To let you know, 2009 Percussion Armor has just arrived or will be arriving in the next few weeks in most countries. These are the improvements since the last batch:
-the leg wrap around is 25 mm wider for better coverage of larger calf sizes
-softer more comfortable straps.
-better knee curvature and patella protection
-knee strap feeds through a loop on the inside to better secure the pad at the top of the knee.
Percussion arm armor will also be available in some countries.
Photos and more detailed specs will be online at krisholm.com in early January.
Yeah, maybe… but Most riders uses under Pants… So nobody would see it… Only black is enough I think… I would not buy other colors… is hard to match with my clothes ;)…
Hey Kris, I’m happy to see some great products coming out.
I have questions though as to the ethics behind the production of them.
I know that it can be very hard to produce armor ethically, which is why MEC hasn’t gotten any new armor in quite a while, so I was wondering what kind of ethical standards you uphold in the sourcing for your armor, and how you uphold those standards?
Any chance we could see MEC carrying these since they don’t carry any right now?
White could get pretty nasty looking, but a light color would be good like tan, light grey, or matching the gloves (silver?).
Flames like you had in some of your vids would be sweet, or some other cool pattern.
If they were available in a light color or had a cool design pattern, I’d definitely get a pair (I’m more partial to a light color). If just black I’ll stick w/ my customized 661’s.
Re sourcing ethics: I work through a Taiwan-based manufacturer; the factory is in Shenzen China. As a small company serving a niche market, I have no initial influence over a factory; what I can do is start small, get more valuable over time, and do my part to ask the right questions. That is a work in progress.
Color options likely won’t happen for the forseeable future because of minimum order quantities for even one color. An additional challenge faced this year was jumping through the legal hurdles to obtain required CE Mark certification for sales in the European Union. That required some expensive 3rd party quality testing at a facility in Italy. It took a while, but it worked out and I’m happy that despite delaying production for about 6 months it has finally been approved.
I don’t know if obtacles is the right word. They need checking on judging by some of the recent scares with deadly chemicals harming people using products made over there. Also, the EU is aware that any clothing claiming to offer protection needs to be tested or there is a good chance products won’t do the job the one time you come to rely on it. It’s easier to make something that resembles say a motorbike helmet but is completely usless in a crash, at which point it’s too late. It is a pain for small volume manufacturers though, I agree.
Definitely there’s a preocupation with security, and that’s really good.
But my dad works with Motorcycle Helmets, clothing and acessories, and some factorys are running out of products because EU just changed some laws. They said that are looking only for better security, but I must say that’s pretty weird, because after years importing from China, they just changed laws now…
EU have a great security system for Helmets, but they’re trying to stop a bit the comerce with Asia for sure…
The entire world is a bit worried with China. Lot’s of countries are changing laws to stop a bit commerce with China. It’s almost impossible to compete with their prices. Cars, toys, bikes, eletronic stuff… Everything is cheap… And some years ago they were not able to make stuff with good quality, now they are, and many times better than our countries…
