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We all want our kids that ride to be safe as possible. I am obsessive about safety when my 6 year old son rides. He has two speeds- Asleep and wide open. Obviously, I want him to have fun as ATVing is our family hobby, but I also want the best equipment I can get to keep him safe. I was concerned that if he came off his machine, he was at risk for a neck injury. We recently went on a trip with another couple that have a boy who rides MX competitively. They told me about Leatt who makes a neck brace for off road enthusiasts. They showed me the brace and I was impressed. It prevents the head from going too far back, forward and side to side. Their son could get in and out of it very easily and it didn’t restrict his natural head movement too much.
We returned home and my research on Leatt began. I did a search on this forum for Leatt and nothing came up. So I went to Leatt’s site and some others for reviews and information. Leatt is actually Dr. Leatt who is a trauma surgeon and a sport bike enthusiast / racer. Dr. Leatt watched a friend of his die in a crash where he broke his neck during a race. Dr. Leatt went to work on a neck brace and the Leatt line of neck braces was born.
In my research, I came across the Fusion 2.0 and was impressed. It is the Leatt neck brace combined with body armor in one device. Notice I said "body armor" and not chest protector or roost deflector. The material this armor is made from is designed to solidify upon any impact and spread the force applied to a kids torso over a wider area should he come off his machine and land on a rock or whatever. And it’s vented for comfort. The neck brace part of the fusion 2.0 looks very similar to what I saw on our trip. So we figured out what size we needed and I ordered it.
The Fusion 2.0 arrived a few days later. We tried it on my son with his helmet on and he has great natural head movement. The brace really only prevents unnatural movement of his head with his helmet on. Also, he can get in and out of it with little to no help from us. We have not had an opportunity to ride yet as the weather here has been fairly crappy. I will update when we do, but I believe we are going to be very happy with this purchase. How much, you ask? $249.00 US. Not what I would call an inexpensive item, but try to put a value on your kid’s neck and it’s not much money at all.
And by the way… Sizing for this item is not only by chest circumference. It is also by height, which is not mentioned many places. So check both before ordering to make sure your kid will be able to wear it for awhile. We nearly went too small before we found the height sizing chart and it fits perfect with plenty of room to grow.
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We have done some riding since I originally wrote this post on the Honda forum. He likes the protector and the neck brace is not a hindrance to him. Here is a pic of him wearing it when it first arrived.
I’ll get a pic and maybe a video of him on his machine with his helmet on next time we are out and get it posted up. We’ll also be ordering one for our daughter when she gets a machine. Cheap insurance for our young riders!!
