What can back protectors protect against?
They are designed to protect against soft tissue injuries - they cannot really prevent bone fractures. Nevertheless, the protector offers a certain degree of protection against fractures as it softens the impact. What it cannot help against are sprains and torsions. That's not what it's designed for. You need to know that!
What does that mean in concrete terms?
If you roll over your back during a fall, the protector prevents penetration by stones, for example. In short: it offers a certain amount of protection against back injuries, but in relation to the impact energy and the mass that is set in motion, this is a drop in the ocean.
Which is better: rucksack or waistcoat? That depends on the individual case. Although the waistcoat fixes the protector better to the body, the rucksack often achieves better damping values and also protects against injuries caused by the contents of the rucksack. The protector plate prevents the pump, lunch box or metal bottle from digging into your back.
Why do hard plastic protectors perform so poorly?
You can't say that. Hard plastic combined with high-quality foam can achieve very good test results. But hard plastic alone does not dampen.
So why is hard plastic used? In motocross as protection against stone chips. In inline skating, to slide on concrete - but when biking, you wear the protector under your clothing, so that doesn't apply. The only thing I can think of is better durability. Hard plastic is more robust in use than the strange polystyrene plates that were used in the past.
But the "strange polystyrene" achieved good damping values in the test.
Styrofoam is outdated because it is too susceptible to damage. You sit on it by accident and the thin plate breaks. Styrofoam protectors are no longer state of the art.
They also have to be replaced after a fall.
Every protector must be replaced after a fall - this is how all manufacturers protect themselves legally. This is also stated in the instructions for use, as nobody can say whether the protector has been damaged. Even if the foam can theoretically withstand many falls.
You can find out more about back protectors and rucksacks with integrated back protection and the entire test in the new FREERIDE. We tested 15 systems with the TÜV.
