This New Acerbis Motorcycle Body Armor Is Perfect For Hot Weather

You don’t have to dress like a knight at King Arthur’s round table to stay safe anymore.

Photo by: Acerbis

By: Justin W Coffey

Jul 15, at 7:46am ET

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If you spend a lot of time riding your dirt bike or dual-sport in the desert as I do, this new body armor from Acerbis might be worth looking at. It was created to provide complete protection and maximum ventilation simultaneously. And when your weekday rides are in the arid high deserts of California, or through the sweltering sand washes of the Southwest, both of those words are pretty appealing.

I live in Arizona, and often, it’s rather warm when and where I ride. During the winter months, I typically ride a few days a week, and on most weekends during the summer. And while I try not to ride when the weather is above 80 degrees Fahrenheit, it can’t always be avoided. It’s Arizona after all. So, keeping cool on my weekday rides is a skill in and of itself. I ride with a hydration pack to, well, keep hydrated, and wear a perforated jersey and pants, as well as a helmet that is both lightweight and offers a lot of airflow. But when it comes to protective equipment, my chest protector is anything but ventilated.

We all know you should wear proper gear when riding a motorcycle in anger, or even for your midday ride to the coffee shop. But sometimes the excuses outweigh the obvious. Overheating is a real thing, too. Especially when you’re navigating desert single track with only a lone saguaro to offer shade.

The new DNA 2.0 Chest Protector and Plasma 2.0 Body Armor from Acerbis promise to solve that problem.

The fabric is limited to essential areas, leaving other areas uncovered to offer maximum thermal comfort and reduce perspiration. And according to the Acerbis website, this new body armor “is ideal even on the hottest days, perfect for motocross and even more so for enduro, where body temperatures can be higher.”

Looking at the design - which has “been optimized to combine modern aesthetics, greater functionality, and superior comfort” - what stands out is the subtlety. The multi-layer construction uses viscoelastic materials combined with a semi-rigid bio-foam outer shell. On the Plasma 2.0 Body Amor, the chest, back, shoulder, and elbow protectors are CE Level 2 certified, while the DNA 2.0 Chest Protector benefits from a multi-layer structure that combines high-impact absorption materials with semi-rigid external bio-foam. It’s also CE Level 2 certified and is compatible with neck braces.

Both pieces of protection are lightweight and perforated, and perhaps most importantly, don’t appear to be bulky or bloated with plastic. Speaking from experience, a lot of chest protectors and over-the-elbow upper body armor can be cumbersome and clad in protective plastic that is anything but breathable.

What do you think?

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These new options from Acerbis seem to have solved the problem of staying protected and keeping cool at the same time.

The Plasma 2.0 Body Armor retails for around $230 USD, while the DNA 2.0 Chest Protector will set you back roughly $180 USD. And while that isn’t the cheapest option out there, the fact that these were created for riders who spend their days in warmer climates, riding difficult trails in the desert with little to no wind or shade to keep them cool, makes the price point feel a bit better. Because if you have to choose between keeping cool or protecting the important parts, you’re always going to lose.