ICON Field Armor Stryker Knee guard vs "the original" review *PICTURE HEAVY*

SSR · March 16th, 2011, 08:28 PM

Having read this thread it inspired me to go out and pick up a pair of the Icon knee guards. While they were on route, I saw that Icon released their new 2011 Stryker knee guards. Always one for the latest and greatest, and seeing how they looked like a big improvement for $30, I decided to take the plunge. As soon as my package arrived with the originals, I exchanged them for the new Strykers. But not before taking a few pictures and walking around with the originals on my leg for a day. I sent the first ones back a few days before I got the Strykers in, so I unfortunately can’t compare them side-by-side. *’Doh*

So, here is a review of both the Icon knee guards, compared against each other. Unfortunately, I can’t give you any riding experience as there is still snow on the ground and the roads are covered with salt. So you’ll have to make do with my “walking around the house review”

First though, a little about how I’m reviewing this. I’m a MTGATT rider. I’m very well protected upper body (helmet, leather jacket, armor in jacket, and gloves) always. But most of my commute is to work, (in rush hour traffic) and I don’t want to wear my bulky riding pants that I use for long trips. So, I’ll admit it to everyone here, I go riding in just a pair of B.U.M. cargo pants. So the concept of under-clothing armor really appeals to me. I’m probably a little smaller than most, 32 waist x 32 legs and about 150lbs soaking wet. I only say that to give you guys some size perspective. And ladies, try to contain yourself when you see my sexy leg!

Those are the same pants, but I took pictures of the original pads in the daylight, the Strykers I took at night time.

I apologize for the way the pictures are displaying. All the "square" pictures are saved as 1024x768 and they're saved that way in photobucket, yet when I bring them in here they get all this funky white space around them. I don't know why and I've just spent the past 1/2 hour making sure those pictures are the correct size in photobucket. Admins/mods, any ideas?

In all the side-by-side comparisons, the original is on the left, the Stryker is on the right.

So, let’s start.

Pros:
Armor:
Frontal -> Just looking at them, the Stryker looks like it’s a significant improvement, and it is. The knee cup and shin plastic is much harder and although I can’t test the foam, the Stryker as a whole feels much beefier. Feels like I could stop a bullet with these. I’d feel pretty secure if my knees ever met the pavement.

Evaluation for armor: Comparing only the two, if I gave the Stryker a 10, I’d say the original would be around a 7. The Stryker feels sooo much better protected.

And that’s where the pros stop.

Cons:
Armor coverage:
Frontal -> As the picture above shows, the Stryker doesn’t extend nearly as far down my shin as the original. In fact, I’d say well short.
Side Armor: HAHAHAHAHAHA. What side covering? All though the originals have a side covering, and I question how effective they would be, at least there is something there. It'd be enough to keep my skin on in a slow speed slide.

No matter how much time I've spent making this picture bigger, it doesn't seem to want to be bigger in this thread.

Evaluation for coverage: If I give the original a 10, the Stryker would be around a 4. They don’t extend down my shin as much and there is NO side anything.

Fit: The originals I was able to slip my cargo pants over with no problem. The Strykers took me about 20 seconds to wiggle and worm my pants over the knee cup. If I strap the Strykers on first and then pull my pants on over top, that’s fine, but the point of under clothing armor is discrete and easy. If I’m at the office/restaurant/theater and need to remove/put the armor back on, yeah, I'm not doing the whole pant dropping thing. And I'll look like a retard trying to get my pant leg over the Stryker knee cap. The original pads? No problem.
My original purpose with this knee armor was to ride into work, leave them on all day and ride home without anybody knowing I was wearing knee armor. Let’s see how that worked out.

A slight bend with just the Stryker on one knee

Can you see the difference now?

Yikes! I’m gonna look like I have two swollen knees with the Stryker!
Evaluation: If I give the originals a 10 for ease of putting my pant leg over and being unnoticeable, I have to give the Stryker about a 2 for ease of putting pants over and being discrete. And I’m being generous.

Comfort: When I first received the originals, I put one on (leaving the other leg empty for comparison) and walked around the house/sat down for an hour. The Velcro straps weren't an issue, they weren't scratchy or itchy. The originals were quite good for comfort, no problem, other than the odd shifting to get it into position, I could probably forget they were there.

Before I even strapped the Strykers on, the Velcro straps were itching my legs and the fabric very rough. If I wore these for a day my calves would probably look like they were tenderized with a meat tenderizer. Strapping in and standing up straight, the bottom part of the front dug into my shins. Don't forget about the fact that these took extra pant leg fabric to cover the knee...which means that the rest of my pants were tighter… around areas you don’t want tight pants. Wearing these all day? Not going to happen.
Evaluation: I don’t even need to bother comparing these to the original, the Stryker gets a zero. A big fat one.

