Member Contributer vanion2 Posted June 1, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted June 1, 2009 Bohn Armor I am looking at their Crusader Armored Shirt and the Extreme Coolmesh Shorts to compliment my Icon Field Armor Leg protection, gloves, helmet, various motorcycle jackets, and jeans that I typically wear. I know some of you cringe at the word jeans but the Bohn shorts combined with the knee and shin protection I all ready have I think I would be pretty well set short of going all the way up to leathers which I would only wear if the temperatures were below 80 for fear of spontaneous combustion. :huh: All of the reviews I have been able to find look good but I like to be thorough when purchasing protective gear. They are also offering a nice combo deal right now that cuts the price down a bit as well as throwing in their version of the knee+shin protector and a motorcycle first aid kit. Please...let's not turn this into another ATGATT debate. I would like to hear about the Bohn armor. Not how I am tempting Fate by not buying leather pants. :fing02: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tightwad Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I think you should buy some leather pants. They can do wonders for your relationship....:fing02: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vanion2 Posted June 1, 2009 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 1, 2009 I think you should buy some leather pants. They can do wonders for your relationship....:cool: I all ready have a hard enough time trying to keep her from taking my clothes o....er...never mind. Bohn Armor!!!! :goofy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer JZH Posted June 2, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted June 2, 2009 Bohn ArmorI am looking at their Crusader Armored Shirt and the Extreme Coolmesh Shorts to compliment my Icon Field Armor Leg protection, gloves, helmet, various motorcycle jackets, and jeans that I typically wear. I know some of you cringe at the word jeans but the Bohn shorts combined with the knee and shin protection I all ready have I think I would be pretty well set short of going all the way up to leathers which I would only wear if the temperatures were below 80 for fear of spontaneous combustion. :fing02: All of the reviews I have been able to find look good but I like to be thorough when purchasing protective gear. They are also offering a nice combo deal right now that cuts the price down a bit as well as throwing in their version of the knee+shin protector and a motorcycle first aid kit. Please...let's not turn this into another ATGATT debate. I would like to hear about the Bohn armor. Not how I am tempting Fate by not buying leather pants. :rolleyes: I wonder whose design they ripped off for that? :dry: I actually own a Bohn back protector (the Roadcrafter model), but I don't use it anymore, partially because I decided I couldn't trust their statements regarding the safety aspects of their products (not to mention their standards of business ethics). Ciao, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 Whose design did they rip off? :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vanion2 Posted June 2, 2009 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 2, 2009 I was wondering that myself as the armored shirts seem pretty unique as they can be worn under jackets are just as they are. The shorts/pants have padded armor in the standard locations that you can find in most decent riding pants and the only other vendor I found that is similar was Icon but their shorts are no where near the same level of protection that Bohn makes. Icon has a chest/back protector but that's about as close as it gets and Bohn has been around for some time judging by the dates of some of the reviews I read. As for your back protector...Is it flimsy? Bad quality? Or are you simply uncomfortable with its reputation? Please let me know. I don't want to buy low quality protective gear. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer JZH Posted June 3, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted June 3, 2009 I was wondering that myself as the armored shirts seem pretty unique as they can be worn under jackets are just as they are. The shorts/pants have padded armor in the standard locations that you can find in most decent riding pants and the only other vendor I found that is similar was Icon but their shorts are no where near the same level of protection that Bohn makes. Icon has a chest/back protector but that's about as close as it gets and Bohn has been around for some time judging by the dates of some of the reviews I read. As for your back protector...Is it flimsy? Bad quality? Or are you simply uncomfortable with its reputation? Please let me know. I don't want to buy low quality protective gear. You'd have to dig a bit on Google to find it, but the story as I understand it is that ActionStations, the company behind the Bohn brand, used to distribute Knox body armor in the USA, until some point when they decided to manufacture their own--strikingly similar-looking--back protectors under the "Bohn" brand. This was accompanied by various claims regarding "CE approval" that may have applied to the Knox originals, but not to the Bohn knock-offs. Somewhere along the way, the only truly innovative idea Bohn had was to make a full back protector specifically for the Roadcrafter suits (whereas Aerostich had only offered a silly back cushion). This was the point at which I fell into the "Bohn trap" and bought one for my Roadcrafter, mistakenly thinking that the Bohn back protector was actually CE compliant and made by a reputable company (Knox), when neither of these was necessarily true. (I've got the old one with "CARBON" and "KEVLAR" written on it.) Longevity is, unfortunately, no guarantee of anything--some crap just seems to go on and on... As for my Bohn back decorator (hard to call it a "protector" without any evidence), it seems fairly substantial, and is probably somewhat better than a rolled-up newspaper stuck in your jacket. It does fit my Roadcrafter, which means that if I were a regular user, I wouldn't sometimes "forget" to wear it. So on the "something is better than nothing" score, the Bohn is fine. But that's not good enough for me. There are no guarantees in this world, but at a minimum I want something that's been tested by a reputable, independent researcher to meet or exceed an objective standard, such as CE's EN1621-2. As far as I can see, all you certainly get from Bohn is hype. (However, I now see that Bohn makes a new version of the Aerostich protector, and they are making claims about CE testing and approval of that one--not the old one, but I'll believe those claims when I see the documentation to back them up...) Ciao, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vanion2 Posted June 3, 2009 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 3, 2009 Thanks for sharing. Should I go the Bohn route I now know that I will be verifying their CE credibility. I could always go with the Icon gear but my experience with their stuff has been hit or miss. The leg armor is great but a jacket I had from them not so much so (crash tested and a rivet cut my elbow open). :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Rustbucket Posted June 3, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted June 3, 2009 I don't personally trust the Icon gear either - they don't even try to claim CE compliance... