Integral body armour - with curves in the right places for a
 

I'm a new biker babe (Woo Hoo!) and am making sure I have all the right gear... BEFORE I attempt anything gravity defying!
Search as I may though, I can't seem to find body armour that is purpose made for women.(besides of course the string bikinis that most biking places seem to stock!!) Are there any good women's gear manufacturers that I could look into?

[This message has been edited by Shells (edited 12 May 2005).]

<font face="Arial">Biker babes always welcome.

Have you seen <a href="http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/Forum22/HTML/000012.html" target="_blank"> this
post</a>?</font></p>

Shell hi, seems that my gf has the same "problem". I haven't seen anything similar to the dainese safety shirt cut for ladies. Just gone through the latest TBM mag. which the same question is answered, they are suggesting Acerbis Lady Fussion - which as the name suggest its shaped appropriately - kind of off road roster protection plus arm protectors. I suppose that will do if you are off roading!!
(check it out on their web site acerbis.com)


For road riding there are a few ladies cut jackets, but I haven't tried any off them :-)

Thank you Stephano and George T!
The Dianese Safety jacket looks good, but not specifically designed for women. Acerbis however got my vote with the Roost Deflector Lady Fusion - some serious kit! It is cut specifically for a lady's torso and has a custom shaped chest plate (phew! I was starting to think that squashed bits were better than grazed bits - ouch!).
Time to go shopping! http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/smile.gif

Howsit Michelle,

You may find it useful to contact 'braindead' and 'nomiskx', whose wives/partners both ride offroad bikes.
Like you, they're also quite tall and have both done one or two long trips in Africa.

Well, after a lot of web-research and embarrassing several salesmen by having to jiggle and adjust (they soon understood the particular challenge that ladies face) http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/smile.gif I think that I have a winner!
I have found that there are 2 front runners: Knox & Dainese. Knox are a UK based company who make some highly recommended and safe gear. Although the Cross shirt 1 (2005) fits very well - the chest plate is heavy duty foam and moulds to your shape - I have opted for integral body armour that has a moulded more solid chest plate in it (if I'm going for good protection, I may as well go full hog!). Dainese make some great body armour that has a shaped chest plate that can accommodate (well enough, considering some of the very badly fitting stuff that there is on offer) shapely feminine curves. The draw back is that the armour comes at a pretty hefty price!
I have made a compromise and have ordered some Dainese-like gear that utelises the same design but offers it at a much more affordable price (all CE approved though, so no short cuts there!).
A friend is very happy with hers, so I happily await my package in the mail!!
Thank you all for your advice.