Despite providing a serious amount of cover all around the body, the 100% Tarka vest doesn’t feel restrictive when riding, nor bulky. It’s comfortable, and comes in at a great price for the finish quality and protection offered.

As such, shoulder-armor pads are cupped in profile across their entire extension so as to fully take on the shoulder’s rounded anatomy.

Best MTB body armour in 2023

Overall, the 3DF vest is ideal if you want maximum protection but without sacrificing pedal comfort, and it also comes in short and long sleeve versions too. It’s critical to your safety that the deepest-cupped section of the pad rests snugly (and in comfort) atop your shoulder girdle with no flapping or moving about. Alpinestars’s vest is well cut with a close fit and no awkward zip placement or sharp edges, but I felt the material is slightly ‘shinier’ and harder, and doesn’t feel quite as soft against skin as POC’s cushy fabric. We found moisture-management to be great, as is ventilation, but it is also the heaviest vest we’ve tested and we could certainly feel that extra weight.

Trail armour is usually the easiest to wear, with less padding and therefore more breathability for longer days in the saddle. The best body armour will feel secure when you’re riding without sacrificing comfort. Certification Wearing body armour can help minimise or even prevent injuries when crashing, helping you to keep riding instead of staying at home recovering. Canterbury Shirts We have a wide variety of Canterbury Rugby T-shirts, Polos and Vests, ideal for training, warm ups, gym wear or post-match functions. Available now at Rugby Now. It has an off-set full-length zipper plus an elastic waistband which we found was effective in preventing the vest from riding up. The fit is comfortably snug, despite being described as a ‘compressive’ fit, so you don’t feel squeezed while wearing it.

Overall in our opinion this is the most comfortable protection vest we’ve tested, especially at this high impact protection rating. Downhill riders tend to wear body armour to prevent injury. Craig Mercer - CameraSport / Contributor In action, the breathable fabric, close and slightly-compressive fit and offset zip design meant the vest stayed secure and twist-free, but because it’s a pull-on design, you can’t open the front to dump heat when things get too hot. We also took into account each item’s impact protection rating, which is independently certified. What to look for in impact protection vests and body armour

A tight fit will reduce the amount of movement from the pads, while making the body armour less obstructive to your movements. The best shoulder armor adapts and fully molds to your shoulders, independent of how big or small your shoulders may be. The lateral of the deltoid muscle (i.e. “middle delt”) must be covered in part or entirely.

Concluding our review guide on the best motorcycle shoulder armor

High-end shoulder motorcycle armor is CE-certified as Level 2 under EN 1621-1:2012, which is the corresponding CE standard that objectively validates and certifies if a limb-armor pad intended for motorcycle riders is safe and protective. All body armour sold in the EU is certified to Level 1 or Level 2, which indicates the amount of force the padding can absorb. A snug fit ensures less potential movement of pads and panels and also helps keep protection low profile for a sleeker look under clothing. Softer, floppier fabrics vs the tighter squeeze of a compression fit will be a personal choice. 3. Protection levels Weight makes a big difference to how the body armour feels, with heavier items feeling more restrictive to your natural riding position and causing added fatigue. After all, the shoulder joint is the only joint in the human body capable of a 360-degree range of motion, and it’s all thanks to its impressive anatomy, which, while resilient and durable for everyday tasks, can be damaged extensively if impacted directly at low speed without protective motorcycle armor.