POC VPD Air Vest

The POC VPD Air Vest is a lightweight back protector you wear under your jacket, certified to EN 1621-2 Level 1 for medium-energy impacts. The backplate is made from POC's VPD material, a visco-elastic polymer that warms up with your body and moulds to your shape, so it feels more like a layer than a shell. A hexagonal pattern keeps it strong but flexible and lets heat escape, and it's tested down to -20°C.

Coverage runs from the base of the neck to the tailbone and the plate is shaped to stay put when you bend forward. The vest itself is a perforated, four-way-stretch polyamide/elastane mesh with a men's-specific cut and no waistband, so it breathes, dries fast, washes easily and rolls up for packing. POC suggests a snug but not tight fit, measured shoulder to waist. Weights run from 380 g in a Small to 560 g in a Large.