Rig… huh? Let’s give this type of gear a more descriptive moniker—henceforth the term “exoskeletal armor.”

A few years ago, after several crashes and resultant broken bones, I became disenchanted with the failure of the built-in armor of most riding jackets to do the job as effectively as it should. As a real life crash test dummy, I discovered that armor tends to move out of the way in high impact situations. In general, riding suit companies simply follow the leader rather than innovate new and better techniques to protect the rider. Most riding jackets, for example, do not have any form of chest or rib armor, and rarely does the elbow and shoulder armor stay in place.

In the lightning-fast happenstance of a crash, it’s typical to take a handlebar, mirror or windscreen directly in the chest, and another pounding as one hits either the pavement, or some other fixed object when thrown from the bike. It may therefore be wiser to view most jackets’ shells for their “abrasion resistance” rather than what we hope they’re designed to do—namely, protect our bones from crunching.

The most effective alternative I’ve found is to wear exoskeletal armor that’s typically of high quality and offers far more protection UNDER your abrasionresistant riding jacket—giving you the best of both worlds. True armor protection and abrasion resistance together at last!

The good folks at Icon were kind enough to send us their Stryker Rig for evaluation, and I’m really impressed with it. I’ve owned several exoskeletal jackets over the years, and the Stryker Rig is one of the best-fitting, comfortable and most protective for elbows, shoulders, kidneys, stomach and especially the back. The weakness is the chest area, which could cover a more territory without causing discomfort.

In my opinion, wearing exoskeletal armor, like the Stryker Rig, under your riding armor-stripped jacket, provides more protection than what most jackets have to offer, while also offering another layering option. MSRP: $250.00 RideIcon.com