2008 : Pro-Tec : IPS Back

Review:
Pro-Tec has been making snowboard protection for a number of years.  They have a reputation for making protection that works.  This one fits very snug and doesn’t take up a lot of room under your coat.  

Pros are increasingly wearing spine protection to save their season.  Spine protectors aren’t commonly used in the USA by the snowsport public.  In Europe they are considered of higher importance than helmets. Spinal injuries in snowboarding generally occur when jumps have unplanned outcomes.  I didn’t consider using a protector until I had a skier take me out from behind and my back got slammed onto a slab of ice.  I could barely walk for a week or two.  If I had been wearing this I don’t that it would have been as severe.  The IPS Back is made to absorb high impacts to the spine.

I tried out a number of spine protectors before settling on this one. Some protectors are big, bulky, and make you feel like you are a turtle with a big shell on your back.  Not this one. It offers solid comfort and stays in place. The hinged design allows flexibility too.  If you land on your spine, this does a great job of absorbing impacts.  Unlike heavy foam protectors, you won’t sweat like a pig on a hot day.  A great value for the money.  They come in several sizes so you can get one that fits you.  My only complaint is that it took me so long to discover that this type of protection existed.