Leatt Heritage Video Series Episode 1 - The Origin 2

Having had several spine injuries without a neck brace that fortunately only temporarily immobilized my movement but with lasting nerve issues, I will not ride without one. I started out with a different brand's cheaper padded version at first before these incidents, but now will never ride without my 5.5 Leatt neck brace. I've since had a few head and neck area crashes over the course of several years wearing their neck brace and walked away with nothing but a headache and a few scratches. Two violent ones come to mind. One resulted in a cracked chin bar, top forward area of helmet and googles, which pushed my head backwards. The other was strange as my head/chin went down and inward toward the ground breaking some of the chin bar and visor, but left me with only a few scratches on my chest and a mouth full of dirt. I didn't have a chest protector, but the forward portion of the neck brace kept my sternum area protected. Both occurred riding freeride and DH and both involved unforeseen things that ripped me away from the bike at speed.

These are reasons I encourage so many other riders to at least wear a neck brace if your riding requires a full face helmet. After a few uses, I don't even realize I'm wearing it.

*** That said, my question to Dr. Leatt and his staff is, short of visible crack or misalignment damage to the brace after a crash, is there a replacement timetable or other replacement criteria for your neck braces? Thank You!

This should be the first Leatt patent, filed in the EU, in 2004.

And here's its American counterpart, from 2006, if anyone is interested.

Basic design hasn't changed in a while.