I need more than a fear of breaking my neck to be separated from ~$700.
The Leatt brace has zero empirical support of efficacy while holding ~40 patents. It isn't that difficult to publish in peer review journals, provided you have sound evidence. Given that Leatt hasn't published sets off alarm bells that he has no data supporting his claim that the brace actually works. The number of patents they have shows how motivated they are to protect their intellectual property because they recognize how profitable this could be.
It probably won't hurt you to wear a neck brace, but it probably won't help you either.
…..just as an aside (and since WayneP always cries Moto, let me rally behind AutoRacing)…the makers of the HANS device are also very protective of their patents and have been the same way through their history….and it took a while for them to publish there findings as well.
I've been in favour of the Leatt brace for a while, but price kept me from getting one up until last year (I'm pretty sure I only paid $450 for mine)…early adopters of the HANS device ran up against all the same arguements we're seeing in this forum…everything from price to mobility/visibility concerns….but as the unit has been refined and forensic sciences pointed out how drivers were being killed more and more organizations have made the HANS device or similar unit mandatory. I had one major crash while racing karts during a time when a hard foam horse collar was the only thing available and while I walked away from my crash with a destroyed helmet, 2 weeks later another racer in a similar style crash died on impact. We were wearing the same gear, right down to the collar…I was just lucky…and I've been lucky a couple times since. I'm sure given the impacts we both suffered that a Leatt style brace or HANS device may have offered at least a hope of that racer surviving his crash. I'm not going to say a Leatt brace will protect you from every possible life threatening injury but having seen how a similar item works in open wheel motorsports I'll stand behind it. I inadvertently tested mine this year on Dirt Merchant. I got up and walked away after putting my shoulder back into place. The only thing I noticed was some bruising the next day that showed the outline of the brace on the side of my body where I hit the hardest.
I'm not sure the Leatt is the best option, but for the time being it's one of the options we have available….if you're a believer, you drink the kool-aid…if you're not, you wait and see what happens to those of us who did drink the kool-aid.