Armored shirts/ pants vs traditional gear

[01xj]

Has anyone made the switch (or added them to the arsenal) to compression style armored shirts and pants? Seems like a good option for mixed types of riding (highway, adv, dual sport) which it seems like most of us are doing these days.

I'm kicking around a compression style armored shirt like a Supershirt, Knox Urbane, A* Bionic shirt and then a lighter/ cordua/ jacket over the top of it.

Is there any gear that can do double duty? It would be nice to have a jacket that fits over the padded compression shirt/ pants and that also can be used with normal inserted crash pro into the knees/ hips/ shoulder/ elbows.

There is a mass of information on this on ADV rider but it's all spread out amongst their maze of weirdly named forums that I don't have the bandwidth to follow.

[Paul_E_D]

Definitley made the switch for dirt/ice/adv. Much more comfortable and I think the padding is more likely to stay in place and do it's job. I use Leatt.

[nhbubba]

Right tool for the job. For track riding nothing beats the leather onesie with on board armor.
For dirt riding the gear over armor is the way and probably always has been.

Everything else is in the middle.

Upside of gear with armor built in is it easier to jump in and go. I have a Leatt mesh armor jacket and a Mosko rain/road-rash shell that goes over it. Great setup, works well. But it takes a minute to get in and out of. Counter point is the armor stays in place way better and I can drop the shell if it gets hot and still have some protection. On the other hand I have a 2-piece aerostitch roadcrafter which is a really flexible bit of kit. Works well out on tour, commuting or for a quick rip around town, if you drop the pants. The armor is like wearing a diaper though as it needs to be much larger to cover as it moves all over the place.

I'm probably moving to the armored shirt/pants setup. Although there will always be space in my closet for my aerostitch.

Edit: I also like Leatt. Their stuff doesn't suck and is not cost prohibitive.

[boosten lebaron]

Lisa switched over to the bio armor and loves it. It did make a lot of her old gear obsolete because they are redundant now or just don't fit over the armor. Something to keep in mind.

[SRTie4k]

I'm a bit of a gear whore, I've tried a whole lot of it looking for that holy grail wardrobe. All my gear is suited for the 2 types of riding I do; day/multi-day riding and commuting. There is some crossover, but commuting prioritizes easy on/off over work clothes, while day/multi-day riding is more about lightweight/comfort with maximum weather coverage. Here's my wardrobe:

Day/Multi-Day Rides:
Adventure Spec Supershirt
Bowtex Elite Leggings
Rev'It Territory 2 Jacket (w/o armor)
Mosko Moto Kiger Pants
Rev'It Component 3 Pants (w/o armor)

Crossover:
Rev'It Stratum GTX rain shell

Commuting:
Rev'It Stratum GTX mesh jacket
Rev'It Tornado 3 Pants
Mosko Moto Basilisk IR Pants

I'm very happy with the list, but if I had any nitpicks it's that I still haven't fully figured out waterproof pants. I used to pull the armor out of my Basilisks and wear them over my Bowtex for shoulder season and wet weather/cool weather rides. They flow a shit load of air with vents open, so they make really excellent riding pants. But I hate pulling/installing armor, so I then picked up a pair of Component 3 pants (which are a dedicated rain overpant), but I'm still not convinced they will be better for either rides or commuting. If I was a billionaire I'd have 2 pairs of Basilisk pants, a set of IR for commuting and a set of the older style for day/multi day rides.

The other downside to the above is you'll have more money hanging on your clothes rack than you do parked in your garage.