# Leatt Neck Brace



## colombo357 (Oct 31, 2007)

Saw this being offered on Go-Ride's site.

http://www.go-ride.com/ProductDetail.jsp?LISTID=221B0000-1193341561










Opinions? Do they restrict movement? Seems like a lot of people are getting pwnt when they land on their heads. I've done it my fair share of times (a lot), luckily not from great heights.

Would something like this have prevented Tara Llanes and Steven Murray's recent injuries? A kid at the Calabazas jumping park was also paralyzed a few years ago, resulting in a 3 or 4 year shutdown of the entire jump area. He too, landed on his head.


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## SPEEDMONKEY (Jul 15, 2005)

*way cool*

I think a lot of pro moto guys are already using them. I'd be interested to see how they work for DH, since our body position is vastly different from Moto. Seems like a great idea, something needs to be done in that area. Anybody ever try one?


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## freerider06 (Feb 13, 2007)

yeaa tons of moto guys are using them...


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## CountryBoy (Oct 24, 2006)

Everyone that is good at the moto races has one, if I get one for moto I will probably use it foe dh.


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## tacubaya (Jan 27, 2006)

Spinal Chord injuries are a result from:

Hyperflexion
Hyperflexion with rotation
Hyperextension
Axial loading (compression of the spine)
Brachial Plexus Lesion

This device provides protection for all of them except BPL, which is the crushing of nerves that exit the spinal chord and meet limbs. This device provides protection mostly on the cervical area (C1 to C7 vertebrae).

Tara Llanes fractured C7 and Stephen Murray crushed vertebraes C3,C4 and C5 I believe.. so yes, it may have helped a lot using this device to prevent the lesion.

Negative side? Leatt Neck Brace is very expensive..


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## 317000 (Mar 2, 2007)

Wow that's bullsh*t, It's a little brace and they're charging people almost $400 for it? This could possibly save a lot of people from serious injury, but it's cost really limits that. How many people are willing to drop $400 on a brace that has a small chance of ever being used?

Do you think my insurance company would pay for it?


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## NAYR751 (Apr 22, 2006)

Well you cannot put a price on your ability to walk. i ordered one for mx, but I am not sure if I will wear it on my dh bike. However, it is a good idea to wear one, but keep in mind that the brace only works with full face helmeets. Also, leatt has been very strict on pricing, they sued alpinestars for making a similiar device, and all dealers have to charge their msrp.


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## 317000 (Mar 2, 2007)

novato kid said:


> Well you cannot put a price on your ability to walk. i ordered one for mx, but I am not sure if I will wear it on my dh bike. However, it is a good idea to wear one, but keep in mind that the brace only works with full face helmeets. Also, *leatt has been very strict on pricing*, they* sued alpinestars for making a similiar device*, and *all dealers have to charge their msrp*.


Sounds like a bunch of scumbags out for profit if you ask me.


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## NAYR751 (Apr 22, 2006)

dowst said:


> Sounds like a bunch of scumbags out for profit if you ask me.


Basically, yet the owner of the company, claims to not care about the profit and only wants to prevent injuries.:eekster: :nono: :skep:


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## Guest (Dec 14, 2007)

Yup, ask doodooboi on this site, little crash turned into a broken neck. He was lucky, and has no serious damage but I am willing to bet once he gets back on the bike he will be sporting one of these.


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## colombo357 (Oct 31, 2007)

Good info, fellas, especially tacubaya. 

I think I'm going to be ordering one. I'm sure the product cost no more than $25 to manufacture, but being a prototyper myself, I cringe at the thought of how much it cost to develop.


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## [email protected] (Oct 1, 2005)

Haha you just called the Leatt guys scumbags for making one of the biggest improvements in safety gear in the least 20 years!!! I wonder how much it costs to start up a new company and figure out how to get a product made, distributed and do safety testing.

Lets do another quick analysys...a TLD carbon helmet is $395 MSRP. The molds have been paid for years ago and they could be sold for much less but they sell as many as they can make.

