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.

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.

All it took was one crash on my mountain bike to realize that I need GOOD protection. I did research and bought this product. It zips up like a tight jacket. I throw a shirt on over it and I'm good to go. I dont even know I have it on. It used to be a pain to put on all the protection prior to a ride, but this eliminates all that. This is easy, it wears well, and very low maintenance. 5 stars all the way around. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat.

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.

So, today at the pool...I was doing a frontside off the deep-end wall and it got away from me and...I freefell backwards about 7-8 ft. and landed in-between the bottom of my right shoulder blade and my spine, just before the back of my helmet smacked down on the concrete also. 😬 My friends said they felt the tremors through the concrete of me hitting bottom. It knocked the wind out of me REAL BAD BUT...thanks to my BenKen BodyArmor, other padded gear and my old Bell, 'Bucky Lasek' helmet? I walked away without a scratch! Without the gear? I woulda broke the two ribs near my spine and split the back of my head wide open. No lie, it was brutal! At 58, I KNEW this was going to happen, so I INVESTED the $64. for that padded jacket and actually wore it and I'm a little sore where I hit but no bruise and no concussion! Back to the pool tomorrow! â˜ºï¸ It's durable, comfortable and functional. Minimum front protection with all the bulky chest protection that moto-cross armor always has but is in my opinion, NOT needed for skateboarding and the back protection is like a leatherback tortoise shell with just the right amount of padding on the back of the shoulders also. Perfect in every way for skateboarding, I should know!