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ICON Field Armor Leg Guards
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April 12, 2010 at 10:19 pm #3868WeaponZeroParticipant
I posted a reviw of these using the Create Content option, but it will probably be a while before it’s up, if it ever does get up. I’m not sure how the process works or if it’s subject to approval. So here is a preliminary view of it.
I am a very big fan of ICON brand gear. I love the quality, the look, and the fact that most of it is tailored in a way where it can comfortably fit those of us who are–well, not exactly built like professional athletes. That being said, however, some of their products don’t seem to be thought out all that well. Usually it’s a simple case of a design that works well on paper but not in practice. The ICON Field Armor leg guards are a perfect example of one of these products.
The ICON Field Armor leg guards are, basically, a complete set of knee and shin guards that were designed to be worn underneath a normal pair of jeans. The design is pretty straightforward. The knee and shin are completely covered by energy absorbing foam that wraps completely around the lower leg, and they are covered in the front by GP-style hard plastic protectors. They have a lot of nice features that look great on paper. They have a larger coverage area than most of their competitors, going all the way down to the ankle and wrapping completely around to the back of the leg. They use an attachment system that employs four elastic velcro straps for what, in theory, should amount to a lot of adjustment. They have a low profile design so that they are completely invisible when worn underneath your jeans. It all sounds great, right? Well, there are kinks…
When comparing the ICON leg guards to their competitors made by companies such as Knox, who are known for making the best armor products in the business, the first thing I noticed was that Knox and all of the other competing products stopped about midway down the shin while the ICON leg guards went all the way down to the ankle. I wondered why the bigger brands didn’t offer more protective coverage like the ICON ones. I now know why. The leg armor’s extremely large coverage area prevents you from wearing them with boots that go up above the ankle, which forces you to wear them with street-styled riding shoes. This probably isn’t a bad thing for ICON as most of the boots they make are of that style, but it does leave your ankles completely and totally without protective support that, to me, is a requirement of all proper riding shoes/boots.
The adjustment system doesn’t. These “one size fits all” leg guards only fit people with smallish calves, about 15″ or smaller. In order to be able to wear them around my 18″ calves, I had to rig a velco extender strap in order to get the velcro to fasten, and even then they would slowly ride down my leg throughout the day and I had to keep adjusting them to keep the knee protector over my knee. I don’t think this would be an issue if they were worn by someone who they fit properly without need of an extender strap, so I won’t hold it against it in the end, but it is something you should be aware of.
On the plus side, they are comfortable and the perforated design means they don’t interfere with air flow, so your legs don’t roast while wearing them. This was one of the few things about them that actually did impress me.
The ICON Field Armor leg guards are a great product for the right person–that is, for someone who plans on riding in street-styled riding shoes and who has pretty slim legs for a guy (no bigger than 15″ around the calf). If you match this description and you’re looking for something that will give you added protection without having to buy a pair of dedicated riding pants, these will probably serve you fine. For the rest of us, however, I strongly recommend you look to the Knox Cross Guard Knees. They fit perfectly, are comfortable, and don’t have any issues of the ICON Field Armors. I promptly upgraded to them after owning Field Armors for about three months and will never go back now.
April 12, 2010 at 11:23 pm #25684JackTradeParticipantI want to like Icon (love the look and feel of a lot of it, esp. their very cool retro-style jackets), but their pants and jackets don’t seem to fit me well. I think it’s their “street style” focus, whereas I’ve come to prefer the more tradition motorcyclist style (read tight and fitted).
I’m about a 44 chest and a 34 waist, so most jackets that are big enough up top can’t be adjusted small enough down below for me.
April 12, 2010 at 11:25 pm #25685Jeff in KentuckyParticipantI wear soccer shin and ankle guards that fit inside my 8 inch tall engineer boots with steel toes. I wear skateboarding knee pads, the kind that have fabric behind your knee, and I cut off the velcro straps. They go under my larger than normal pants, and they stay in place. I would also consider the knee braces for sale at pharmacies- if they are designed for bad knees, they will help protect good knees. The soccer and baseball leg protection is designed for hot summer days and have air vents.
April 12, 2010 at 11:26 pm #25686eonParticipantI also own these knee/shin guards and mostly agree with your appraisal. I find they fit me perfectly so that undoubtedly means I like them more than you
I tend to wear them on my short commute to work but I wear them on the outside of my pants as that makes them easier to take on/off. I have noticed there is not a lot of room for adjustment in the straps so I’m not surprised people with larger calves have a problem (I’ve read that criticism of them before). But I’m not sure how that problem could be solved with simple velco straps. A longer strap would leave them flapping around on skinny folks like me. A more complex strap could work but that would add expense and inconvenience (longer to take on/off).
I also wear mine with full length boots (Sidi B2’s) without a problem. I tuck them in just a little bit inside the top of the boot and that is a perfect fit. I originally bought these for added protection when I only had over the ankle boots and I found there was a gap between the top of the boot and the bottom of the shin guard. Not a lot but enough to be disconcerting. So as well as width of calve, length of shin might factor into how well these fit you. I have a 32″ inseam but I’m not sure how closely that relates to shin length.
My biggest problem with these comes back to that Velcro fastening. I just don’t have a lot of confidence that they would stay in place in a high speed get off. I am not really comfortable wearing them on the interstate but they are perfect for my use, short simple intown hops when I don’t want to wear dedicated motorcycle pants.
edit: how to look like Mad Max
April 13, 2010 at 12:13 am #25689WeaponZeroParticipantICON’s merc line of jackets are made to be snug-fitting in the typical sport style and have that tapered waist you seek. Unfortunately they’re being discontinued on closeout. The rest all use a straight-cut design where the waist doesn’t go in any from the chest. It’s nice for us folk with bellies but you skinny types probably won’t like it.
Joe Rocket and Speed & Strength jackets have a LOT of adjustment in the waist. After I lost weight and dropped 2 whole sizes my old Joe Rocket jacket was still able to fit me snugly with all of the adjustment it had. Try them.
Personally I love ICON brand gear. I just have gripes that some of their stuff, like I said, doesn’t work as well in practice as it does on paper. I’ll admit that for leather I’ll go elsewhere but for textile jackets it’s ICON all the way for me. And their Field Armor boots are awesome!
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