How much are knee braces? $4-800 depending on wether they're custom?

I'm not saying a Leatt is not overpriced, i'm sure they will become more affordable soon.

We are currently working on compatability with the popular body armor and crouching in a DH position to see how well it will work for DH. It's snowing here but we're headed down to Bootleg soon to try it out more. Scott allready got 2 of them, he's been motoin with it and you can't even tell it's there but moto is a much more upright body position.

Have you seen the custom TLD graphics kits yet?

Krispy


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## colombo357 (Oct 31, 2007)

dowst said:


> Sounds like a bunch of scumbags out for profit if you ask me.


Yea, same with those scumbag doctors with the high salaries. Why don't they work for free?

Damn multi-million dollar MRI and CT-scan machines. Life saving should be non-profit!

And freakin' defense companies like Lockheed charging $200M per F-22. It's national security for cryin' out loud. They should charge $200,000 max... cost of raw materials basically.

Crush capitalism! :madman:


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## [email protected] (Oct 1, 2005)

Here's a little info i found on fitment..with a roost guard, i know..

http://catalog.troyleedesigns.com/catalog/leatt_fitment.php


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## V-Dub (Jan 27, 2004)

Posted for Krispy... Pic of the TLD Custom Leatt


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## V-Dub (Jan 27, 2004)

Here are a few pics of us fitting one of these up. There are tons of adjustments to be made, and it will take you a couple tries to get everything totally dialed in, but other than the limiting of dangerous range of motion you don't even realize it's on.

Here we are making adjustments to the height of the rear wing. For sure need some actual ride time with it, but it seems like with it adjusted properly there will not be any issues with it cramping your riding position









Hard to tell from this angle, but you can look up quite a bit.









My best impersonation of a downhiller.


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## Rb (Feb 28, 2007)

Looks VERY worthwhile.

...currently looking into sporting one for next season. You're right, you can't put a price on your ability to walk, hug your loved ones, etc.


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## tacubaya (Jan 27, 2006)

Pressure suit + Leatt + Helmet = Invincible men


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## CountryBoy (Oct 24, 2006)

I think I convinced my parents to get one would be worth while.


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## 006_007 (Jan 12, 2004)

You are 15 and you have an insurance company? Or are you a sponsored 15yo racer? If so and your sponsors feel you are worth it you might want to get them to protect their investment.



dowst said:


> Do you think my insurance company would pay for it?


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

always thought about them....playing free safety in High school and college I wore a neck brace


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## Freerydejunky (Sep 21, 2006)

I dont think it would allow for all the movement that I would need. 

Just think about group rides, you would have to turn completely around to talk to some one.


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## daisycutter (Sep 18, 2005)

*They need to come out with a lighter*

one for DH and Free ride. We move around on the bike more then they do. Still I love the concept.:thumbsup: I get tired of riders breaking there neck and back to progress the sport? Real progress is moving the sport ahead and walking away when you come up a bit short.


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## Gelbwurstbrot (Jul 31, 2004)

Have a look at the FRO Systems neck brace.
Might be a cheaper alternative.

https://www.frosystems.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=141

Or the Ortema neck protector.
http://www.ortema.de/images/M_images/pdf_Beitraege/SportProtectionOffroadEnglisch_internet.pdf
ORTEMA is a company specialized in orthopedic technology and sport orthopedics


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## blackwater racing1013 (Nov 8, 2007)

They do restisct movment to some extent. But it is worth it. Ernesto Fonseca is now paralyzed because he chose not to run the brace in his second moto, or something like that, I just know he is paralyzed. On the other hand, Its very comfortable.