Straps: These were apparently the “much improved straps”. Yeah... no. Look at the bottom. The bottom strap just barely reaches the full length around. And I’m a small guy. The top doesn’t have much extra play either as you can see by how much extra I’m holding.

Here’s where it really fails. In this picture, I wrapped these as tight (within reason) as they could go so that both sides were touching. See those scissor marks? Yeah, apparently Icon thinks there are riders out there with no calve muscles, just a tibula/fibula.

Straps evaluation: If you thought the original straps weren’t that great, these are no better. Both sets get the same ranking. Poor.

Overall thoughts. I can see where the Stryker would really come about if you were to strap these on OVER top of your pants, and under some riding pants. Then they would be a good product, but very expensive for $100. Fitting underneath the pants? Absolute fail. The originals fit better, are more comfortable, A LOT cheaper, much easier to walk around in and are more pant friendly.

If Icon made the Stryker series for the street, I don’t think they did much research.

Oh, and to top it off, one of them arrived broken. The top piece, the rivets popped off. On both sides. Yep, apparently shipping was too much for the rivets to handle.

See this piece? It's not supposed to be separate.

There's supposed to be a rivet here joining these two holes.

Isn't this supposed to be attached?

AMMOCAN · March 16th, 2011, 10:32 PM

Thanx for an honest and thorough review SSR. It's amazing how much you were able to find about these products without even riding in them, which is also scary and shocking, as I would hate to have read your review on them if you were able to ride in them.

I do believe that the 'NEW' Stryker Knee guard is so much more because it is CE rated, as the other 'Older' one is not. However, I myself don't see it worth spending money on something that is suppose to protect me if it just ends up being something I am unpleased and uncomfortable with. I have ordered a pair of ForceFields Tube knee Guards and will be reviewing them once I get them.

Scott1620 · March 17th, 2011, 06:47 AM

Great review

, I was thinking about picking these up after my original icon knee guards wear out but I think I will stay away because I wear mine under my riding pants/jeans a lot...

Havok · March 17th, 2011, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AMMOCAN

Thanx for an honest and thorough review SSR. It's amazing how much you were able to find about these products without even riding in them, which is also scary and shocking, as I would hate to have read your review on them if you were able to ride in them.

I do believe that the 'NEW' Stryker Knee guard is so much more because it is CE rated, as the other 'Older' one is not. However, I myself don't see it worth spending money on something that is suppose to protect me if it just ends up being something I am unpleased and uncomfortable with. I have ordered a pair of ForceFields Tube knee Guards and will be reviewing them once I get them.

I am not sure if they did a running change on the OG ones but the pair I got ARE ce rated.

ungluck · March 17th, 2011, 05:37 PM

i love the new stryker stuff...very big improvements!!

arnette · April 19th, 2011, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ungluck

i love the new stryker stuff...very big improvements!!

Umm... after the thorough review that says the contrary... do you care to elaborate?

I just received the Stryker guards today and I have to say I'm not that impressed. I'm wondering if the original Field Armor version would fit better.

Hitman · April 21st, 2011, 10:19 AM

I have the original field armor and can wear them all day. I even fell asleep with them on after a long ride and did not feel any discomfort with it being on all night.

I tried the Stryker version at the store and it just kept falling down my shin. I like the addtional strap on the original that helps keep the knee armor in place even while walking around under your pants or jeans.

vkuchhal · April 22nd, 2011, 09:19 AM

Just ordered a set of new Icon knee armor from ridersdiscount...

After going thru the review i am really scared..

GeorgiaHooligan · May 9th, 2011, 05:56 PM

i Have the originals and they are horrible in summer temps. I think the pants withe the armor in the kneee would be the best route.

want1sobad · May 9th, 2011, 06:45 PM

nope, they're fine in the summer. i commute in mine everyday, year-round.

juergen · October 23rd, 2014, 07:45 AM

Thank you, I just was in a daubt about buying these, but
now I will decide to buy this protections. Under Jeans , we will see
if it fits. But the security factor is more important.Thank you again ,
very good, well for this article, the best review.

