(Here I am wearing Armadillo’s soft shell hoody. You can barely see the armor in this photo)
The style of ones riding gear is traditionally related to the type of motorbike being ridden. Full leathers and “power ranger” gear is mostly seen on sport bike riders professionally and so it’s not unusual to see them on recreational riders, unless they’re a squid, in which case a wife-beater (optional), long denim shorts, sneakers without socks and a helmet locked their the side of their bike is the Stupide de Jour.
Cruiser riders will normally be seen with bluejeans and perhaps a t-shirt… maybe a vest, sunshades and perhaps a bandanna if they need that extra bit of protection. A REAL safe cruiser will slap a brain bucket on their head and then get pointed and laughed at by their friends (I assume).
Scooterists are often portrayed in Mod gear (bombers, parkas,etc) or just in their individual style; MUCH of which offer little or no protection should the rider find themselves dancing the pavement polka. That’s where Armadillo comes in. Stylish, understated, innovative protection that could save you some skin if you find yourself doing a little blacktop breakdancing.
Armadillo is being distributed by Benchmark Helmets (the same people who were kind enough to bring Momo helmets to us jealous Americans). Check out their website (title link) to see the entire Armadillo line up. The “stylish”part is pretty self explanatory. By “understated”, I mean it’s not covered in logos and patches. It’s not big and bulky. It’s not even stiff and uncomfortable. What you see me in is a hoody that felt just like a hoody should. I wouldn’t recommend it for a kneedrager, but a little 35 mph bigstreet bop should be pretty well covered by the armor… and that’s where the “innovative” part comes in.
Aramadillo is one of the first manufacturers to offer d3o armor. What’s neat about d3o is that it allows you to retain freedom of movement while offering shock absorption through the “first ever intelligent shock absorbing material”. What they mean is when you’re just moving around the armor feels soft and spongy, but when you get the sandy road smackdown the “intelligent molecules” inside lock together, spreading the force over the whole pad. I’m no chemist, or physicist and I don’t play one on TV, so if you want more on the magic of d3o, you should hop on over to www.d3o.com.
I think this hoody would make a great Fall or Winter jacket for riders in the south. It has good wind and water protection and can be worn from the scooter to the pub… Ok, I’m making assumptions here. The armored hoody is NOT meant to offer the same level of protection you might get from a stiff, armored riding jacket, but if you’d rather have stylish, understated and innovative then you might want to try one out.
Another great feature with this particular piece is that it’s so flexible you can roll it into a little ball and stuff it into your helmet to stow under your seat. Let’s see you do THAT with your heavy armored jacket. What’s that? You ride a Majesty… oh… never mind. I’m talking to YOU then… tiny scooter rider. This baby packs small!
I took a few more photos of the hoody, the armor and some of the features of this baby. Thanks to Benchmark Helmets for sending us out a sample! If you go back and watch some of my California scooter reviews (Morphous, C3) you can see what it looks like in motion. Cheers!
***UPDATE 12/2/08***
Here’s another review of some Armadillo gear, their scooter parka.
12. September 2008 at 9:35 pm
Might also make good Parkour gear.
13. September 2008 at 12:48 am
Sikk hoodie – I wonder if we can get a “cafe press” type of place to do silk screens and club logos??
13. September 2008 at 2:29 am
Just! Parkour gear… good use, good use.
Jo! Hrm… I feel ya. Or you could just bust out the acrylics and paint a fresh piece on it yourself. Depending on how good your painting skills are. It’s a clean slate.
14. September 2008 at 2:50 am
Coincidentally, I was just on their site a few hours ago. Decent looking stuff. But really expensive. Not so attractive after seeing the prices.
15. September 2008 at 4:14 pm
For a reference (I think I am going to pick up that hoodie) how do their sizes run? Large or small? What size are you wearing in that pic?
Also, do you think you could comfortably wear it underneath a warmer jacket in the winter and still have ample flexibility?
15. September 2008 at 5:07 pm
Yeah, a little on the pricey side Brooke.
Eric! I think the sizes are pretty accurate for a standard issue Hoodie. I’m wearing a Large and I’m 6’2″ and 200lbs. It’s comfortable with a little wiggle room.
This hoodie would undoubtedly fit comfortably under a warmer jacket. I’m tellin’ ya… It’s as soft and flexible as a regular hoodie and stays pretty warm on its own with its wind blocking abilities.
15. September 2008 at 10:06 pm
That is one cool hoody.
Steve, I’m the dude that bought your Icon jacket last year. My brother just got into scooters and my Dad is thinking of picking up a Vespa. There must be something in the water. Anyway, been keeping up with you from time to time. Like to keep in the know because my wife keeps bugging me about one too.
I won’t ditch the sportbike for a scooter but I might end up adding one to the collection before too long. Thanks for the scoop. (really, there was no pun intended)
Keep up the good work and blessings to you and yours.
Dave
16. September 2008 at 3:48 pm
Expensive? Beats paying for a hospital visit! How much are skin grafts these days?
17. September 2008 at 1:49 pm
The UK site sells the ladies funnel neck for 151 USD / £85 and 107EUR Benchmark’s website sells the SAME product for $185. Unless the shipping is 60USD from the Armadillo website, it seems like a better deal.
18. September 2008 at 6:40 pm
Tim, by rationale of a sole comparison of cost to protection they are even less of a value as better protection (without out regard to comfort or appearance) can be had for far far less. I stand by saying that the exchange rate makes their product less than attractive for this average consumer.
18. September 2008 at 6:47 pm
brooke-
“…Without regard to comfort or appearance…” is the issue though isn’t it? People buy through the eye and to many, appearance is a very important factor when buying something. If safety and practicality was the only factor in buying things we would all be riding bicycles.
19. September 2008 at 7:02 pm
Armadillo are being dropped by dealers in the UK, the fit and quality is poor and d3o takes impact but can tear in a drag.
This stuff is for riding in town at most. Don’t bother with it unless you like paying for something seriously expensive which doesn’t do the job.
19. September 2008 at 7:14 pm
But I believe your point when making the analogy to the cost of medical treatment in relation to the cost of the jacket was, Tim, that the cost shouldn’t be an issue when ones safety is on the line. I suppose when it comes to a personal decision one can hold to both sides of a rationale, but it doesn’t make for a convincing argument.
19. September 2008 at 7:49 pm
Good point.
I bow to the Supreme Intellect of Brooke!
19. September 2008 at 8:33 pm
whatevs :)