Xion Protective Gear Jacket Review

Xion Long Sleeve Jacket $275 EU approx $360 US

Xion Short Sleeve Jacket $215 EU approx $280 US

Let's face it snowboarding isn't free of injury and if you do this sport long enough you will encounter a few sneaker falls that cause damage. So over the years I (editor) have been searching for a way to keep from hitting my max out of pocket with my insurance policy and find low profile body armor that works well under a snowboard jacket. I have tried many many upper body armor jackets. Some are low profile but offer little real protection. The ones that usually offer a lot of protection make you look like you are going to play hockey with snowboard clothing on over your pads. Xion doesn't compromise on protection or profile so Check out the detailed review below.

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The Good Ride Take

The Xion Protective Gear Jacket Review by The Good Ride

The Xion Long Sleeve Jacket is expensive but about the best low profile body armor you can find for snowboarding. Think about what the hospitals charge and then this price is pretty reasonable. This is a tremendous amount less than your insurance max out of pocket so you have to think of it that way.

Profile- Usually when you have low profile body armor it skimps significantly on protection. Some provide some thin EVA foam pads that offer some protection from minor falls but you are fk'd if you have a major to even medium fall. I even encountered one company that actually thought that memory foam and a little plastic could protect your spine. This is tragically funny but that is where the industry is right now when it comes to fitting protection under a snowboard jacket without making it look like a hockey jersey. With the addition of d3o technology we are getting very close to having body armor that is almost unnoticeable under a jacket and offers a significant amount more protection.

Protection- D3o is pretty new tech to the industry. D3o is soft to the touch, thin and molds to your body but when hit d3o stiffens up almost instantly creating a hard shell on your body like an exoskeleton. This is being used in motorcycle protection and from what the experts say it's arguably the best out there. It is also a lot thinner than conventional protective padding like EVA foam and other plastic/foam combos that offer the same protection.

Here is a little break down from d3o. Their are varying levels of protection but here is an example in the T5 Shoulder pad.

The T5 EVO ST limb components range offers good protection and a low profile, whilst being extremely comfortable and lightweight. The components are CE certified and ideal for the motorcycle and sports markets.

CE certified prEN1621-1:2011
Thickness 10mm
Non-toxic

In snowboarding the #1 cause of injury is the wrist and the #2 cause of injury is the shoulder. Most body armor companies don't have much or any shoulder protection like this so that really gives the Xion Protective Gear a big advantage. Most seem to only have shoulder protection on the side but this works it's way up over the shoulder and over the AC joint. I don't know if this protects the AC joint but its nice to have something over it for once. I have fallen on my shoulder giving myself a stage 5/6 ac separation. After 2 surgery's and a tendon removed from wrist to replace the tendon that was obliterated it's nice to see to see something on that. Another very important part is the spine/back protection that covers a majority of the back. The other day I hit an ice patch in flat light at probably 15-20mph. My edge same out from under me sending me right to my lower to mid back. Normally a hit like that would leave a massive bruise, jack up my back and keep me on Advil for a few days. After the fall I sat there for a few minutes expecting something to be wrong but instead I was completely fine. All the other protection in the chest, ribs and elbow is nice to have as well because it's amazing how many ways you can hurt yourself snowboarding....especially in the jib park. What I have learned over the years is you don't have to go big to break yourself big.

Fit/Comfort- The Xion Long Sleeve Jacket is not designed specifically for snowboarders. It's original intent was for stunt men but the 2 worlds have similar needs and this does a great job fitting inconspicuously under even a thin shell. After a few days on the hill with the Long Sleeve protection under my jacket I really didn't notice. The only minor complaint was the wrist bands and the padding around the wrist. It's not terrible but snowboarders would like to have it removed. Other than that the fit is excellent and very snug which is important for d3o to work. There is also some added warmth but not soo much that you need to change your jacket insulation. Another great thing is Xion added different and far more breathable material in areas like the arm pits for where you sweat a lot. The other material that houses the padding is strong but very thin and pretty breathable. D3o does mold to your body pretty well so all in all the whole experience is comfy and uninhibited.

Summary-Let's face it. Even with protection there are still so many ways you can break yourself. Sometimes just the angle of the fall can jack your back or hips or ?? I have found that the xion protective gear can help keep me out there after what should of been a day ender fall. In the very near future helmets will be mandatory to get your lift ticket and many of the Pro's are getting into body armor. Maybe one day everyone will be using something like Xion Protective Gear on the hill and in the park. This isn't snowboard specific body armor but we haven't found something yet that works as well as Xion does for our industry. Hopefully Xion Protective Gear will grow and be a household protection name for snowboarding.

Here is a pretty crappy but hopefully helpful review of the Xion Protective gear.

Company Info

Xion Protective Gear Long Sleeve Description
The Xion protective gear long sleeve jacket is specifically designed to wear as an undergarment. An ideal replacement of the traditional bulky rigid protection.
The jacket has a removable backpad in case you don't want to use it and ideally worn underneath your clothes.
Our products are designed and tested by stuntmen and extreme sports athletes with great results.

TARGET USERS:
-Stunt performers
-Extreme sports athletes
-Skating / rollerblading
-Parcour / freerunning
-Winter sports
-Governmental institutes

The padding material is flexible, breathable, re-usable and washable (up to 40° ). The pads are made of a revolutionary material called d3o™ (dee-three-oh) which is made of "Intelligent Molecules" that flow with you as you move but on shock/impact lock together (in a fraction of a second) to absorb the impact. The d3o™ padding outnumbers traditional foam padding more than 6 times using half the thickness.

The main fabric of the product is made of the Italian sports brand "Sensitive" lycra. Providing a strong, stretch, breathable fabric, especially designed for the sports industry.

Xion Protective Gear Short Sleeve Jacket Description

Product Description

The Xion protective gear short sleeve jacket is specifically designed to wear as an undergarment. An ideal replacement of the traditional bulky rigid protection.
The jacket has a removable backpad in case you don't want to use it and ideally worn underneath a t-shirt.
Our products are designed and tested by stuntmen and extreme sports athletes with great results.

TARGET USERS:
-Stunt performers
-Extreme sports athletes
-Skating / rollerblading
-Parcour / freerunning
-Winter sports
-Governmental institutes

The padding material is flexible, breathable, re-usable and washable (up to 40° ). The pads are made of a revolutionary material called d3o™ (dee-three-oh) which is made of "Intelligent Molecules" that flow with you as you move but on shock/impact lock together (in a fraction of a second) to absorb the impact. The d3o™ padding outnumbers traditional foam padding more than 6 times using half the thickness.

The main fabric of the product is made of the Italian sports brand "Sensitive" lycra. Providing a strong, stretch, breathable fabric, especially designed for the sports industry.