Tuesday, July 31, 2012

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

16 comments:

  1. Nice to see your follow up review of the TLD CP 5955. Glad you took your time to test it out. It is good to hear that after a year of use, you are still happy with it. After my last trip to Whistler, I have decided a Leatt brace would be a good thing to wear with a compatible body armor.

    You have a couple of pictures of yourself with the body armor and the Leatt brace under your jersey; did you have to modify or cut the neck of your jersey to get it to fit?

    Thanks for the review and the great blog, keep it coming!

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  2. Hi there Paul, glad you enjoy the blog : )

    I didnt have to cut anything, what I did was to buy a jersey a size larger than usual, and then I carefully stretched/sqeezed it over the brace in order to get it on. It works really good, and there is no need to cut or modify. It works great with a Fox jersey.

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  3. Hi V.P.

    Nice work on the blog dude. Really cool stuff you got goin on. Thanks for sharing!

    The CP 5955, is it the large or medium that you have?

    As it does feel a little short. I wonder if that is simply its design?...

    Cheers,

    Merlin

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  4. Hi there merlin, glad you like the blog : )

    Im using the medium size, its a bit short on the back yes, ive mentioned that in the review as well. I did a ghetto-mod, where I extended the back a bit, enough to make it satisfying long.

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    Replies
    1. what exactly was the 'ghetto mod'? im looking and i dont see anything different about it...

      And any kidney belt you would suggest then other than that Thor? Why did that one suck?

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    2. I ended up getting one almost a year ago now, and am extremely happy with it! It's definitely saved my bacon. Very cumfy and well placed armour. I am 5'11" and would say that I am wider in the shoulders than you. I decided to go with the large. I find it fits perfectly. I would highly recommend this piece of kit to anyone who's keen on a light, breathable, well placed chest/shoulder protector. Thanks for helping me make my decision V.P. Ride on! :)

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    3. Glad I could help Merlin : )

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    4. Hi Body, Great review, which made me buy one of these :-) However I can't figure out how to do the ghetto mod you mentioned? Maybe a photo?
      Keep up the good work.
      /Kim H.

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    5. Ill shoot a pic for you mate : )

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    6. Thanks :)
      /Kim

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  5. The ghetto mod I did was as follows: I took some of the neck pieces, that I had in spare (because of leatt installation), I took those two pieces and attached them as an back extension, the shape fitted just fine.

    I only tried the Thor kidney belt. The problem with it was that it didn't stay in place, it actually rotated 180deg more than once, during a single descend.

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    Replies
    1. ahhhh, yea as i can see in the picture its crooked. Well im assuming if it fitted properly and stayed in place it would be good. I just bought a cp5955 and so far i think its going to be amazing. my only concern is because im kind of small, even if i strap it tight it might ride up a little, especially in the attack position. Do you think having the neck brace on top keeps it in place better? I'm just thinking a might be too small....especially in the back part cus that would definitly be shorter

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  6. I definitely think that the brace is contributing to a better placement stability on the body. I highly recommend it. : )

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  7. Question, What's the difference between the Medium and Large, do you know? What Google tells me is that the 5955 can be customised to suite the riders body, no matter if it's extra thing or fatter. That's something that confuses me... Why is there 2 sizes then. Is it only for riders height?

    I'm 1.80m tall and i really what to buy the 5955 but i still didn't figure if i should get the M or L , since there's not a single document from TLD with fit guide or instructions .

    Any help would be really welcome :P

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  8. I think you should go with a M, unless you are really buff, then probably go with a L.

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  9. Hello.
    Like your review nice writing.

    it’s a pretty old review i now but i will try my chance.

    Did you do pedal with that protection? Or some one reading this have this armour and pedal with? my intention with its all mountain/enduro. I’m between this TLD chest or the TLD shirt UPS 7850 WH short sleeve.
    Any words will be appreciated.
    If anyone find best could’ve send me a mail
    hugojlsantos@gmail.com

    Sorry my poor English hope tou guys understand my quiestions/doubts.

    from Portugal
    best regards and tanks.
    Hugo,santos

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