# Leatt protective gear shorts knee pads Hybrid jacket Review



## Igotsoul4u (May 11, 2019)

Leatt protective gear shorts knee pads Hybrid jacket Review


First, I am not sponsored by anyone and probably never will be, but I did get a free hat from Leatt  I consider myself an expert rider at best. This review is more or less for gravity riding and possibly enduro. I would not use most of this stuff for pedaling as I have soft 7 pads for trails. I grew up building dirt jumps and BMX tracks so bike parks are bit of a dream come true for me. My friends and I would always talk about how amazing it would be to use a ski lift for endless downhill days. Last year I jumped in and got out to the parks to live the dream!! Obviously the danger factor is very real with any gravity related sport. Last year a picked up a full face helmet which came in handy when I bit it on a big table top at Mountain Creek. I had a mild concussion and found my soft pads didn't do much. My elbow pads moved leading to scrapes, the kneepads were falling down all day, but much of the impact was absorbed by my hip and shoulder. Thank God nothing bad happened long term. This year I decided to step it up and get some protective gear. I am a 41 year old musician so crashes need to be minimized for many reasons. As a skater and biker I have owned great pads and crappy ones. When ever I went cheap there was always a compromise in performance or quality


After scouring the internet and talking to shop guys I zeroed in on Leatt protective equipment. I wasn't between sizes and their dirt bike history makes me feel confident they understand hard impacts. I was also interested in the POC stuff as well but wanted hardshell protection. Dainese was also on my radar but I couldn't find many biking opinions. I am 5'8 and 140lbs. My waist is 29 and inseam is 30. My jacket size is typically a 38R. I ended up buying the following all in size small:


Leatt Hardshell Knee and Shin Guard EXT
Leatt Body Protector 3DF AIRFIT Hybrid 
Leatt Impact Shorts 3DF 5.0
Leatt Jersey DBX Ultraweld




So without further ado&#8230;..way too much info.


*Leatt Body Protector 3DF AIRFIT Hybrid *


Fit/Comfort
The body protector is basically a zip up mesh jacket with hardshell shoulders/elbow/forearms and soft protection for the chest, back, and flank protection. Other then a small clip on the zipper side of the jacket, it is not really adjustable beyond its ability to stretch. Thankfully it fits extremely well and true to size. It's very comfortable and easy to get on and off. If you crashed you could easily get the jacket off without lifting up your arms. The mesh material is very soft and felt soft against my skin. I don't think I would ever wear something under the jacket unless it was cold. The mesh is also extremely breathable and quick drying. It dried in about 15 minutes under the sun today. I could probably just wear it on its own without a jersey and might do it on a hotter day even if I look like rob cop or something. Comfort is definitely a huge plus. I didn't think about it once while riding. It feels natural without any shifting or pulling. At 80 and sunny I was warm but not resenting the jacket at all. Sitting on the lift the breeze came right through and helped keep my cool. At the end of the day I had no chaff marks. I doubt the next level up body protector would be as comfortable and breathable. 


Protection
The balance is always comfort vrs protection. The AIRFIT hybrid is 100% better then riding without any protection. I hate getting stupid cuts from basic crashes/tumbles. The most typical places I get gashes and cuts are well protected. If I slide out on a berm and go down on my elbows or shoulders I'll be totally fine instead of finding that little jagged rock to tear open my elbow. If I graze a tree with my shoulder I'm good. If I slam my chest into my handlebars or stem I'm good. Overall a lot of basic/common impacts are protected but physics is physics. I don't expect any pads to keep my extremities from getting forced into uncomfortable/damaging positions in a really bad crash. The flank protection is not as thick as the back and chest but still forms some sort of a barrier against whatever might happen to your side. The chest and back have a different material that is thicker and sturdier. The chest also has a hardshell plate in the perfect spot. Overall the chest and back protection give me lots of confidence as do the elbow/forearm hardshell protection. My one area of concern are the shoulders. I wouldn't mind more coverage and I am concerned they might not stay in place as well as the elbows in a crash. Someone with broader shoulders might not have this issue. 


Areas that remain exposed are your front lower torso, biceps, shoulder blades, and collar bone. The chest protectors with shoulder pads offers more coverage in all of these areas. That's good and mad IMO. I was worried about heat, mobility, and weight. The only people I see wearing the most heavy duty tops are riding way faster then me and pushing boundaries every ride. I just want to do jump lines and single black tech trails so ultimately I felt the chest protector was not necessary for me. Another possible downer is the price but I personally don't put a price on protection. Injuries can easily cost more then $300.00. Hopefully this jacket will last me a decade with no regrets. I was close to buying a Fox Titan jacket on closeout for $100. It seems to have similar features but I was in between sizes. Still, the Leatt quality level seems very high to me. Time will tell. I wear a jersey on top so hopefully that will help keep the 3DF AIRFIT Hybrid in good shape. At the moment I have no idea how I would wash it. The good news is it doesn't smell at all after a hard day of riding. The jacket was dry in several minutes after sitting in the sun.


Overall I am loving the fit and comfort, but wonder if stepping up to the chest protector would have been that much heavier or uncomfortable. From what I read they are bulky and not super comfortable. I will update at the end of the season. Onto the knee pads. 


