Review: Troy Lee Designs CP 5955

Troy Lee Designs has been spending the last few years on the drawing board with the Shock Doctor team, the ambition was to design the best chest armor possible. A little more than a year ago they presented their result; the CP 5955. I wanted a better and more cooling upper body armor, so the CP 5955 caught my eye. After riding it for an entire year, in various bikeparks, with various crashes, I can finally make a conclusive review, check it out:

The CP 5955 is highly adjustable, with no less than 50 different settings.

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Exploded exterior view. The protection is definitely concentrated around the chest, ribs, the clavicle, shoulder and upper back.

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Exploded internal view. Notice the massive amount of channels. They are there to make the air flowing. The system is called VENT-TRAK.

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Front. Leatt Brace inserted. No need for brace straps - the CP 5955 takes care of stability, even during rough riding. Note the massive thorax/rib coverage.
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Back. Note how the brace is inserted into the CP 5955. This pic also gives you an idea as to how far down the CP 5955 protects the spine. Ive since done a ghetto-mod to extend the coverage with some 20%. Good news however is, that the back coverage is wide. The kidney belt is from Thor btw - and it sucks balls.

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Side. Note how far the rib protection goes in.

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Bulky, its not. In fact, the CP 5955 is surprisingly nonrestrictive.

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After an entire year of use and abuse I can finally conclude the testing with positive remarks for the CP 5955. I had my share of crashes onto the side, front, back, and even head first into a log, the CP 5955 has done its job, as I've come out of these crashes with no injuries. I acknowledge that luck and other factors come into play when crashing, but I've genuinely felt this body-armor has taken the heat for me.

After a few years of riding with body armor that would heat up in no time, it was refreshing to jump into the CP5955 and feel the air cooling me of as I descended, the Vent-Track system is highly effective. Gone is the bulkiness that's been bugging me on past body-armors, besides being lightweight, its easy to move in as well. The fact that micro-adjustment is an option, only adds to the score.

If you are into a high-tech bodyarmor, that has a high degree of ventilation, adjustability, and Leatt Brace integration, then look no further; the Troy Lee Designs CP5955 is a very good piece of protection.

The Good:
-Highly ventilated
-Adjustablility options
-Outstanding protection
-Lightweight: 1.14kg (2.51 lbs) - see actual weight HERE
-Comfortable
-Leatt Brace compatibility and FULL integration
-Non bulky

The Bad:
-Back protection should have been a little longer.
-Adjustment bolts are made of soft aluminium - go figure

Score 5/6

See more pics of the CP 5955 in my preview here