Yet another newbie seeking advice on mtb protection
Hi guys, newbie rider here ð I'm 35 years old and It's my first season riding. I feel my learning curve is real steep though as I can already bunnyhop about 20-30cm high, clear 1-2m jumps and and blast through red trails.
In terms of protection I currently wear most pads from my winter snowpark setup - Black Diamond Telekneesis Kneepads + super cheap soccer shin guards, TroyLeeDesigns 7850 hw protective shirt and a Smith Gage Helmet.
Now I feel like I'm at a point when I need to up my protection game if I wanna keep progressing and reach my goals for this season (ride double black diamond dh trails and be able to whip/tabletop a 3-5m jump/drop) as I'm a bit scared of hitting bigger features atm.
Im currently looking to get good elbow pads, a propper DH certified full face helmet and maybe a neck brace.
What elbow pads to get? I am the kind of guy who trusts plastic the most, but any advice/experience would help a lot. Most important is of course protection level + it would be nice if they didn't slip down towards my hands ð
Helmet doesn't need to be carbon right away but defo needs to be DH certified and have Mips/360 Leatt Alternative + breakaway visor. Fit and ventilation are also factors but I'm willing to compromise here for the sake of protection. Few of my mtb friends have these ultra light / convertible helmets but I don't trust that these things will protect me in a park/dh crash. My hot contenders that fit me best are somewhere in the middle of the road I guess?: Fox Rampage (or rampage comp?), Leatt 2.0 (or 4.0?) Gravity, Abus Airdrop
Neck brace - do I need one atm? Any advice/experience woul be appreciated greatly as I have very little knowledge about these.
I feel the TLD vest + plastic leg pads I've already got are quite good as it saved my ass mamy times tacoing rails and overshooting kickers on snb so I guess it's gonna be good for mtb too? ð Or should I upgrade also this part of my setup? I really don't wanna take chances on getting hurt, especially if better pads can help to easily avoid this.
I would like to end my super long post by saying that I've done many action sports in my life and far nothing comes close to the adrenaline rush you get while shredding down mtb parks/trails with your homies ð I'm so hyped atm I spend all my non-riding time researching gear or watching mtb vids ð I really fell in love with this sport ðĪ Btw sorry for posting another protection gear thread. I've spent plenty time looking up older threads with similar topics, but didn't feel like any met my specific needs. Hope there's people here who can help me out by providing valuable experience. Thx ð