Protective clothing plays a huge role in keeping athletes safe while improving comfort and performance. Whether it's helmets, padding, gloves, or specialized apparel, the right gear can help prevent injuries and boost confidence during play.
One sport that really highlights the importance of protective gear is paintball. Players often wear masks, padded clothing, and paintball gloves to protect their hands from impacts while maintaining a good grip on their marker.
What protective gear do you consider essential for your favorite sport or activity? Have you ever avoided an injury because you were wearing the right equipment? I'd love to hear everyone's experiences and recommendations.
A full face helmet and bird to the face at speed.
Twice.
And for smaller but many off.
A swarm of bee's.
Glad I rugged up that day.
Extremely important for my favorite activity. 🤩
For sidecar driving, not so much. I'm not an "All The Gear, All The Time" type. Big applause to those who are, and wish us all safe, enjoyable adventures. 🍻
I'm a big fan of buying the best quality gear I can afford, and taking good care of it. A lot of times that isn't big name brand gear. It is simply the best piece of gear available in that category. This is where good research plays a big role.
As to what gear has kept me from injury, and what hasn't... Way too many experiences/gear to list. "There but by the grace of God go I." Is definitely fitting.
Hold my keyboard and watch this! 🙃
OK
Of the 6 different sports I currently partake in there are only 2 that require safety gear, and its up to the individual to decide how much is enough, mountain biking and unicycling, both road and muni (mountain unicycling) when mountain biking good gloves and a helmet are enough, when I ride the uni on the road, this being mostly sidewalks and designated bike routes not to be mistaken with a bike lanes on the road I just wear good gloves and a helmet, BUT when I ride muni I am totally geared out, helmet, elbow pads, knee pads, shin guards, wrist guards and gloves. I can attest to many crashes when doing muni that the gear has saved my bacon
I don't consider riding my rig as a sport but a way of life, when on 2 wheels it's ATGATT but I'm more lax on the rig or even the wifes trike
One of the most underconsidered bits of kit are things that keep you from dehydrating. I have personal experience with this that will last a lifetime. Under cooling and over evaporating are what did me in. My body and brain are very sensitive to higher temps now and I have to be very deliberate in preventing dehydration and hyperthermia.
I have worn a full jacket in extremely hot temps to avoid the over evaporation problem and it requires conscious decision to get ahead. A bag of ice inside the jacket helps a lot. Drinking MUCH helps a lot. Just plain not being out in temps over 90 helps a lot. Yes, that limits when I can ride or garden or ________ but now it keeps me out of ICU.
Illegitemi non carborundum est!
A full face helmet and bird to the face at speed.
Twice.
Ahem, Bruce, was that the same bird each time, because I think this bird may be targeting you. 
I am of the same mindset as Scott @scott-h, in that I generally don't wear ATGATT, and I don't buy the latest fashionable high-end gear, just so I can show off a label, whilst sitting at an outside table at Starbucks, whilst others admire my R1250GSA.....that is not me.
After 56 years of riding, more than 2 Million Miles, surviving a Lightning Strike directly to the helmet, surviving cars intentionally running into me, drivers pointing guns at me, etc, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah, and the occasional yadda yadda yadda...I have concluded that the most important, and very best protective gear your can use is...your BRAIN.
Ride smarter, think better, operational awareness all around you. Be cognizant of the weather, the weather you are riding or piloting into, the weather ahead, days ahead. Know what to wear, to ward off COLD, and what to wear to ward off extreme HEAT. Know HOW TO LAYER clothing to best suit the climate conditions. Know what to eat, and when to eat. Know what to DRINK, and when to drink it.
IMO, 93.14159% of motorcycle riders and sidecar pilots have far less knowledge about what they are doing, about their own body health, and how to properly ride/pilot....than they should have.
Personally, I can tell you first hand that wearing a helmet (and I do wear a helmet 99% of the time) does NOT protect you from being struck by Lightning.
Contrary to urban myth, rubber tires on a motorcycle do NOT protect you from your motorcycle being struck by Lightning.
Personally, I immediately remove any and all protective armor or rubber padding from any motorcycle jacket or riding pants, as I choose to not be encumbered by those items, and free movements of my arms and legs whilst riding a bike, or piloting a sidecar rig, because....freedom of movement allows me to NOT fall down, rather than be encumbered by all that padding, and it adds to why a rider may fall down.
Two Million Mile Rider
Exploring the World in Comfort
Ha ha not the same bird..
And nearly 40 years between incidents.
1st was a parrot.
He was going hard towards me and on impact pushed my visor up and into my face cutting my cheek a little.
The second I think was a seagull.
I saw it at the last second if that.
For a while I thought it was an owl but some of the seagulls here are brownish on the chest.
When they are travelling towards you the impact is significant
The point is a guy here was killed by a kookaburra to the face.
That beak was lethal in the eye.
Harley man.
We don't need no stinking visor.
Discretion sometimes pays.
Protective gear is for girlies.