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## Demodude (Jan 27, 2007)

*To all you folks complaining about the price*

Let's keep things in perspective. You can spend upwards of 2-6 grand on your bike, 1000 for the fork alone, 600 for your wheels, 200 on your helmet, sheesh let's get real. 
I think of my newborn son and maybe the injury that won't allow me to work or (scary) be paralized and not being able to provide for my family. Wow, 400$ dosen't seem like that much for a well engineered / adjustable neck brace.
The chances that I take while DH/Fr really get me thinking. I took a fall of a 12 foot drop and cracked my helmet in 3 places-----It can happen. I no longer will let anyone tell me that a lighter fr helmet ok to wear, I only get the best.
Looking at the brace, and thinking about whiplash injurys alone..... just imagine the extra 2 lbs on your knoggen that are going to whip your head around in a suddon stopping crash.

Krispy, thanks for the pics, I was worried about mobility, but, now it looks great in your pics


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## mtbames190 (Nov 18, 2005)

lighter weight? isnt carbon light enough?? And yes they do work from breaking your neck.
Chris Blaze (factory ktm rider). He was wearing one while he was pre-running the Vegas to reno desert race. He was riding a ktm 690 super enduro, he hit a silt bed at high speed and got thrown over the bars. The bike actualy landed on him. The impact broke his lower back and shattered the leatt brace . he has no neck injuries but he is now parylized from the waist down. THIS SHOWS HOW GOOD THEY WORK. im convinced r u???????????


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## HotBird (May 9, 2007)

I`ve seen one of this in DH WC Maribor `07 around the neck of a female driver. My frist thought was, "auch"... Later, I realized that it was probably some kind of protetcion. :thumbsup: 

Now, the only problem is the price of it. It`s TOO MUCH! :nono: I suppose that for the pro riders, it`s not a question, but for those who are doing DH for fun..it is...


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## rideactionsport (Jan 29, 2007)

he was paralyzed before the leatt

ive worn one and it really isnt restrictive. you might not like to wear pressure suits because their restrictive but your neck is something you dont want to mess around with

to develop the leatt cost millions, for the best protection you need to pay up and i think that the possibility of saving your neck is well worth it.

the dh industry should learn from the professional motocross industry. Injuries like taras and stevens really need to be prevented.


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## PUSHIND (Jan 14, 2004)

I don't have much to say other than I've been using a Leatt-Brace for both Moto and MTB since they became available to the public. Takes a bit to set them up, but once you do you don't know it's there. Much like a lot of safety gear once you ride with it for a while it feels awkward to ride without it. For me $400 is a small price to pay for what potentially could happen. I'm not saying $400 isn't real money, that's just where my priorities are.

Darren


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## Rb (Feb 28, 2007)

rideactionsport said:


> *to develop the leatt cost millions*, for the best protection you need to pay up and i think that the possibility of saving your neck is well worth it.


Ding ding ding!!!

For all you doubters, this neck brace is better engineered and went through a great deal more testing than your piece-of-**** bike. All of that costs money. If a manufacturer can charge upwards of $2,000 for a frame, I think $400 for something that went through far more rigorous R&D and potentially save your ability to walk is very fair.

If you want to criticize its price, try this simple test:

Sit down and strap yourself to a chair *for a week*. Have it pointed at your beloved bike. You are allowed to eat, drink, and sleep, but MUST stay stationary. You cannot hug your parents, girlfriend, dog, etc.

I'll bet a month's paycheck you won't last more than a few days. I'd like you to look me in the eye and tell me you'd put a dollar value on your central nervous system.

Have fun.


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## doodooboi (Dec 29, 2006)

Rb said:


> Ding ding ding!!!
> 
> Sit down and strap yourself to a chair *for a week*. Have it pointed at your beloved bike. You are allowed to eat, drink, and sleep, but MUST stay stationary. You cannot hug your parents, girlfriend, dog, etc.
> 
> ...


I agree with ya!!!!! And that is gonna be my next purchase. It will be awhile cause I just got back to work.

I pretty much did that for about a month and half.

So do I win your Month's worth of work $$$$$ hahahahaha I need that money so I can get that brace and start riding again once my Doctor clears me.


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## Rb (Feb 28, 2007)

doodooboi said:


> I agree with ya!!!!! And that is gonna be my next purchase. It will be awhile cause I just got back to work.
> 
> I pretty much did that for about a month and half.
> 
> So do I win your Month's worth of work $$$$$ hahahahaha I need that money so I can get that brace and start riding again once my Doctor clears me.


