risks of that so I think it’s worth the cons.
@Zimmerframe is the legend of offs, special ones too but hasn’t gone for the full motocross stuff and yours looks like it’s covering the main areas.
It’s a case of trial and error, maybe give different things a try, you can always sell and swap later
in my group more and more are upgrading to armour these days
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