[SideshowBob]

Last fall I got back into riding. I had a whole bunch of my old gear. My old Moose chest protector is a little small on me, and is missing the arm guards. So as I built my gear back up, I was looking a whole bunch of different options.

The Thor Impact Rig SE seemed to fit my qualifications-
-Protection (including elbows, which is nice)
-Built in Kidney belt
-Complete underarmor seems like a good idea
-Reviews are decent

When it arrived I tried it on, fit was fine (I think I ended up with XXL I am 6ft1" and 230 lbs.) I adjusted all the straps and such. Fit well and allowed for movement.

First Ride observations-
-Way way way too hot to wear above 70 degrees with a jersey over it. It was 80ish out and I was pouring sweat
-great protection it seems
-Kidney belt is nice

Second Ride observations (2 hr short ride)-
-Zippers keep coming undone (for removable back protection, front closure, and kidney belt)
-Still hot, partially solved by wearing light "A"-shirt underneath with nothing over the impact rig

Third Ride observations-
-Zippers continue to come undone (for removable back protection, front closure, and kidney belt)
-Really big pain to clean. Since you can't really wear a jersey over it (even vented) without sweating to death, you have to clean it directly, and it's a real pain because you have to be careful with all the mesh
-when I clipped a tree leaning into a corner with my shoulder, the shoulder cup moved outta the way and my shoulder took most of the hit


Overall I like the protection it offers, but the zipper issue and the immense amount of body heat that it traps in the slower speeds of the New England makes this a no-go for me. I am hoping that they will take it back as defective because they zippers keep coming undone under hard riding. I am planning on going back to a more conventional setup.