Top Hard Enduro Neck Brace

A neck brace sits on the shoulders, chest and upper back. It works only when the helmet touches it.

Alpinestars' BNS manual spells out the mechanism. Catastrophic neck injuries are most likely when a rider lands upside down on the top of the head and the body's weight over-bends or compresses the neck. The brace offers "an alternative load path": the underside of the helmet rim hits the brace, and part of the load goes into the brace and the torso.

The same manual is blunt about the limits:

• A gap must stay. You need to move your head to ride. Alpinestars says a minimum gap of about 40 mm is preferable, so the risk of a neck fracture "will ALWAYS remain", even with the brace.
• Contact must happen first. If the head is hit before the helmet touches the brace, "the outcome may be the same as wearing nothing at all". The manual shows a Hybrid III dummy test at 573 joules with no helmet-to-brace contact and essentially no difference.
• Gap size matters. In a computer simulation of a 573-joule frontal impact, gaps of 55 mm and 30 mm made no difference. At 20 mm and 10 mm, the compressive neck load fell from 2,300 N to 1,700 N.
• The force goes somewhere. Diverting large forces away from the neck means they can damage other parts of the body, "particularly the collar bone".

Leatt's FAQ adds one more limit. Pure axial loading, a straight compression through the top of the head, "cannot be prevented by any currently available brace". Leatt says its brace reduces axial forces when they combine with bending and shear, as in hyperflexion or hyperextension.

Chest and back protectors have EN 1621-3 and EN 1621-2. Neck braces have no equivalent. The EN 1621 series has four parts: limb joints, back, chest and inflatable protectors. None covers the neck.

What the makers of the picks here claim:

The BNS manual adds detail. The BNS Tech 2 and Pro were subject to an EU type-examination by notified body #0498, Ricotest in Italy, and are Category II PPE.

What that means

Under Regulation (EU) 2016/425, Category II covers risks other than the minimal (Category I) and very serious (Category III) lists. Category II products need an EU type-examination by a notified body. The maker's information must cite the harmonised standards used "or references to the other technical specifications used". With no harmonised neck brace standard, the examination rests on those other specifications.

The research community has pointed at the gap. A 2019 finite-element study from the University of Padua and Imperial College London opens: "there is no standard method to evaluate their performance". Leatt's own lab page says that in the early days, Dr. Chris Leatt "had no standard against which to test". In 2024, a team from Stellenbosch University, with Chris Leatt as co-author, published two SAE papers proposing test methods for these braces.

How to read the brace label

The BNS manual explains its markings:

Treat CE on a neck brace as proof of a notified-body examination, not as a comparable performance grade. We say that because of the regulation text above, and because no EN test with levels exists, unlike the 18 kN and 9 kN limits for back protectors on our chest protector page.

The largest field dataset: Action Sports EMS, 2009–2018

Great Lakes EMS / Action Sports EMS is an ambulance service that covers mainly amateur motocross events in the US Midwest. It published patient data from January 2009 to October 2018. Of 8,529 patients with a recorded yes/no for neck brace use, 4,726 wore no brace and 3,803 wore one.

The one death with a brace involved a rider with a previous full cervical spine fusion and a blunt blow from part of the motorcycle to the back of the neck.

Leatt's product pages quote this study as "up to 89% reduction in critical cervical spine injuries". Leatt's white paper converts the counts into rates: 5.06% of non-wearers and 0.68% of wearers had a critical cervical injury.

Limits you should know. The report was published by the ambulance company on its own website, not in a peer-reviewed journal. It covers only riders who needed EMS care, so it cannot show how many riders in each group crashed. It does not adjust for age, speed, skill or other kit. It comes mainly from amateur motocross events, not hard enduro. The headline percentages compare raw counts from groups of different size.

Simulations and lab work

Riding studies

• Gorasso and Petrone (2013) measured riders on a motocross track. The brace did not reduce rotational range of motion, and the authors saw a fatigue-support effect.
• Thiele et al. (2015, 2016) compared brace designs on track. Depending on design, neck muscle activity went up or down. In the 2016 study of one rider, the helmet touched the brace for almost one fifth of riding time.
• Lecoublet et al. (2021) measured four braces on 12 volunteers. Neck mobility was significantly reduced, but only flexion and extension were reduced by every brace. The authors conclude these designs do not protect against all loading directions.

Our view: the evidence says a correctly fitted brace can reduce some neck loads in some head-first crashes, and it is weakest for a straight hit on the top of the head. We base this on the studies above. Most are simulations or small samples, and several are linked to a maker. There is also one large field dataset, without a peer review.

The oldest worry about neck braces is that they break collarbones. Both makers address it directly.

• Alpinestars says diverting force from the neck can damage "particularly the collar bone". It adds that foam on the underside of the BNS spreads the load, and that the risk can be reduced but never eliminated.
• Leatt's white paper names three ways riders break a clavicle: a fall on an outstretched arm, a direct fall on the shoulder, or the helmet rim striking the clavicle. The brace's "clavicle relief area" targets only the third. The paper states that, in the experience of motocross and supercross riders, clavicle fractures are about 50 times more likely than cervical spine fractures.
• Leatt's product pages say "Collarbone injuries up to 45% MORE likely WITHOUT a neck brace", citing the Action Sports EMS data. In that dataset's table, as reproduced in Leatt's white paper, clavicle fractures were 9.37% of non-wearers and 7.65% of wearers.

