D3O®, SAS-TEC™ or 3DSP impact protection, what are the benefits and differences?

PROTECTION

Épisode 1 - Impact protection

Looking for something that will protect you from impacts, poor weather, or the cold? You may want to know which protective material will suit you best. We wrote this blog with you in mind. In this first episode, we will discuss the different protective materials in a Racer product to protect you from shocks.

Have you ever experienced a moment where you get injured and you regret not having bought any protective equipment? Whether for your knees, elbows, back, hands, etc. A painful fall is very penalizing. However, you cannot apply a defensive layer around your body and stop thinking about it. You are at the same time sacrificing comfort and aesthetics. The design of a product is a balance between these elements. At the Racer workshops, we seek to innovate on this balance to always offer the best protection, comfort, and aesthetics. We offer you something that allows you to ride your bicycle or your motorcycle, slide with your skis keeping your spirit free and a sense of serenity for your body.

Guaranteed Quality

To guarantee the quality of our products, we follow the standards established by the Conformité Européenne (CE) since the 90s. The first one is the EN1621-1 (Shoulder, hip, knee, and elbow protection), the second one is the EN1621-2 (Back protection) and the last one is the EN1621-3 (Chest protection). In addition, we added the labels CE1 and CE2. They show the level of energy being transmitted to another surface during an impact. CE 1 is present in Racer products for its protection level and lightness. As for CE 2, present in our motorcycle products since it is thicker to absorb bigger shocks. To guarantee the quality of our products, we follow the standards established by the Conformité Européenne (CE) since the 90s. The first one is the EN1621-1 (Shoulder, hip, knee, and elbow protection), the second one is the EN1621-2 (Back protection) and the last one is the EN1621-3 (Chest protection). In addition, we added the labels CE1 and CE2. They show the level of energy being transmitted to another surface during an impact. CE 1 is present in Racer products for its protection level and lightness. As for CE 2, present in our motorcycle products since it is thicker to absorb bigger shocks.

Materials

When falling against an object or the ground, we are transferring an extensive amount of energy through our bodies. To give you an example, when you punch a wall, you damage your knuckles, your fingers, and the wall. If we inserted something in between, you and the wall would come out scratch-less. We want to offer the best for your hand. So, we use materials that protect you by absorbing and distributing energy to prevent injuries. The viscoelastic armours found in Racer products are the D3O®, SAS-TEC ™ and 3DSP. We integrated them to help in protecting you by offering you excellent freedom of movement and unparalleled comfort.

D3O® is a technology of English origin. It is an orange-coloured polymer material that has the particularity of changing its shape depending on the pressure exerted on it. The technology absorbs the energy of the impact and then returns to its malleable shape around your body to maximize comfort. Its great flexibility is because of the significant resistance of the material to large temperature variations. It has perforations to help with ventilation, thus making it lighter and more breathable. However, despite the ventilation, it does not affect your protection. You can find the material in a multitude of different moulds inserted into gloves, back protectors, knee pads, elbow pads, etc. For example, the Motion Top 2 vest incorporates it into your back, shoulders, and elbows to provide protection all around. The Anti Shox is a protective sock incorporating D3O® to protect your tibia and malleoli. You can wear it with the Motion Knee that wraps around your knee to keep it safe and sound. Your hands are usually the first to absorb an impact. Given their importance, we strive to offer them the best in terms of protection. We have produced many cycling gloves reinforced with D3O® in the fingers and palm to absorb shocks such as the Rock 3 or the Digger.

SAS-TEC ™ (Shock absorbing systems) is a German technology very similar to D3O®. What characterizes it is the air bubbles inside the material that will allow it to return to its original shape upon impact. It comes in more compact moulds, especially for the shoulders, elbows, knees and back. You can find it in the Mountain Top 2 jacket and The Packer backpack. They can also adapt it to the morphology of children. You can find it in many kids’ gear like in the Turtle Vest 2 and the Motion Top Kid 2.

The 3DSP results from our effort to create our impact protective technology, develop our skills, and apply our knowledge. It has the same viscoelastic characteristics as D3O® and SAS-TEC ™. By combining it with very high-density foam, it adopts the role of a shell around your knee or elbows while offering the same comfort and flexibility. Having our technology allowed us to make several products more accessible to consumers. It gives you an excellent level of protection, but not being the most expensive. You can find 3DSP in the Flexair Knee and Flexair Elbow pads. They both come from extensive research in ergonomics, interviews, and tests with professional athletes to guarantee you the best quality.

Conclusion

To protect you against shocks, D3O® or SAS-TEC ™ certainly are the most advanced. You can find them in the best Racer products. However, different situations require different protection technologies and Racer is versatile in the production of its products to meet all the requirements of its customers. 3DSP offers protection close to the best materials while maintaining a quality comparable to the best of what is on the market. You will find this technology around mid-range products. One certain thing is that throughout our different ranges you can always have the same comfort known to Racer. This allows you to practice your favourite sport while keeping your mind and your movements free knowing that you are under protection from the best materials on the market. This is it for our first blog! We hope you learned something new. Hopefully, we will meet again soon for the second blog which will be about different membranes to protect yourself against poor weather.

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