Yikes dude!

Sure glad to see you're ok!! G'luck on a speedy recovery!


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## be350ka (Dec 17, 2004)

Well, its very interesting that this thread came up. I have given neck injuries a lot of thought considering how damaging they can be. One of my wifes co-workers (doctor of all people) recently fell off of a ladder and was paralyzed for a short time. He had 2 surgeries and is now walking and has the majority of his mobility back. It is a good thing that he is in family practice and not a surgeon because he might not practice again if he needed precision from his hands.

Anyhow, I think this may be a sign for me to pick one of these up for next season. I can relate to those with kids and the thought of not being able to engage with them would be terrible.


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## 317000 (Mar 2, 2007)

mtbames190 said:


> lighter weight? isnt carbon light enough?? And yes they do work from breaking your neck.
> Chris Blaze (factory ktm rider). He was wearing one while he was pre-running the Vegas to reno desert race. He was riding a ktm 690 super enduro, he hit a silt bed at high speed and got thrown over the bars. The bike actualy landed on him. The impact broke his lower back and shattered the leatt brace . he has no neck injuries but he is now parylized from the waist down. THIS SHOWS HOW GOOD THEY WORK. im convinced r u???????????


I'm confused with this. Are you being sarcastic and saying that the Leatt brace has no benefit because Chris Blaze is paralyzed, or that the brace works so well that even when Chris Blaze got seriously fvcked up when his 500lb+ enduro bike landed on him he received no neck injuries?

In any case, I don't think that this one incident (or any one incident) should represent the safety benefits of the Leatt brace (or helmet, etc.).


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## NorKal (Jan 13, 2005)

I think it would be great to see body armor come with this product integrated as one piece.

EDIT: Or even helmet manufactures integrating this into their helmets. That way we can eliminate one more piece of gear eh?

EDIT: EDIT: I've never heard of this product until this thread. Perhaps something this important needs better marketing? :thumbsup:


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## Buck (Jan 21, 2004)

HotBird said:


> I`ve seen one of this in DH WC Maribor `07 around the neck of a female driver. My frist thought was, "auch"... Later, I realized that it was probably some kind of protetcion. :thumbsup:
> 
> Now, the only problem is the price of it. It`s TOO MUCH! :nono: I suppose that for the pro riders, it`s not a question, but for those who are doing DH for fun..it is...


Probably was Vanessa Quin she's also a Wings for Life Ambassador.

It is definitely a site worth checking out.

www.wingsforlife.com

Buck


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## #1ORBUST (Sep 13, 2005)

Holy crap "doodooboi"   seeing crap like that makes me feel lucky that i'm just in a full arm cast.

I want to see some real ride pics with these.

I'd like my neck to be in 1 piece.


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## scabrider (Oct 3, 2004)

my buddy wears one for moto. he says it doesn't restrict a whole bunch of movement. i would get one for dh though...


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## HotBird (May 9, 2007)

Rb said:


> Ding ding ding!!!
> 
> For all you doubters, this neck brace is better engineered and went through a great deal more testing than your piece-of-**** bike. All of that costs money. If a manufacturer can charge upwards of $2,000 for a frame, I think $400 for something that went through far more rigorous R&D and potentially save your ability to walk is very fair.
> 
> ...


I know it`s a good thing to have a neck brace, but when your paychek is aorund 1 000$, and you`re riding just for little fun, than 400$ is very expensive. Not to mention the cost of shipping it to Europe, to Croatia (Zagreb where I live), then it`s not easy to decide to buy stuff like that. 

This is my risk, and I`m weel aware of it, but at this moment there is nothing that I can do. 

If I were a pro rider, I would have all the protection that I could get. 

Please, don`t be judgmental...:bluefrown:

p.s.my frend got a neck injury on skiing...


