Back, shoulder and elbow armor is CE rated doesn't cost an arm and a leg!

http://highvelocitygear.com/productpages/slimline.html

CE ratings means very little, to be honest. Even worse, some companies just throw the label on there without submitting to testing (and paying the fees).

CE can actually stiffle innovation. Companies have to pay sums of money every time that there is a modification to their product. So, companies avoid this by non-development.

The other aspect of CE ratings is that it doesn't mean that much in the real world. I took a look at my CE rated armor from Dainese and it made me laugh. The "armor" is a joke. Well placed toilet paper would be more effective at slowing down impact forces. (don't try this, though)

TPro, Helimot, Kushitani and a few others own the armor market. TPro is the best for the type of materials they use. Helimot is incredible based on anecdotal evidence, but they don't sell some types of armor.

But, some armor is better than no armor. And soft armor is always superior to hard armor.

How is soft armor superior?

Just wondering as I bought a Yoshimura jacket recently with soft armour (this will be my first bike+gear) and i thought it actually was inferior to some of the more expensive jackets with hard plastic armour.

But, some armor is better than no armor. And soft armor is always superior to hard armor.
when you say "soft" armor, you aren't talking about the dual-density foam padding are you? could you please clarify?

Most MotoGP racers use hard armor, AFAIK.... the hard outer shell with softer impact absorbing material on the inside.

What you should know about body armor:

http://highvelocitygear.com/home.html

Purspeed,

I'm very familiar with the CE rating, along with the other excellent types of armor such as what Aerostich uses. I also realize there is an ongoing debate about hard versus soft and how some of the soft manufacturers say their soft armor will magically transform in a matter of seconds from soft to hard.

My question wasn't meant to touch off one more debate about the armor rating systems; rather, to ask opinions of wearing supplemental protection, along with good leather outerwear.

In addition to the shirt undergear described in my first post, I am considering purchasing the following pants for wear beneath the Element leather pants that I recently bought:

http://www.johnsonleather.com/forcefield_undergarment_kit.htm

:)

I decided to purchase the replacement CE armor for my leather jacket, since I will be ordering a full suit from Aerostich.

http://highvelocitygear.com/productpages/evaha.html