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2fast2young Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Icon started off really well, there first gen of gear was well built and very reasonably priced. I crash tested one of their jackets and 2 helmets and am still here, so that says something to me. The quality of their jackets has seemed to slip as of late tho, I cannot comment on any other gear... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer JZH Posted June 5, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted June 5, 2009 Icon started off really well, there first gen of gear was well built and very reasonably priced. I crash tested one of their jackets and 2 helmets and am still here, so that says something to me. The quality of their jackets has seemed to slip as of late tho, I cannot comment on any other gear...The problem with "brands" like Icon is that there isn't really a company behind it. (Okay, there is a company, but that company is LeMans Corporation, which owns Parts Unlimited, neither of which are really clothing manufacturers.) There may be a dedicated design team, but all of the manufacturing is contracted out to one or more Far Eastern countries, so the quality can really vary. A Canadian company called Robison's Inc. is behind the Joe Rocket brand, which started out in the '90s as just a gimicky trademark. OTOH, Arlen Ness is an expensive name applied to kit made by a large Hong Kong textiles firm with many years in the motorcycle clothing business (they also own Berik). I've heard consistently good things about Rev'it!, a Dutch brand-led company that only designs clothing, rather than manufactures it, so it is possible to achieve the right balance with this kind of business model, but it goes without saying that companies that actually manufacture their own products generally have better control over them.Btw, the CE standard is only legally required in Europe (where all clothing marketed as "protective", as opposed to "fashion", must comply with the standards), but a US manufacturer could still be prosecuted or sued for fraud or deception for making false claims of CE certification, just like they could if they claimed their gear was made of rattlsnake skin or whatever and it wasn't. So it's not a worldwide system, but it is a fairly good standard, so if something is sold as "CE" (and they have the certification from an independent testing organisation to back that up), at least you know it meets some sort of standard, rather than a subjective "if it feels good, wear it" kind of "standard"... Ciao, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monk Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 Icon started off really well, there first gen of gear was well built and very reasonably priced. I crash tested one of their jackets and 2 helmets and am still here, so that says something to me. The quality of their jackets has seemed to slip as of late tho, I cannot comment on any other gear...The problem with "brands" like Icon is that there isn't really a company behind it. (Okay, there is a company, but that company is LeMans Corporation, which owns Parts Unlimited, neither of which are really clothing manufacturers.) There may be a dedicated design team, but all of the manufacturing is contracted out to one or more Far Eastern countries, so the quality can really vary. A Canadian company called Robison's Inc. is behind the Joe Rocket brand, which started out in the '90s as just a gimicky trademark. OTOH, Arlen Ness is an expensive name applied to kit made by a large Hong Kong textiles firm with many years in the motorcycle clothing business (they also own Berik). I've heard consistently good things about Rev'it!, a Dutch brand-led company that only designs clothing, rather than manufactures it, so it is possible to achieve the right balance with this kind of business model, but it goes without saying that companies that actually manufacture their own products generally have better control over them.Btw, the CE standard is only legally required in Europe (where all clothing marketed as "protective", as opposed to "fashion", must comply with the standards), but a US manufacturer could still be prosecuted or sued for fraud or deception for making false claims of CE certification, just like they could if they claimed their gear was made of rattlsnake skin or whatever and it wasn't. So it's not a worldwide system, but it is a fairly good standard, so if something is sold as "CE" (and they have the certification from an independent testing organisation to back that up), at least you know it meets some sort of standard, rather than a subjective "if it feels good, wear it" kind of "standard"... Ciao, Good info...Thx.... Monk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soichiro Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 I like the knox gear. I like then bohn gear, just visually. I got to ck. out johnson leathers gear at the IM show this year. Their gear looks really great and very protective. I am, confused as well. I saw the knox gear advertised and liked it. Then I see the Bohn gear and it seems like the same ideas. I now see johnson leathers and their stuff looks and feels fantastic. They have some under shirts and pants that have four diffirent pads on the shoulders, elbows, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vanion2 Posted June 5, 2009 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 5, 2009 Thanks for the tip on the Johnson leathers. They have a pair of armored shorts that looks like it will do perfectly as well as multiple CE ratings. Twice the price of the Bohn shorts but good protection is never cheap. :mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