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## mtbames190 (Nov 18, 2005)

dowst said:


> I'm confused with this. Are you being sarcastic and saying that the Leatt brace has no benefit because Chris Blaze is paralyzed, or that the brace works so well that even when Chris Blaze got seriously fvcked up when his 500lb+ enduro bike landed on him he received no neck injuries?
> 
> In any case, I don't think that this one incident (or any one incident) should represent the safety benefits of the Leatt brace (or helmet, etc.).


im not being sarcastic. the bace works so good that his neck didnt get broken even with his huge bige landing on him. So think if he wasnt wearing it he would be paraylzed from the neck down, not just the waist down.


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## Rb (Feb 28, 2007)

HotBird said:


> Please, don`t be judgmental...:bluefrown:


I won't be. :thumbsup:

There's a fine line between "It's an overppriced piece of sh!t" and "I simply can't afford it."


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## Jim311 (Feb 7, 2006)

I love when people gasp over the price of things like this. It's like the prescription medicine debate. You can either pay 500 dollars per pill for it, or nobody on the planet can have it because the money isn't there to develop it. Amazing. Anyway, it seems like an awesome invention and has been a long time coming. Some people don't realize how fragile your neck and spine can really be. With all of the armor everybody is wearing these days we're going to start looking like Robocop, but that's the price of doing business when you ride the way we do.


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## blackwater racing1013 (Nov 8, 2007)

o, i thought he was paralyzed BECAUSE he didnt wear it...
I tried one on at cycle gear, actually pretty cumfy


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## matthew4president (Dec 18, 2007)

you could get a cheaper alterative, the rockgardn rg neck roll for 30 bucks but i think it would defenitly cramp your riding style has anyone had expirence with one of these


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## rm_racer (Feb 3, 2006)

i havent read the entire thread, but a good chunk of it.

there are a couple flaws with the brace, though the benefits 99% outweigh the costs (depends on your personal point of view). in one case a kid got his neck sliced open by it (more of a freak accident, but it's a problem that should be investigated.) Chris Blais broke his back wearing one when he went over the bars of his KTM. the part in the rear that keeps the brace from rotating backwards broke his spine right there and he's paralyzed. (i don't know the entire story, thats as much as i know, but he's fighting and regaining a small amount of sensation in his legs.) you take the pressure off one area and it's applied to another. there are risks to wearing this brace, too.

i think they need to integrate a design like that into a body suit (like the 661 pressure suit) or a chest protetctor. it would distribute the load better than to one point right on the spine. the spine is what they are trying to protect and they just move the damage to a different part on the spine when you have a crash that rotates your head back or just bends your back, in some cases, turning an un-paralyzing injury into a paralyzing injury. i'm content with my EVS RC3 neck collar for now.

i disagree with whoever said "anyone who is good wears them." what about RC? James Stewart? Chad Reed only wears it during practice. a lot of pros wear them, a lot of pros don't.


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## doodooboi (Dec 29, 2006)

rm_racer said:


> Chris Blais broke his back wearing one when he went over the bars of his KTM. the part in the rear that keeps the brace from rotating backwards broke his spine right there and he's paralyzed. (i don't know the entire story, thats as much as i know, but he's fighting and regaining a small amount of sensation in his legs.) you take the pressure off one area and it's applied to another. there are risks to wearing this brace, too.


Whoa!!!! :eekster: :eekster: 
I was wondering about that, on how that back piece would be just impaled into your back. But I figured since most suit's (rockgardn Flakjacket) has a spine portector you could rest on that instead of directly on to your self. Have not tried that but just been thinking of how you could prevent that type of other injury happening. 

