Protective gear?

Cattitude

I’m waiting for my first scooter to arrive in a few weeks, so I’m shopping for protective gear. I’m wondering what more experienced riders wear. I don’t want to armour myself like a tortoise if I don’t need to or it restricts movement too much. But, I also want to be protected in a crash.

I already bought a full face motorcycle helmet. It has DOT/FMVSS-218 certification. I’ve been looking at four season motorcycle jackets and pants/jeans, both with CE spine, hip, elbow and knee pads. I’ve also been looking at knee/elbow/wrist protector sets used by skateboarders, which could be worn over almost anything. I was looking at hard knuckle motorcycle gloves, but they don’t have hard wrist support.

I was also wondering about footwear. Do I need to wear something that covers the ankles? I have sturdy, comfortable shoes with good tread but they’re not boots or high tops.

PaulN

Cattitude
On my initial scooter (Ninebot) I started with simple gloves until riding on a loose gravel trail at very low speed on a very sharp steep downward turn. The front wheel stopped dead i didn’t. Ripped jeans, Scratched up arms and Knee. Nothing serious. The gloves saved my hands completely.

So I graduated to roller blade style knee pads and elbow pads from Amazon and better cheap but armored gloves. The solid tire low power Ninebot is not really for trails so this scenario occurred again. Second time not a scratch, slid on mud patch.

After i got my power scooters i further graduated to what you mention in your post. Lightly armored PVC Jacket and pants. These are well designed with venting options and removeable interior for when it gets warmer. They are also very reasonably priced on amazon. I wear a Motocross helmet although I already had a motorcycle helmet. The motocross one again has venting and a visor which i now understand how important it can be both for sun and deflecting branches when you are trail riding.

I know it’s overkill for some but i want partial protection when my scooter has the capability of going 40mph at times. Most of my riding is probably at 25mph, that’s fast enough to do damage as well if a dog runs out in front of you. Better safe then sorry. I believe law enforcement will probably look at this more favorably as well in passing, that I’m properly geared up on a bike path on a road. Not some yahoo on a Rion doing 50mph in shorts and no helmet, soon on his way to the afterlife…

40s

Cattitude

Wear that helmet for a little bit to be sure.

Ultimately I did not care for the weight and heat of a full sized helmet, even the super light carbon fiber ones. I settled for a Troy Lee downhill to get the, eps, full face protection and have something I know I will wear.

Got a mesh motorcycle jacket, Dainese knee/shin guards. Fox d3o and evs were too bulky for me.

Idk why you would need extra foot protection, I dont imagine there being a high impact there. Motorcyclist are at more risk for that because the bike might fall on you.

ItsAqua

Same I need protective gear. I need some help with buying protective gear. I ride with no protective gear on and I really need some. I wanna know what are some good helmet that’s DOT or something equivalent to that certification under $100. I definitely love to get very nice protective gear but being a college student puts me in a budget. I don’t want a motorcycle helmet but I want like a bmx helmet or a skateboard kind helmet. I think I can find the knee pads and elbow pads maybe but I’ll like some recommendations under $100 preferably a bundle set if possible (I know it’s sounds picky but I’m under a budget since I want the Emove Cruiser and have to buy some stuff for it)

Cattitude

ItsAqua If you’re on a budget I would suggest that you start with the most important item and then add more as you can afford it. I’d start with a helmet. I found mine on Amazon, it was just over $100 and it was a full face DOT motorcycle helmet. The next item I’d suggest are wrist guards, the kind used by skateboarders. When you fall you land on your hands and knees, the wrist guards will protect you from broken wrists and skinned palms. You can wear them over other gloves if it’s cold or you want more protection for your fingers. If you can’t afford wrist guards you could buy some leather cycling gloves with padded palms. Then I’d get knee pads. Or, you can buy sets of elbow, knee and wrist guards which might be cheaper than buying them separately.

Kloeshuman

ItsAqua thousand brand helmets have that skateboard look, I just picked up the black carbon helmet…love it

KAABOSMYCARElectricBoogaloo

ItsAqua I’m not sure if we’re allowed to post stuff for sale here but if you want to message me I’ve got a couple of different brand new helmets size medium and small and normally they retail for $180 but I got them at a good deal and selling passing them on to scooter riders that need helmets for like $50-60.

I also have a couple of sets of elbow and knee pads that are going for like $15-20 a piece.

If anybody needs help finding gear or finding deals on specific gear let me know I work for a company called slickdeals where my job is to QA deals all night so I typically can find stuff that helps get within budget or a really good deals that you wouldn’t find elsewhere.

GTRXRider

I don´t wear any, same with bicycle. But my scooter definitely is not as fast as a bike. However, i do not consider my motorbike jacket protective equipment, because i only wear it when it is cold (also on foot, because slipping on ice sheets on sidewalks is a thing here).