The field data does not show braces causing more collarbone fractures, but it does not show a large reduction either. That reading comes from the 9.37% vs 7.65% rates above and from the same data limits described in the research section.

A brace that sits wrong, or leaves a big gap to the helmet, does little. The BNS manual gives the most complete fitting procedure.

1. Fit it in your real kit. Wear your helmet and normal riding clothing when fitting.
2. Size it. Alpinestars sizes the BNS by chest circumference and swaps size adapters to set the fit. Leatt's 5.5 and 6.5 come in S/M and L/XL, with sliding SureFit adjusters front and rear.
3. Check it does not rock. Alpinestars' fitting chart asks whether the brace rocks left and right or back and forth on the body. If it does, change the adapter size.
4. Check the helmet. Alpinestars says the helmet brand does not change the brace fit but can change head movement and the helmet-to-brace gap. Helmets that sit low at the back can restrict head movement. A helmet that is too big or too small changes the gap. See our helmet guide.
5. Seat the shoulder pads on your shoulders. The BNS shoulder pads must sit directly on top of the shoulders, not on top of shoulder protectors.
6. Layer it correctly. Alpinestars says roost protectors go on after the BNS, and so does any protection jacket. The brace may sit on a chest and back protector only if the shoulder pads still sit on the shoulders. Leatt says the thoracic strut is best placed against the body, under the chest protector, and that Leatt chest protectors with BraceOn allow the brace over or under.
7. Know the release. Both Leatt and Alpinestars braces have an emergency opening mechanism. Show your riding partners how it works. Our first aid basics cover what to do before touching an injured rider's neck.

Alpinestars does not recommend pairing the BNS with third-party protection, and Leatt gives no assurances on third-party gear. Given those two statements, buy the brace and chest protector from the same maker. Our chest protector guide covers Leatt BraceOn and Alpinestars BNS tabs.

Our view: most hard enduro riders do not need a neck brace, and a certified chest and back protector is the better use of the money. We base this on four points:

1. The crash type. Braces work in head-first landings with helmet contact. In the Erzbergrodeo study, most crashes happened when the front tire slid in a curve and mostly injured arms and legs.
2. The speed. Hard enduro is ridden at walking pace over rock and roots for much of the day. The Action Sports EMS data comes from motocross, with jumps and higher speed.
3. The evidence. The strongest data is observational and unreviewed. The simulations disagree on the size of the benefit, and one independent study found cases of increased risk.
4. The cost. The picks here list at $394.95 to $609.00 (USD). That is more than any of our chest protector picks.

Riders who might choose differently: those racing fast enduro or motocross-style sections with jumps, and those who have had a neck injury. Leatt says riders with a previous neck or spine injury should ask a physician, and that it cannot advise on pre-existing conditions.

Heat and comfort

A brace adds a rigid collar under the helmet on long, hot days, and riding studies found mixed effects on neck muscles. Try one on a long ride before committing, because those mixed muscle results depended on brace design.

If you practice steep hill climbs, check that you can still look up the hill with the brace on. Lecoublet et al. found that every brace in their study reduced flexion and extension.

Cleaning

• Alpinestars: remove dirt after each use with a damp cloth or cold running water. Do not use a pressure washer or strong solvent-based cleaners, which can damage the foam.
• Leatt: remove the padding and hand-wash it in mild detergent. Leatt's FAQ points to the brace's user manual for full care instructions.

After a crash

Alpinestars says to check the BNS after any accident, whether or not your head hit the ground:

• no cracks or missing pieces in the main frame or plastic parts;
• the brace opens and closes normally;
• no large pieces of foam missing.

If any of these fail, replace the brace or the damaged part. The BNS attachment plate is engineered to fail in moderate to severe crashes. If nothing else is damaged, the brace is reusable once that plate is replaced. Leatt's 5.5 and 6.5 use a CoreFlex rear thoracic strut designed to break away before applying excessive pressure to the back.

Age

Alpinestars strongly recommends replacing the BNS every 5 years under normal use, and no later than 8 years from the date of manufacture, which is on the internal label. Leatt says neck braces are made from polymers that deteriorate over time, and that heat and UV light cause material changes. Leatt runs a replacement program for its braces made between 2006 and 2018.

Alpinestars recommends storing the brace in a cool, dry place and repeating the after-crash checks every few months.

1. Treating the brace as crash-proof. Both makers say a neck fracture remains possible, and Leatt says no brace prevents pure axial loading.
2. Setting the gap by guesswork. Alpinestars prefers a minimum gap of about 40 mm so you can move your head, and its simulation showed no difference between 55 mm and 30 mm gaps. Set the gap with your helmet on, to the maker's instructions.
3. Fitting it without your helmet and riding kit. The helmet changes the gap and head movement.
4. Riding a cracked or old brace. Check after every crash. Alpinestars sets 5 years of normal use as the replacement point.
5. Reading the headline numbers as risk. The "89%" and "45%" claims come from counts in one ambulance dataset. The rates are in the research section above.

For the full kit priorities, see our hard enduro gear guide and the maker profiles for Leatt and Alpinestars.