Leatt Brace

They are the self-proclaimed originator of the neck brace. While origins of the concept may be open to debate, the fact remains that they were first to the market with it.

The Leatt Brace is designed to protect the cervical spine (C-section of the back) against five major causes of injury: hyper-flexion, hyperextension, lateral hyper-flexion, axio-loading and hyper-translation (whiplash).

Geoff Patterson explains the science of the Leatt Brace, “The natural form of energy, it always wants to take the path of least resistance. Chris Leatt created an alternative load path, and what happens is the energy goes elsewhere. It transfers through [the rest of your body] and goes through your legs or your T-section. In the case of axio-loading, that helmet locks into the surface of that brace. Now there is not ability for the head to roll forward, backwards. So if [your head and neck] can no longer move because it’s locked in, your legs are going to flip over that much quicker. You’re going to go into a different position that much quicker because now you can’t fold into your neck. If this can’t bend anymore, it can’t break.

“If you look at the footage of Trey Canard in Phoenix you’ll see alternative load path at it’s finest. As soon as the helmet locks into that brace, you can see it. He locks in and his legs come over. If he wasn’t locked in, energy would still be allowed to go forward in the same direction.”

Dr. Leatt took the time to perfect his product before releasing it, with a reported total of five years of R&D behind the Moto GPX.

“He would not let it go to market unless everything was right,” Patterson recalled. “And I mean little things – tiny things that were more cosmetic than anything. Biomechanically, he’s done study after study after study; this thing is exactly what it needs to be.”

While the other companies involved in this feature admit they have room to improve, Leatt has the utmost confidence in its current design.

“So far there has not been a breakthrough in different technology because [the original] works so well,” Patterson said. “Right now, they’re comfortable with the design and that’s why there hasn’t been much of a change to this point.”

This by no means indicates that the Leatt Corporation is resting on its laurels. In quite a substantial commitment to their ongoing research, the company recently purchased its own Hybrid II dummy, and is working on a second generation brace and adding products to complement the brace – namely a chest protector and back protector.

Replicating a crash on a dirt bike is without question much more difficult and involved than automobile crash testing. Still, the Leatt Corporation tests the brace’s ability to protect against what they’ve identified as five major types of neck injury.

“Hyper-flexion is your head going forward,” Patterson explained. “Hyper-extension is your head going back. Lateral hyper-flexion is [side-to-side], axio-loading is complete compression of the spine and the hyper-translation is your head going back, like whiplash.”

Patterson talked about the methods used at Leatt Corporation’s testing and research facility in Cape Town, South Africa, in which they attempt to replicate these types of impacts as realistically as possible, while also eliminating as many variables as possible.

“There’s a pendulum test which is where they take a hybrid dummy and hang it upside-down. And then they’re doing a superman test where they hang the dummy sideways and they swing it and they slam it into a wall. You can’t duplicate every crash; there’s no way.”

In response to the competition entering the market, Leatt’s latest ad campaign features a video titled “Why Leatt?” which demonstrates the five types of injuries. The company’s aim is to educate consumers as to why “there is no product that is anywhere near the level of protection that the Leatt Brace has.”

“Axio-loading, hyper-flexion, lateral, hyperextension, if you don’t have all those things in line, i.e., 360 degrees of protection, you’re missing something,” Patterson said. “And every [other] product in some form or fashion is missing some form of 360 degrees of protection. The Leatt Brace speaks for itself. Everything else aside, there is not a better product that will protect you from catastrophic neck injury.”