Unfortunately haven't had the time to ride as much with the FF as I'd have liked over the last couple of weeks - so the jury's still out ..
It will be interesting to see what you think of the Demon and the Scott. The Scott on paper should be amazing .. but in real life and then riding - who knows .. and in Summer .... ?
It was interesting see the Forcefield Air was tight on the neck - not an ideal bit of design there. The normal one is probably tighter there than most tops - it's weird that the whole thing seems too stretchy - apart from the neck !!!
The top I've had the worst crashes in and not broken anything : Old style Fox Titan Copy. Every credit to it, it does protect well - even being the less well foamed copy. Bought that last year after my fractured pelvis (OTB on an atrociously ridden very fast drop - crap helmet so was unconscious and bad concussion, but as far as I can work out from injuries/marks - I ended up in front of the bike several meters away, unfortunately it homed in on me and hit me pedal first in the pelvis at the back - crunch ... came round to the dog licking blood off my face, so that was quite pleasant..
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Had some awful rock crashes wearing the Fox(Copy). Suffered quite (Very) impressive bruising - but no breaks. Downside, it's quite bulky and can be warm - though I did dig it out a few weeks ago and was surprised to find it was actually cooler and more comfortable than a lot of the newer alternatives I'd been testing. Would have bought the new version, but they shortened the back to make to more MX friendly and removed the kidney belt armour.
The top I've had the most crashes in and walked away with nothing broken is the Troy Lee 7855. I had an unlucky crash in that, whilst I've become quite adept at crashing (I've had enough practice) that was just quick and so fast I still don't know what happened. The worst part was the initial tree stump to the chest/shoulder area. Fractured ribs and mashed shoulder. Hate to think what I'd be like if I'd not had the 7855 on. That was ultimately what sent me on my obsessive drive to find the perfect armour and has brought me full circle to the conclusion that there isn't one - only compromises. The 7855 is great for all round protection - better than anything else. It lacks really good protection for the chest/back/shoulders though. Once you choose more protection in those areas, any top is at the limit on comfort/heat/flexibility - so you loose the general protection the 7855 offers as the designer has to focus just on certain areas.
I've been riding in the 7855 with upgraded shoulders, which doesn't seem to affect it's "performance". I'm tempted as a winter project to create the Forcefield 7855 - and merge the two in some way (shoulders/back/chest of Forcefield) - but try to maintain low weight, airflow, movement. The forcefield is a better option than D3O or SAS-TEC for this as it's a lot lighter.
The top I used the most at the end of Summer and still now was/is the Racer Motion Top 2. Most of my testing eventually wore me down on the negatives of armour - the heat - or more accurately, the fluid loss from sweat - a lot do a good job of keeping you cool - but only because you're powering the air conditioning with fluid loss. I'd be fine riding, but I'd feel crap for hours afterwards. The Racer is a compromise on the protection areas it offers, but it protects the shoulders and back well with some extra protection elsewhere. For me, it feels like a second skin. Whilst it's warmer than nothing, I don't feel like I'm sweating too much in it and it's been a compromise I've been willing to make for comfort.
Now it's cooler there's a good chance I'll wear the FF more and push myself to create the FF7855.
Or I might go back to layering. The 7855 with the 5955 over the top feel like excellent protection, but was ultimately too warm for riding in 36c.
I want to try the Racer with the 5955 over the top too .. The rocks here are like ice in winter so whilst sliding around is great fun - it can catch you out easily !
Ultimately, it's sensible to try to protect yourself as much as possible if you think what you're doing involves a chance of crashing/injury. You have to balance this though with being comfortable whilst doing what you're doing. You also have to accept that armour won't and can't protect you from every eventuality - it's just damage limitation.
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....now I'm hunting for the Bell super DH!
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