Even though I am still planning in gettnig the Leatt Brace. I can't take any chances and that seems the most stable type of neck protector around. Those neck collar one seems you could definitly just blow through all that soft padding and still achieve the same injuries with out it. Don't get me wrong I know they propbably had done lots of R/D on it but it just seems too slim and too flimsy to protect you in a crash. Just look at all the other "hardware" for protection. :skep: :skep:

I just looked at the Rockgardn website and they have a new suite out (Trailstar) which is compliant with the Leatt Brace. Hopefully someone get there hands on it and tests it out and does a review for both of them together in use.  :thumbsup:


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## rm_racer (Feb 3, 2006)

doodooboi said:


> Whoa!!!! :eekster: :eekster:
> I was wondering about that, on how that back piece would be just impaled into your back. But I figured since most suit's (rockgardn Flakjacket) has a spine portector you could rest on that instead of directly on to your self. Have not tried that but just been thinking of how you could prevent that type of other injury happening.
> 
> Even though I am still planning in gettnig the Leatt Brace. I can't take any chances and that seems the most stable type of neck protector around. Those neck collar one seems you could definitly just blow through all that soft padding and still achieve the same injuries with out it. Don't get me wrong I know they propbably had done lots of R/D on it but it just seems too slim and too flimsy to protect you in a crash. Just look at all the other "hardware" for protection. :skep: :skep:
> ...


with a bit of slight modification, you could probably make that rear stabilization brace on the Leatt fit over the back protector. the EVS RC3 collar has a much higher density foam than their other neck collars, or competitors' collars. the drawback is that it has to mount to a chest protector to function properly.


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## NAYR751 (Apr 22, 2006)

From what I have read the back plate of the leatt is supposed to break under extreme impacts, so it's not designed to impale into you. I have read of a few cases of this happening from motocrossers.


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## rm_racer (Feb 3, 2006)

novato kid said:


> From what I have read the back plate of the leatt is supposed to break under extreme impacts, so it's not designed to impale into you. I have read of a few cases of this happening from motocrossers.


well of course it's not designed to impale you. but it still moves the load lower on the spine. i will say that the lower part of the spine is probably stronger than the neck, but i think they should have spread out out the area on that back plate. when there is a neck brace built into a chest protector/body suit, that will be the hot ticket right there.


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## 317000 (Mar 2, 2007)

rm_racer said:


> well of course it's not designed to impale you.


aw why not?


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## rm_racer (Feb 3, 2006)

cuz they were trying to make a safety device lol.


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## doodooboi (Dec 29, 2006)

rm_racer said:


> when there is a neck brace built into a chest protector/body suit, that will be the hot ticket right there.


Man I can't wait for that to come out. Hopefully it comes out with a design for guys that already has the Leatt brace and then you can just attached to the suite. So you don't have to be buying a whole other set' :thumbsup:


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## TWISTED (Feb 13, 2004)

I'm a motocrosser who dabbles a bit in DH and bought myself a Leatt. I was going to buy the cheaper $395 one, but holding the $595 one in my hands I could feel it is lighter, and also has the cool silver and Carbon fiber color, where the $395 Club is matte black. I bought the $595 Sport model and it also has velcro attatched padding that is removable for cleaning, etc. At first I used the straps to hold the brace steady, but now have it adjusted so well that I no longer need them. People would be surprised how nicely made and how many adjustments are possible on the Leatt.

I don't feel any hinderance from my brace, and actually feel more confident and secure while riding. My two younger brothers also race moto and between the three of us we have fractured 13 vertebrae and so far no paralysis. I'm not going to be taking any more chances, but am also not going to park all my bikes.

Here's me wearing mine on my Honda CRF.


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## gil_caz (Jul 12, 2006)

twisted, what brand is your leatt brace?


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## TWISTED (Feb 13, 2004)

gil_caz said:


> twisted, what brand is your leatt brace?


*LEATT*

They are the only brand making a neck brace.


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## tacubaya (Jan 27, 2006)

Hahaha! That was a really dumb question


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## rm_racer (Feb 3, 2006)

lol. sorry to laugh at another person's ignorance (not saying your ignorance about the Leatt brand name is a bad thing). but it was funny. 

i tried a leatt on at chaparral and even though it wasn't set up for me it still felt pretty comfortable. it's an excellent first shot and brace technology can only get better. i'm one of the ones who is gonna wait a year or two. plus the back plate freaks the hell out of my dad, and it worries me a little bit.


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