CMA HeartBeat January 2020 | Page 12

Gear Review By KERRY Gibson BOHN BODY ARMOR I first started riding at 13, tennis shoes, shorts, and a t-shirt were the gear I wore. I did wear a little jockey hel- met. The lip on the front of that cheap helmet saved my nose when I hit the back of another motorcycle. I lost two teeth, but I saved this pret- ty face. Then when I moved to Harleys, I wore the attire of the peri- od: boots, chaps, a leather vest, and maybe gloves. I had progressed to a bright red ¾ Harley helmet. The red helmet saved my noggin when I plowed into the back of a stopped school bus. Later, as I began to ride distance, W HEN www.bohnarmor.com I moved to all the gear all the time with a full face helmet. That gear saved my skin when I found the traction limit of knobby tires on a North Carolina paved road. I am a free thinker, meaning you do what you want, but as for me and my household it’s all the gear all the time and full face helmets. But, let’s face it, all that gear gets hot in the summer. I’ve spent quite a bit of money trying to lessen the thermal effect of protective motorcycle gear. For years, I’ve seen the Bohn ad in numerous motorcycle magazines. I’ve wondered about that armored underwear; however, I never pulled the trigger and bought it. My think- ing was I wouldn’t want to crash in my underwear, it’s just not very abrasive resistant and since this stuff looks like underwear it can’t be very durable. I decided to give Bohn a try. After a very pleasant conver- sation with one of the owners, I had a set of their Cool-Air Pants and shirt on the way. I had some reser- vations, but I was very much wrong. This is high quality gear. I’ve done around 3,500 miles and several all-day rides, including one 700 plus mile day. There’s no way to ride cooler. I wore the pants under blue jeans and when moving there was no notice- able difference with, or without, the