francois_payen Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 Thanks for the tip on the Johnson leathers. They have a pair of armored shorts that looks like it will do perfectly as well as multiple CE ratings. Twice the price of the Bohn shorts but good protection is never cheap. :mad: Hey! I actually own a pair of the shorts you're referring to. They're made in the UK by a company named T-Pro, and distributed in the US by Johnson Leathers. They are CE rated and reviews are as good as equivalent products from Knox (also from UK). When you order you can pick from 2 different levels of protection (pad thickness), the difference in price between the two is not that dramatic, so obviously it's best to pick the thickest. Their sizing chart is pretty accurate (not bad surprises when the mailman delivered them), so no complaints... I'm pretty happy with them (fit, comfort)...I never crashed with them (in fact I have never crashed at all, knock on wood) but it was important for me to have something CE approved. I wear them in conjunction with a pair of Alpinestars jeans with knee pads, but looking back that was a questionable choice, since the knee pads don't really stay in the right place...so if I could travel back in time I would just buy a proper pair of pants (and actually I will when I can free up some coin) or go for the long version that also has knee pads and shin protectors. On the other hand, the shorts + jeans combination is cooler for warm weather, and I think it's better to wear this than to leave your bike pants at home because they're too warm for the summer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vanion2 Posted June 5, 2009 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 5, 2009 Thanks for the tip on the Johnson leathers. They have a pair of armored shorts that looks like it will do perfectly as well as multiple CE ratings. Twice the price of the Bohn shorts but good protection is never cheap. :fing02: Hey! I actually own a pair of the shorts you're referring to. They're made in the UK by a company named T-Pro, and distributed in the US by Johnson Leathers. They are CE rated and reviews are as good as equivalent products from Knox (also from UK). When you order you can pick from 2 different levels of protection (pad thickness), the difference in price between the two is not that dramatic, so obviously it's best to pick the thickest. Their sizing chart is pretty accurate (not bad surprises when the mailman delivered them), so no complaints... I'm pretty happy with them (fit, comfort)...I never crashed with them (in fact I have never crashed at all, knock on wood) but it was important for me to have something CE approved. I wear them in conjunction with a pair of Alpinestars jeans with knee pads, but looking back that was a questionable choice, since the knee pads don't really stay in the right place...so if I could travel back in time I would just buy a proper pair of pants (and actually I will when I can free up some coin) or go for the long version that also has knee pads and shin protectors. On the other hand, the shorts + jeans combination is cooler for warm weather, and I think it's better to wear this than to leave your bike pants at home because they're too warm for the summer... Awesome! Thanks for the input. :fing02: And for the record I have an Icon Leg armor set that has great impact and abrasion armor. They fit perfectly with my combat boots so I am basically covered (very securely) from the knees down. I just need something for the midsection since I always wear the jacket/helmet/gloves/boots/leg armor combo when I go 2 wheels. It's still not leather pants but with the heat out here I would rather have something more comfortable than something that sits in my closet all the time because I have to worry about heat stroke. :mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soichiro Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 No problem. I really want a set of the johnson leathers under "armor". I was very surprised at the amonut and quality of padding. It looks like what a stunt man would wear under normal clothes. I didnt get to try any on or test their. It is rather expensive but looks and feels like it is totally worth the price. We have to remeber. We need gear with abrasion resistence. Jeans will burn thru in a millisecond. We also need an ample amount of padding. Of course all the pads in the world wont help if you hit a stationary object. The most common injury for street riders is road rash. I have several pair of protective shorts. I cant even ride in jeans without them on. When I wear leathers I still wear padded shorts. Even the bicycle type are great for men. I like not hitting myself against the gas tank, if you know what I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mechdziner714 Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 I have the Bohn Pro Racer back protector and it works very well and conforms to my body nicely so that I dont even know its there. The next one I get will be the TPro force field back & chest protector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tightwad Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 No problem. I really want a set of the johnson leathers under "armor". I was very surprised at the amonut and quality of padding. It looks like what a stunt man would wear under normal clothes. I didnt get to try any on or test their. It is rather expensive but looks and feels like it is totally worth the price. We have to remeber. We need gear with abrasion resistence. Jeans will burn thru in a millisecond. We also need an ample amount of padding. Of course all the pads in the world wont help if you hit a stationary object. The most common injury for street riders is road rash. I have several pair of protective shorts. I cant even ride in jeans without them on. When I wear leathers I still wear padded shorts. Even the bicycle type are great for men. I like not hitting myself against the gas tank, if you know what I mean. I have a heck of time finding padded shorts. I have shall we say...Abundant thighs (22" around or so), so often pants are too snug there if they are already a tight fit. I would like to find some prior to the Colorado ride...any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Knife Posted July 15, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted July 15, 2009 I've been using the Bohn Armor Adventure (?) pants for about nine months now. Easy to get them on and off. Not too hot, either. Only one minor quibble - the tailbone piece is a bit uncomfortable when sitting in a chair (no problem on the bike, though). Haven't yet found out how well they work, but I'd like to keep it that way. I may also get the Bohn Armor shirt, but I want to look at the Johnson Leathers stuff that was mentioned first. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Polarbear Posted July 15, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted July 15, 2009 I think you should buy some leather pants. They can do wonders for your relationship.... :mellow: Yes, or for new ones... :huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 There is a review of the Bohn armor here: http://www.allaboutbikes.com/index.php/products/gear/1314-bohn-armor-gear-review Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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