Review | RideIron Racing Style Armoured Motorcycle Riding Jacket

RideIron may not carry the brand recognition of the likes of Richa, RST, Furygan or the rest but the Chinese firm is pressing ahead with a full range of riding kit, shipped directly from a UK-based distribution hub. This ‘Racing Style Armoured Motorcycle Riding Jacket’ is among the more eye-catching in its collection for its lairy colour combos and loud’n’proud branding you may (or may not) take to your heart. More conventional looking alternatives are available, rest assured. At heart it’s a relatively straightforward softshell jacket, with a quilted liner for warmth and armour inserts to the elbows, shoulders and back.

Modern fabric technology is such that even seemingly flimsy garments can claim AAA ratings for abrasion resistance, though even with big name brands that sometimes takes a leap of faith. On that basis we’re a little concerned that RideIron says it’s waiting on confirmation of that rating at the time of writing, and on examination the jacket looks to be constructed more like a fashion garment than PPE. So, no double layers in exposed areas, no obvious reinforcement of stitching and very conventional looking fabric for the shell, albeit with claims of abrasion resistance technology. At the price that’s enough to have us somewhat concerned at just how much protection there is on offer, even with the CE Level 2 stamps in the included armour inserts. The back protector, such that it is, looks more like an off-cut piece of camping mattress, meanwhile. We could maybe have sized down from the Large supplied but, even so, the very loose fit at the waist suggests it would very easily ride up in the event of a slide along the road. The consequences of which don’t bear thinking about.
Pays your money, takes your choice and all that. And the RideIron jacket is very competitively priced compared with other motorcycle clothing. Read between the lines of the above for why we fear that may be so, though in fairness we didn’t actually put it to the test and throw ourselves off the bike!

Whether you consider RideIron’s Guard Your Freedom branding and the kung-fu Panda on the back of the jacket a big cringey or just a bit of lost-in-translation fun is your decision. But it doesn’t help its apparent credibility as a piece of protective riding wear. If you like the style and want something eye-catching to wear at town speeds on a scooter or similar we’d say why the hell not, given you could wear it in off-bike situations and nobody would even realise it was an armoured jacket. But for more serious applications we’d happily pay the extra for a properly certified jacket from a manufacturer with a proven track record.