my chest size is 42 i first ordered L it was good but tight i hear it ripping when i wear it then i ordered XL , very comfortable but elbow protection doesn't stay in place otherwise it's good, by the way it's not breathable except to sweat alot , back and shoulders protection is excellent, chest should be a bit larger it's a nipple protector actually. but i would buy again.

Seems well made. Mor padding in back than expected.

This is a great piece of protection. Bought for motorcycle. I had read some complaints about the zipper and time will tell on that but so far so good. Also, about pads not staying in place- I am not having that issue. Im thinking it might be a sizing issue because if it fits right there's no place for the pads to shift to.. they're literally sewn in place. I'm 6'2 190 and an xl is perfect. Back armor is excellent. Elbow and shoulders also pretty dang good, especially considering the mobility it still allows for. Very good mobility as opposed to others I've tried. It's almost as if you're just wearing a heavy duty base layer. The rib and chest protection is soft. You can feel it just pressing a finger to the thin padding. My guess would be since the majority of cycling wrecks are elbow/shoulder and back impacts they focused mainly on those areas. I myself wasn't concerned with this since my motorcycle jacket provides protection for those areas. This for me was a nice upgrade and I feel considerably safer on the road. Very pleased with product and wouldn't change much even if I had a say.

Quality plyable armor padding. The fabric around feels like a thicker version of an athletic compression shirt. Its a comfortable well designed shirt. I'm 6'1 and about 170 with an atheltic build and usually fit a medium to large shirt. I purchased a medium and it fits tightly but not uncomfortable. I'm happy with the sizing. I can wear almost anything overtop and it is hardly noticeable. Would not recommend over 90°F but almost no armor is bearable after that heat for me. The zipper is pretty terrible as a lot of reviews mention. However it hasn't failed yet. A far more comfortable option than the more common plastic armored mesh shirts.

I bought this for snowboarding because the pictures showed what appeared to be D30 material (the orange pad) in the shoulder area. D30 foam is relatively soft and flexible, made of free flowing molecules. On impact, the molecules instantly lock together and become hard, providing excellent impact protection. After I received this jacket, I removed the shoulder protection pieces to see if it was really D30. There is no embossed D30 stamp on the orange pieces that I've seen on genuine D30, so I don't know if it's real or a knockoff material.

The back protection is excellent, with half inch thick high density hard foam. The segmented arrangement of the foam pieces allows it to flex freely. There is a very thin 1/8 inch soft foam piece sewn into the inside that goes against your back. One negative feature of the back protection is that it is extremely long. If you wear the matching BenKen butt pads or any other butt pads, the back protection will overlap the butt pads. The back section on my jacket is 27 inches long. The shoulder and elbow protection are good, although as I stated, the orange pieces may not be genuine D30. Also, the elbow pads sometimes rotate around your arm to the side of your elbow. Requires frequent adjustment.

The weakest part of this jacket is in the rib and chest. Those pieces are quarter inch soft foam which provide minimal protection. Also, the jacket zipper is a small female style left handed zipper with the parts on the opposite side of regular men's clothing.

I have a 33 in waist, athletic build, and about 5'10" tall. Based on my past experience with Asian sizing, I got the XL and it fits perfectly. Normally I'm between a medium and large in US sized clothing.

I have been using the Troy Lee Designs 7855 Upper Body Protection for the last four or five years with great results. Never once had a crash that I couldn't just walk away from like nothing happened. It costs three times what the BenKen jacket costs, but the protection is excellent all the way around with every part of your upper body covered. Its weakness is in the shoulder, which is why I bought the BenKen. More than likely, I'll stick with the Troy Lee though. I need the full upper body protection for snowboarding park features.

I would recommend this if you are mainly interested in back, shoulder, and elbow protection. The chest/rib protection is poor, and the jacket is an awkward fit with butt pads.