March 16th, 2011, 08:28 PM	#1
SSR ninjette.org guru Name: Jonathan Location: Ottawa, Ontario Join Date: Mar 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Ninja 250 Posts: 398	ICON Field Armor Stryker Knee guard vs "the original" review PICTURE HEAVY Having read this thread it inspired me to go out and pick up a pair of the Icon knee guards. While they were on route, I saw that Icon released their new 2011 Stryker knee guards. Always one for the latest and greatest, and seeing how they looked like a big improvement for $30, I decided to take the plunge. As soon as my package arrived with the originals, I exchanged them for the new Strykers. But not before taking a few pictures and walking around with the originals on my leg for a day. I sent the first ones back a few days before I got the Strykers in, so I unfortunately can’t compare them side-by-side. ’Doh So, here is a review of both the Icon knee guards, compared against each other. Unfortunately, I can’t give you any riding experience as there is still snow on the ground and the roads are covered with salt. So you’ll have to make do with my “walking around the house review” First though, a little about how I’m reviewing this. I’m a MTGATT rider. I’m very well protected upper body (helmet, leather jacket, armor in jacket, and gloves) always. But most of my commute is to work, (in rush hour traffic) and I don’t want to wear my bulky riding pants that I use for long trips. So, I’ll admit it to everyone here, I go riding in just a pair of B.U.M. cargo pants. So the concept of under-clothing armor really appeals to me. I’m probably a little smaller than most, 32 waist x 32 legs and about 150lbs soaking wet. I only say that to give you guys some size perspective. And ladies, try to contain yourself when you see my sexy leg! Those are the same pants, but I took pictures of the original pads in the daylight, the Strykers I took at night time. I apologize for the way the pictures are displaying. All the "square" pictures are saved as 1024x768 and they're saved that way in photobucket, yet when I bring them in here they get all this funky white space around them. I don't know why and I've just spent the past 1/2 hour making sure those pictures are the correct size in photobucket. Admins/mods, any ideas? In all the side-by-side comparisons, the original is on the left, the Stryker is on the right. So, let’s start. Pros: Armor: Frontal -> Just looking at them, the Stryker looks like it’s a significant improvement, and it is. The knee cup and shin plastic is much harder and although I can’t test the foam, the Stryker as a whole feels much beefier. Feels like I could stop a bullet with these. I’d feel pretty secure if my knees ever met the pavement. Evaluation for armor: Comparing only the two, if I gave the Stryker a 10, I’d say the original would be around a 7. The Stryker feels sooo much better protected. And that’s where the pros stop. Cons: Armor coverage: Frontal -> As the picture above shows, the Stryker doesn’t extend nearly as far down my shin as the original. In fact, I’d say well short. Side Armor: HAHAHAHAHAHA. What side covering? All though the originals have a side covering, and I question how effective they would be, at least there is something there. It'd be enough to keep my skin on in a slow speed slide. No matter how much time I've spent making this picture bigger, it doesn't seem to want to be bigger in this thread. Evaluation for coverage: If I give the original a 10, the Stryker would be around a 4. They don’t extend down my shin as much and there is NO side anything. Fit: The originals I was able to slip my cargo pants over with no problem. The Strykers took me about 20 seconds to wiggle and worm my pants over the knee cup. If I strap the Strykers on first and then pull my pants on over top, that’s fine, but the point of under clothing armor is discrete and easy. If I’m at the office/restaurant/theater and need to remove/put the armor back on, yeah, I'm not doing the whole pant dropping thing. And I'll look like a retard trying to get my pant leg over the Stryker knee cap. The original pads? No problem. My original purpose with this knee armor was to ride into work, leave them on all day and ride home without anybody knowing I was wearing knee armor. Let’s see how that worked out. A slight bend with just the Stryker on one knee Can you see the difference now? Yikes! I’m gonna look like I have two swollen knees with the Stryker! Evaluation: If I give the originals a 10 for ease of putting my pant leg over and being unnoticeable, I have to give the Stryker about a 2 for ease of putting pants over and being discrete. And I’m being generous. Comfort: When I first received the originals, I put one on (leaving the other leg empty for comparison) and walked around the house/sat down for an hour. The Velcro straps weren't an issue, they weren't scratchy or itchy. The originals were quite good for comfort, no problem, other than the odd shifting to get it into position, I could probably forget they were there. Before I even strapped the Strykers on, the Velcro straps were itching my legs and the fabric very rough. If I wore these for a day my calves would probably look like they were tenderized with a meat tenderizer. Strapping in and standing up straight, the bottom part of the front dug into my shins. Don't forget about the fact that these took extra pant leg fabric to cover the knee...which means that the rest of my pants were tighter… around areas you don’t want tight pants. Wearing these all day? Not going to happen. Evaluation: I don’t even need to bother comparing these to the original, the Stryker gets a zero. A big fat one. Straps: These were apparently the “much improved straps”. Yeah... no. Look at the bottom. The bottom strap just barely reaches the full length around. And I’m a small guy. The top doesn’t have much extra play either as you can see by how much extra I’m holding. Here’s where it really fails. In this picture, I wrapped these as tight (within reason) as they could go so that both sides were touching. See those scissor marks? Yeah, apparently Icon thinks there are riders out there with no calve muscles, just a tibula/fibula. Straps evaluation: If you thought the original straps weren’t that great, these are no better. Both sets get the same ranking. Poor. Overall thoughts. I can see where the Stryker would really come about if you were to strap these on OVER top of your pants, and under some riding pants. Then they would be a good product, but very expensive for $100. Fitting underneath the pants? Absolute fail. The originals fit better, are more comfortable, A LOT cheaper, much easier to walk around in and are more pant friendly. If Icon made the Stryker series for the street, I don’t think they did much research. Oh, and to top it off, one of them arrived broken. The top piece, the rivets popped off. On both sides. Yep, apparently shipping was too much for the rivets to handle. See this piece? It's not supposed to be separate. There's supposed to be a rivet here joining these two holes. Isn't this supposed to be attached? __________________________________________________ From here...to everywhere!