*Leatt Hardshell Knee and Shin Guard EXT*
First, these are not for heavy pedaling days. I doubt I will ever use these for my day to day trail rides. Definitely overkill. The big decision was going soft or hardshell. Lots of people loved the hybrid knee and shins but I thought they looked like the same construction as the full hard shells. As an ex skater I'm used to sliding on my knee pads so I wanted the same features for my bike. I also feel like soft pads will grip surfaces instead of slipping. There is no science or expert opinion going here BTW. As mentioned above, I did find my old elbow pads slid down my arm as I hit the dirt in my crash which means they gripped the dirt as I kept moving. I have read many times that something like a POC VPD 2 is good enough for rocks but I still feel better with a hard shell hitting pointy rocks. Eventually I will know how they work in a crash and I will report back. I did almost crashed and managed to find the small part of my shin that wasn't covered. Today I'm just talking about fit an comfort. It was about 80 today and breezy and I did not find the pads to be any hotter then my soft pads. The back is extremely open and its easy to undo the lowest velcro strap for some quick venting. Overall they are way more comfortable then I expected. They bend nicely at the knee and do not move around at all while riding. Keep in mind I am not pedaling in them all that much so I'm not looking for ultimate flexability. When I was riding I didn't think about them at all. At the end of the day I didn't have any noticeable chafing. So far I of love them and have zero regrets! 


*Leatt Impact Shorts 3DF 5.0*
These shorts are the highest impact rating shorts sold by Leatt. After wearing these I'm not sure why anyone would get the 4.0 or 3.0. I was actually going to buy the POC shorts but I couldn't find a small. They might be discontinued. The POC looked like the padding was super thick and people claimed they were very comfy. The Leatt shorts are not bulky at all and I literally forgot I was wearing them. Protection seems adequate covering my hips, thighs, and tailbone. These do not have butt padding which makes sense because you are typically out of your saddle going downhill. After smashing my ass and nuts on my rear tire (29er problems) I kind of wished there was a little something there. The upside is that they are extremely breathable. No swamp ass!! The padding is fairly thick overall and I feel really good about these impact shorts. The fit very easily under my endurance humvee shorts. 






*Leatt Jersey DBX Ultraweld*
Bonus: I grabbed a jersey on a whim and it was totally worth it. I usually use basic work shirts or t-shirts. My big complaints are soaked cotton shirts and workout shirts that get permanently smelly. The DBX 4.0 ultraweld jersey is so good. Dries in minutes if you are sitting out in the sun. Super soft and breezy. Washes easily without lingering smells. Can't say the same for the Nike and Adidas shirts I usually wear. Same size jersey will fit over the same size jacket/pad. Super stretchy. Looks pretty good too.






Anyway. As you can see I overthink the crap out of everything. Hopefully this helps people out because I really didn't find a lot of info out there on protective gear. I will definitely post and update at end of the season. I'm a season pass holder at Mountain Creek and my mom live a half hour from Highland so I will definitely put all this stuff through the ringer. Hopefully no bad crashes this year!


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## Dirtriding4life (Sep 20, 2005)

Thanks for posting this. I'm probably going to pick up the jacket for the bike park this summer.


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## Igotsoul4u (May 11, 2019)

I am definitely digging the jacket. It is very comfortable and so far has protected me well on my tumbles here and there. The extended elbow guards have already come in very handy. 

One thing that worries me is the material is very delicate to the point that I would not ride with out a jersey. If it tears somewhere I have no clue how I would fix it. When I take it one an off I am quite careful. So far it's doing its job well.


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## Igotsoul4u (May 11, 2019)

Whelp. The seasons is basically over for us in the Northeast so I wanted to give an update. I spend the last two days at Highland and got my ass handed to me. The first day was muddy and wet. My front tire went out from me multiple times riding down some of the black tech trails. The jacket/body protector truly saved me from landing on boulders, roots, etc.. All the points of protection are highly effective. Today I had my first high speed crash on a black jumpline. I overshot a jump very badly and flew off a berm and got launched into the air. Again, the jacket was totally effective and kept me from getting destroyed. Here is some footage of the run. The crash is around two minutes or so. I am certain the shoulder,back, chest, and flank protection prevented major bone bruises at the least. I also had on the impact shorts as well which protected my hip. Anyway. I am extremely happy with the Leatt 3DF Hybrid Body Protector. It's pricey but totally worth it for both comfort and protection.






The kneepads are great but do not have enough protection on the sides when compared to something like the Fox launch knee pads.


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## Joshhas99problems (Sep 29, 2020)

Great thread! I'm shopping body armor right now after a pretty back crash that resulted in bone bruises on my femur/hip. This was just 2 days ago so I still cannot walk normally at all. Lol good info here thanks!!!!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## Bikeworks (Sep 10, 2020)

Igotsoul4u said:


> Whelp. The seasons is basically over for us in the Northeast so I wanted to give an update. I spend the last two days at Highland and got my ass handed to me. The first day was muddy and wet. My front tire went out from me multiple times riding down some of the black tech trails. The jacket/body protector truly saved me from landing on boulders, roots, etc.. All the points of protection are highly effective. Today I had my first high speed crash on a black jumpline. I overshot a jump very badly and flew off a berm and got launched into the air. Again, the jacket was totally effective and kept me from getting destroyed. Here is some footage of the run. The crash is around two minutes or so. I am certain the shoulder,back, chest, and flank protection prevented major bone bruises at the least. I also had on the impact shorts as well which protected my hip. Anyway. I am extremely happy with the Leatt 3DF Hybrid Body Protector. It's pricey but totally worth it for both comfort and protection.
> 
> 
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> ...


Solid riding, hope you heal up quick! Thanks for the reviews.


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## 908811 (Apr 7, 2021)

Nice reviews


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## Nick_M (Jan 16, 2015)

thnx for review, bought Leatt Body Protector 3DF AIRFIT Light for the upcoming bike park season, initial impression comfy feel, true to size and a bit bulky under the jersey ( u need to upsize jerseys)
protection certified for Moto usage, will see how it goes with MTB


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