Rheon level 2 full back protector

For some years, D3O seem to have had the premium end of the armour market to themselves. Nothing came close. There was uncomfortable armour. And there was D3O armour. The budget clothing brands couldn't afford it, so had to put up with the old stuff. The premium brands had to form a queue, and ask to be able to fit D3O into their garments. And the early adopters like Klim & Rukka have been using it for some years.

 

In recent years, though, there has been a lot of catching up. Now every clothing manufacturer seems to have a version of D3O in their jackets and pants.

 

It's an exciting market; and the competition is getting closer. But in every way it is we, as motorcyclists, who will be the winners. With amour that delivers ever higher levels of protection in a package that you can barely tell you're wearing.

 

And one of the companies taking the fight to D3O is called Rheon.

 

They're another British enterprise, and even though they're a new player they are already working with an impressive list of high-profile brands. We're talking about names like Adidas, Rapha and Harley Davidson

 

Now, they do shaped armour, and they do flat armour for shoulders, elbows, knees and hips. We're not yet offering it, but we do really like Rheon's new Level 2 back protector. 

 

Now the new Rheon back protector doesn't usher in a new age, but we do think it offers advantages over what’s out there right now. And if you are looking for the last word in comfort and breathability in a Level 2 back protector, then we do think it's better in some ways than D3O’s Level 2, Air armour that the company brought out just a year or so ago.

 

Nobody is going to be able to challenge the fact that the Rheon back protector is going to flow more air than D3O's air protectors. Which is going to make it nicer to wear in almost any motorcycle jacket. It's also more pliable and flexible.

 

The Rheon protector comes in the same sizes as D3O's medium and large sizes; what we sometimes refer to as a T7 and a T8. Understandably, Rheon have copied D3O's sizing, because their armour pockets are the most common. And so what this means is that if your jacket takes one of the two sizes of armour we've mentioned, the Rheon will fit in that pocket too.

 

In terms of weight, by the way, the Rheon is quite significantly lighter than D3O's standard Level  2 armour, although it's almost identical to D3O's Air armour. In fact, we reckon it's some 2-3% heavier, so the discrepancy is negligible. In terms of thickness, if there's any difference, we have not been able to measure or discern it.

 

The armour from both companies passes the ambient and wet test, but neither is declaring a pass in the cold temperature, or hot temperature, tests; meaning that neither passed!

 

So there we have it. We would suggest that it is not worth swapping out a Level 2 D3O Air Protector for a Rheon one, but it might be if you want to upgrade a standard D3O Level 2 protector. And certainly if you wanted to upgrade from any kind of Level 1 protector, you should consider the Rheon because it's only 23% heavier than, for example, a D3O Level 1 protector, and just 10% heavier than D3O’s Ghost, Level 1 protector. But, of course, it offers twice the amount of protection.

 

Anyway, at this stage, Rheon is not changing the way we look at motorcycle protectors, but we have been fitting it here in the shop for a while, and people seem to like it.

 

The Rheon, by the way, is exactly the same price as D3O Air.