Review Leatt 3DF impact shorts 4.0

[cozzy]

Product Image:

Product name: Leatt 3DF impact shorts 4.0
Price paid: £50.99
Score (out of 10): 7 (was 8, reduced due to the pad location)

Review: I bagged these a few days back (July 2021) for a crazy good price from wiggle, they are £85 again today
Mainly to supplement my troy lee 7605 armoured shorts that I have had for 6 years or so now. These are in extremely good condition still for their age, no issues at all.

The protection on these is in similar places to the troy lee, thigh & hip, but thicker. The leatt is missing the coccyx pad though in version 4.0 & also some inner thigh padding to stop rub compared to the troy lee.

I opted for the 4.0 rather than the 5.0, which do seems to offer slightly more protection, due to the seat padding.
Pre ebike I would have got the 5.0 for certain. However since the ebike I spend much more time riding the bike rather than pushing it uphill or sat in an uplift vehicle, & neither 3.0 or 5.0 come with any seat padding at all, which I don't think would have been comfortable.

As for a ride report well that will have to wait as a monster crash 7 weeks ago saw me with broken ribs, punctured lung & a broken clavicle.
I only hope they are as durable as the troy lee shorts.

EDIT I rode today & can confirm the bum pad is too far forward & doesn't help in a normal seated position, so buying these as they have seat padding is pointless. So I have dropped a mark off. My troy kee 7605 are much better in this respect. However for the price I paid for these on offer, I cant really complain, although I probably would had I paid full price.

 

[Zimmerframe]

The coccyx pad on the 5.0 is fairly irrelevant. Soft foam and very small so it's not going to do anything useful.

The Hip pads are effective. The thigh pads work more than I expected, but are considerably less effective than the thigh pads.

Durability wise I've been really impressed with them. I don't normally use a chamois or similar so I don't miss not having the extra pad there. I think I prefer the coolness instead - as an armoured short they're nice and cool.

This was about 10 days after an off. You can see the bruising circles around the thigh pad - so it does work, though the thigh pad area itself was heavily swollen and bloody sore !

 

[Zimmerframe]

These finally showed up.

The 4.0's gain the chamois but lose the soft foam coccyx pad and the two "bat ears" which stick up on either side of the waist on the 5.0. Other than that they're the same.

The 4.0 Chamois :

I'm not normally a chamois fan. Feels like you have a nappy on or you've crapped yourself.

This one actually felt semi comfortable when riding. Didn't move around, run, snag, droop or poach anything.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Update on these - don't like these at all !

They're not compatible with my physiology ! Did another 70k ish with them. Hotter than the 5.0's and a lot less comfortable (for me).

The chamois sits too far forwards for me so part of my contact area is on chamois and part on saddle. To get it in the right place I have to give myself a wedgie and end up with the back too high and to then the thigh pads are in the wrong place and rub.

Tried the 5.0 again today .. Bliss !

 

[Rahr85]

5.0 for me too, they have just enough protection without feeling too restrictive.

 

[antti86]

I have 4.0 and I like them. Very comfortable, barely notice them. I haven't yet test how good the protection is. I chose 4.0 over 5.0, cause it has the chamois. Chamois is decent, but like with Zimmerframe it sits too forward. Not perfect, but good shorts

 

[Quinterly]

Wondering about sizing on these. I'm right on the edge of Small or Medium. Do they fit true, tight or loose?

 

[Zimmerframe]

They're generally pretty true.

BUT ! As bambam says, if you have big legs for your size, then size up as they're relatively tight fitting on the lower leg bands.

 

[Hamina]

Just bought the 4.0 version and had a couple of test rides. Feels good on trails and on downhill. Chamois was the reason I chose it over the 5.0.

 

[cozzy]

Don't like these at all !

They're not compatible with my physiology ! Did another 70k ish with them. Hotter than the 5.0's and a lot less comfortable (for me).

The chamois sits too far forwards for me so part of my contact area is on chamois and part on saddle. To get it in the right place I have to give myself a wedgie and end up with the back too high and to then the thigh pads are in the wrong place and rub.

Tried the 5.0 again today .. Bliss !

After reading this I took my bike for a quick ride with them on. Haven't ridden for 10 weeks due to injury & I agree, the stupid pad is too far forward, so offers no padding between bum & seat. I will update my review accordingly.