If you are looking into something, i usually hurt my elbows and palms/hands/wrists before anything else. And knees. Bicycle helmet or so might be good. So, i would not necessarily look into one-fits-all, rather season appropriate gear, meaning: If it is to hot/sweaty so that you never wear it in real life, it is no good.

I have gloves with knuckle protection (with smartphone compatible tips, so that i actually use the gloves), which helped me out a bit. So, protectors over actual clothing might be good, but i am on the side of least stuff on me, which may not be the best position.

ItsAqua

PaulN you should go on YouTube and look up electric scooters and scroll down till you find a video of a guy riding his dualtron on the highway with only a helmet

PaulN

ItsAqua No surprise, but unfortunately its that 5% of riders that get the other 95% or responsible riders banned in different cities. Co-incidentally i just went out for lunch at work and on my way back saw someone riding a Vsette (yellow + black and fast so I’m assuming..) down the sidewalk at a rapid speed. The snow and ice is melting today so he/she must be brave… I was hoping that I could catch up and ask if he wanted to ride one day. Wasn’t happening lol…

ItsAqua

PaulN that’s true it was a VSETT 10 they were riding. They definitely were brave or reckless

Cattitude

“No surprise, but unfortunately its that 5% of riders that get the other 95% or responsible riders banned in different cities.”
Very true. The reason Toronto city council voted to ban scooters was the behaviour of renters. They’re the worst because usually they’re novices, they don’t care about getting caught buzzing pedestrians on the sidewalks, and since the scooter doesn’t belong to them they just throw it on the sidewalk and walk away when they’ve finished with it. It doesn’t help that scooter rentals are usually in touristy areas which the city wants to look pristine at all times. The mentality of Toronto politicians when it comes to small electric vehicles is “if one person does something wrong it’s time to ban all of them!” Which is really stupid because they don’t have the resources to enforce their ban, which means people do what they want anyway including scooting at high speeds on sidewalks and not wearing any safety gear.

Today I ordered a four season motorcycle jacket with CE pads and a pair of padded motorcycle pants which can be worn over jeans in cold weather. I also found some gloves which are leather and have carbon fiber knuckle and palm guards.

Next I’ll be looking for something to use for turn signals. I saw a vest that has arrow light signals on front and back, but it looked kind of small and I didn’t think the lights would be bright enough in the daytime. It’s controlled with a remote on the handlebars. I also thought about getting those turn signal lights that mount on the tips of the handlebars. Most of the people who reviewed them were scooter owners.

ItsAqua

Cattitude You can install wing lights but they’re a pain to turn on. You might be able to hook turn signals onto the rear of the scooter. Yume scooters has plus for me in turn signals because they mount theirs a bit higher on the rear of the scooter
VSETT 8 9 10 all have front and back turn signals and the 11 has the turn signals on the side. I planning to get a VSETT 8r or the Emove Cruiser. Having turn signals on scooters are better than none if you think about it. I believe there are some add on headlight that actually have a turn system function

PaulN

Cattitude
Doesn’t the Ghost have turn signals? My Phantom does.

Cattitude

PaulN Yes, the Ghost has turn signals on the deck. I’m not sure how noticeable they are to drivers, who don’t look at anything past their cell phone or infotainment screens. I thought it might be a good idea to have signals further up where they’re more likely to look. I have a turn signal from my old ebike which is made to fit on the seat post but could be installed facing forward on the stem of a scooter. That way drivers facing me could see it.

PaulN

Cattitude
Generally over the last year of riding, because Power scooters and One wheels are so new, it pops up in peoples field of vision more than a bike or pedestrian would. When your keeping up to a car and off the line out accelerate them people tend to notice you. By far the majority of people i pass on a trail or road are interested and drawn to the scooters. It’s definitely a novelty now.

I don’t know how much in common the Ghost signals have with mine but the visibility is actually pretty good from both the front and back signals on the phantom. The headlight at 1000 lumens is really decent too.

The mantis signals suck and i still am not happy with the headlights i have mounted, the LED’s are really low intensity. I have yet to see a V2 Mantis so can’t speak for those updates. If i know I’m coming home in the dark ill be on the Phantom for sure.

Cattitude

PaulN The Ghost lights aren’t bad, though I would have liked a stem light. I plan on adding a brighter headlight and I’ve been looking at a bright red light to clip onto the back of my visibility harness. I use a harness instead of a vest because it’s adjustable, can be worn over anything and I can clip a light to it. I’m used to making hand signals while cycling so I also have visibility wrist cuffs. I guess that’s why I’ve been trying to find another way to signal turns.

