As you read about earlier in this issue, Editor Siahaan took a little tumble while racing at Miller Motorsports Park during the WERA six-hour endurance race. For those unfamiliar, the perimeter course features mainly medium- and high-speed corners, so when someone goes down they're usually in for a wild ride. Miraculously, Siahaan walked away from the crash without a scratch and even continued racing later on. None of it would have been possible without the protection provided from the Shift Vertex leather suit.
While relatively new to the leather game, the research and design team at Shift bring a wealth of experience from their time at other manufacturers. With the Vertex, 1.2 - 1.4mm premium-grade cowhide provides abrasion resistance, while removable CE-approved armor in the shoulders, elbows and knees protects those areas from impact. Equally important is that the hard armor is placed in the correct position anatomically, as it does nothing if it's not between the body and the ground during impact. Thankfully the design team at Shift have done their homework, because each piece of armor fits exactly into the correct position when fully zipped up. In the case of our rogue racer, his tumble saw him sliding on the left side of his body for some time with only minimal damage to the suit. The road rash sustained was just minor surface damage, while small holes wore through in the shoulder and elbow-areas both covered by hard armor. A common feature we've found in more and more top-level leathers like the Vertex is high density foam in places like the hip and kidney areas-areas that are difficult to protect with hard armor, but are at risk of impact during a fall. In the case of this crash, it was the hip padding that helped Trizzle walk away with not so much as a bruise the next day.
As far as fit is concerned, we've found the Vertex to fit more in line with American sizing-that is to say a little on the larger side-instead of some of the Italian-made suits which fit a little more snug. We never found it to be an issue as whatever space is left is usually occupied by a back and chest protector later on (an important aspect to consider if you're in the market for a suit). In the case of the Vertex, it's been designed with an aggressive race cut that's perfect for racers and track junkies alike as there isn't any extra material bunching near the stomach area when in the riding position. Accordion panels in the knees, elbows and lower back allow for greater range of movement to fit different body types. In non-impact areas, Schoeller stretch Kevlar panels allow natural movement while also keeping weight down.
Overall, we're really happy with the Vertex; especially Siahaan. Its sturdy construction held up great to everything the Miller Motorsports Park pavement (and the local agriculture) had to throw at it and allowed our man to get up and keep on racing. Now that we've had some time to think about improvements, we would have liked titanium or hard plastic armor placed in the shoulder, elbow and knee areas to promote sliding. While no two crashes are the same, we think the sliders would have prevented the holes wearing through like they did on our suit.
Available in 48 - 58US, the Vertex comes in black, white or a green/yellow "Rasta" theme for $1199.95.