13 March 2025

Orange is the new black

Even a so-called small off can properly smart, so it’s always important to protect that which is most important to you. You.

Traditionally, though, a lot of riders’ protective gear has been weighty and restrictive.

Then, in 1999, a clever engineer by the name of Richard Palmer came up with D3O, a range of lighter, flexible impact protection materials.

Paul Browne has put the stuff to the test.

 

A relatively new company, D3O, produce a very clever armour system.

While motorcycle clothing has been armoured for decades, traditional protective gear has been rigid, inflexible and somewhat uncomfortable.

Indeed, some of the pieces in older suits would sometimes become brittle and even break in the event of being ‘needed’. That’s bound to be a rather unpleasant position to find oneself in.

What the team at D3O have done is develop a whole new way of protecting sports people. They also make stuff for us.

The light stuff

As a result of engineer Richard Palmer’s ingenuity riders now have available a selection of soft and easy to wear armour available.

This stuff is light and, most importantly, flexible. It can be worn in everything from road biased trousers and jackets all the way to AAA rated one piece racing suits.

The magic lies in the fact that it feels like it’s marginally heavier than kit with no armour and comes with virtually no restrictions on movement.

I’m not going to pretend I understand how, but it achieves this by allowing the molecules that these pieces are made from to ‘flow freely’.  Hence the ease of movement and the lighter weight.

The really clever bit though is that those molecules lock on impact and, it’s claimed, perform even better than traditional hard armour.

But they don’t just break the fall as traditional armour would.

D3O also dissipates the energy of an impact throughout the piece of protection in which it’s been deployed. That could be boot, jacket, vest or a hip, elbow, knee or shoulder pad.

Track tested

D3O protective kit is well regarded in the racing world.

For years Michael Dunlop has been wearing D3O in his Furygan suits where this smart material is complemented by InMotion airbags. Now he’s been joined by Lee Johnson and Tom Booth-Amos.

It’s also not just Furygan who use D3O.

The product is also used in TCX boots, Belstaff, Klim, Scott, Rukka and Icon as well as Fox and Richa.

Rather interestingly D3O have recently trademarked the exclusive use of the  colour orange with regards to motorcycle protection.

Yes indeed; orange. It’s the new black and it’s now owned by D3O.

What this means for the company is that if the armour in your kit is orange then it’s definitely D30.

As result they’ve adopted the new slogan, “Give it Orange”.

Having them in my own Furygan suit makes a huge difference to my riding in terms of comfort as well as protection.

The D3O pieces in the riders suits are the Diablo Limb Protectors , the Viper Air Back Protector, CP1 and CP2 Chest Protectors . All of these are lightweight, ventilated and extremely effective.

Check out the science on their website, www.d30.com.

Great protection? Call our specialist motorbike insurance team on 0818 945 950!

 

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