One important piece of safety equipment that most people aren’t aware of is the loudest horn you can find. I have one that I found on Amazon a few years ago. The loudest brand of horn is called an airzound, it is air powered and you pump it up using a little syringe that comes with it. My horn is USB rechargeable. It’s 120 decibels and sounds a bit like the noise emergency vehicles make when they approach a red light. You can deck yourself out like a Christmas tree, but drivers don’t look unless you make them look. This horn gets their attention. I use it when I’m approaching a driver who’s about to exit a driveway in front of me, or when I’m coming up to a green light intersection to stop drivers from turning into my path. Many times they slammed on the brakes instead of doing something stupid. I still have a bell, to use on pedestrians or cyclists.

JimN

PaulN I was on a V2 Mantis the other day. The turn signal lights are built into the side of the deck and flash both in front and the rear. They are pretty bright but also pretty low. They were bright enough to be easily seen at anytime except in the full sun, and even then they will be visible if someone is paying attention. I just ordered my V2 a few minutes ago.

GTRXRider

Well, first ride of the year, first crash off the year. Flew over the stem. Shitty pothole. Slow speed. But: I had the right gloves with palm protection and everything, so, all good.

-> The right gloves

shooflyshoo

GTRXRider When I got into my accident, I was wearing what I thought were decent gloves that I bought off Amazon. In my accident, the gloves were destroyed and after almost 18 weeks, a bunch of physical therapy, my hand still has a long way until it is back to normal. I honestly think that you can get away with an inexpensive helmet (around $100) and inexpensive body armor (around $100) but gloves should be from a top brand such as Daisene or Alpine Stars and should cost at least $100. I broke my arm in two places and that healed well however my hand will take much longer to heal. Hands are very fragile and very necessary, take care of them.

PaulN

You will want to keep both hands on the handlebars at all times. You will learn this one way or the other. Its not like a bike or motorcycle. I thought i would use motorcycle hand signals as well but its not the same. I also clipped a small parabolic mirror to my left wrist so i can take a quick look behind me, but i may just get a bike mirror for the handlebars.

I found a group last night by the way in Toronto that is active called Toronto E-scooters. They have some really cool hgh quality videos. Plus they do group rides, Ones even From TO to Niagara Falls. Really nice hour long video on that. (Took them 12 hours and they planned out charging stops with fast chargers) But i need to join their facebook group for updates and I don’t Facebook.

40s

PaulN
Mirror tip:

mirrors move a lot by accident when storing and it is a challenge to safely adjust them while riding.
adjust it to the perfect riding position on a safe street
get off, and stand in a position you can replicate easily while dismounted with your scooter stationary
put your camera at eye level and take a picture
You can now reference that to know how to position your mirror while dismounted if standing that same spot because your mirror will reflect your reference point

GTRXRider

Yes, i tried to hand signal in the beginning and it was wobbly. And i can confirm that it is quite different. I had the hands on both handles, and happy about the gloves. So, my thinking is always to buy protective gear you actually wear and not leave home after the second week.

Maybe i will get some distinct elbow protectors.

PaulN

GTRXRider
I purchased a pair of MMA elbow pads on Amazon. comfortable adjustable, breathable. cushions when you drop on them. For about $15.00.

Lannes

GTRXRider You probably need a steering damper to stop steering wobble.

QBALLLIFE

I use my old motorcycle gear like the ICON Merc Stage 3 Jacket and a 7iDP full face helmet and knee pads… It’s not if you will fall. But, when so I try to be prepared!!!!

MichaelKelley

I just recently added a pair of protective shorts to my arsenal of protection. The are Leatt 5.0 shorts that you can wear under your pants or shorts. They are a spandex style with pads at the thighs hips and coyx. They are comfortable enough that I went for a hour ride in them and played 9 holes of disc golf while still wearing. I’m happy I now have some hip protection. I also recently added a Pinlock shield to my duosport helmet. It completely eliminated any fogging issues I was having in cold weather. Now I can close all my vents and not have my head freeze.

jhonesnow

MichaelKelley I just recently added a pair of protective shorts to my arsenal of protection. The are Leatt 5.0 shorts that you can wear under your pants or shorts. They are a spandex style with pads at the thighs hips and coyx. They are comfortable enough that I went for a hour ride in them and played 9 holes of disc golf while still wearing. I’m happy I now have some hip protection. I also recently added a Pinlock shield to my duosport helmet. It completely eliminated any fogging issues I was having in cold weather. Now I can close all my vents and not have my head freeze.

That’s great to hear! It sounds like you’ve made some valuable additions to your protective gear. The Leatt 5.0 shorts with pads provide an extra layer of protection for your thighs, hips, and coyx, which can be important during activities like cycling or disc golf. It’s wonderful that you found them comfortable enough for an hour-long ride and a round of disc golf. Having hip protection can give you peace of mind and help prevent injuries.

The Pinlock shield for your duo sport helmet is also a fantastic addition. Fogging can be a common issue during cold weather, and the Pinlock shield effectively eliminates that problem. By closing all your vents without worrying about your head freezing, you can have a more comfortable and enjoyable experience while still maintaining the necessary protection.