March 16th, 2011, 10:32 PM	#2
AMMOCAN SLIME-R Name: AMMOCAN Location: Maryland Join Date: Feb 2011 Motorcycle(s): SOLD '10 Kawasaki 250R SE A.K.A. SLIME-R SOLD Posts: 596	Thanx for an honest and thorough review SSR. It's amazing how much you were able to find about these products without even riding in them, which is also scary and shocking, as I would hate to have read your review on them if you were able to ride in them. I do believe that the 'NEW' Stryker Knee guard is so much more because it is CE rated, as the other 'Older' one is not. However, I myself don't see it worth spending money on something that is suppose to protect me if it just ends up being something I am unpleased and uncomfortable with. I have ordered a pair of ForceFields Tube knee Guards and will be reviewing them once I get them. __________________________________________________

April 21st, 2011, 10:19 AM	#7
Hitman ninjette.org member Name: John Location: Los Alamitos Join Date: Jun 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2010 Ninja 250r Special Edition (Red/Black) / 2008 Suzuki GSXR 600 (Silver/White) / Ducati Diavel Carbon Red Posts: 76	I have the original field armor and can wear them all day. I even fell asleep with them on after a long ride and did not feel any discomfort with it being on all night. I tried the Stryker version at the store and it just kept falling down my shin. I like the addtional strap on the original that helps keep the knee armor in place even while walking around under your pants or jeans. __________________________________________________ 2010 Ninja 250r Special Edition Blk/Red, Pazzo controls, Lowering kit, Roaring Boyz Toyz risers, Corbin seat, Shogun frame sliders, Yoshimura Full Exhaust 2008 Suzuki GSXR 600 Silver/White

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March 17th, 2011, 06:47 AM	#3
Scott1620 ninjette.org member Name: Scott Location: Delaware Join Date: Jul 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Ninja 250r(sold), 2007 650R (sold), 2013 Ninja 300 Posts: 199	Great review , I was thinking about picking these up after my original icon knee guards wear out but I think I will stay away because I wear mine under my riding pants/jeans a lot...

March 17th, 2011, 05:37 PM	#5
ungluck sleeper Name: chris Location: Hawaii Join Date: Nov 2010 Motorcycle(s): '10 250r, '10 690 duke Posts: 558	i love the new stryker stuff...very big improvements!!

April 22nd, 2011, 09:19 AM	#8
vkuchhal ninjette.org member Name: vibhor Location: india Join Date: Mar 2011 Motorcycle(s): ninja 250r -2010 Posts: 60	Just ordered a set of new Icon knee armor from ridersdiscount... After going thru the review i am really scared..

May 9th, 2011, 05:56 PM	#9
GeorgiaHooligan ninjette.org guru Name: Aaron Location: Gone riding. Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 389	i Have the originals and they are horrible in summer temps. I think the pants withe the armor in the kneee would be the best route.

May 9th, 2011, 06:45 PM	#10
want1sobad Ninjette CPT Name: Vince Location: jacksonville, fl Join Date: May 2009 Motorcycle(s): Black 08 250r Posts: A lot.	nope, they're fine in the summer. i commute in mine everyday, year-round.

October 23rd, 2014, 07:45 AM	#11
juergen ninjette.org newbie Name: Juergen Location: Madrid Join Date: Oct 2014 Motorcycle(s): Moto Guzzi Griso 1200 Black Devil Posts: 1	Thank you, I just was in a daubt about buying these, but now I will decide to buy this protections. Under Jeans , we will see if it fits. But the security factor is more important.Thank you again , very good, well for this article, the best review.