You know the feeling. It's mid-July, the humidity is spiking, and you are staring at your heavy riding jacket. You have two choices: wear the gear and risk overheating, or leave it behind and ride in a t-shirt, praying that today isn't the day gravity wins.
I have been there. I talk to riders every single day who face this exact dilemma.
At Bohn Body Armor, we have spent over 25 years perfecting a solution that changes how you think about protection. We don't just make gear; we created a new category of rider protection that's comfortable, invisible under clothes, and tailored to real bodies—not just "standard" ones.
Our modular Bodyguard System features multi-point CE-Level 2 certified armor coverage (shoulders, back, elbows, hips, knees, tailbone, and more) that stays in place during riding and fits every riding style and season, letting you wear the gear you already love - your favorite T-shirts, jackets, and jeans - while staying protected where it matters most.
The whole system was designed to solve the specific problems that make riders hate wearing safety equipment: heat, bulk, and poor fit.
The Bohn BodyGuard™ system—armor that works as hard as you ride.
If you found this article by searching "what is Bohn Body Armor" or looking for a review, you are in the right place. This is the complete guide to our unique "under-layer" system and why it might be the last piece of protection you ever need to buy.
Top Recommendations for New Bohn Riders
If you want to solve the "too hot to ride" problem right now, here are the pieces our customers love most:
Summer Armored Shirts:
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Bohn Cool-Air Mesh Armored Shirt: Maximum ventilation for extreme heat and humidity. Open-weave mesh construction allows unrestricted airflow while keeping CE-Level 2 armor locked on your body. Perfect for stop-and-go traffic and high-humidity climates.
Cool-Air Mesh Armored Shirt—maximum protection with maximum breathability.
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Bohn Airtex Armored Shirt: Advanced moisture management for active riding. Moisture-wicking Airtex fabric actively pulls sweat away from your skin while maintaining excellent breathability and full armor coverage. Ideal when you're generating heat through spirited riding.
Summer Armored Pants:
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Bohn All-Season Armored Pants: Available in two summer-friendly fabrics:
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Cool-Air Mesh Pants - Maximum ventilation for humid climates where airflow is essential
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Original Lycra™ Pants - Soft, stretchy fabric ideal for dry heat or normal summer temperatures; fits easily under your favorite jeans
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Both provide massive coverage for hips, thigh, knees, shins, and tailbone
Summer Armored Shorts:
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Bohn All-Season Armored Shorts: Available in the same two fabric options (Cool-Air Mesh and Original Lycra™). Perfect for riders who want to protect their hips and tailbone while wearing Kevlar® jeans but don't want armor extending down to the ankle.
3 Truths About Motorcycle Gear (That Might Surprise You)
Before we get into the technical details, I want to share three "controversial" truths about motorcycle safety. These principles drive everything we design at Bohn.
1. "Dress for the slide" doesn't tell the whole story. You have likely heard the old adage, "dress for the slide, not the ride." We believe that is incomplete. While road rash is painful and expensive to fix, broken bones are life-altering. The saying should really be "dress for the impact". Our priority is absorbing the energy of that first hard hit.
2. Your expensive jacket might be failing you. Traditional motorcycle jackets often fit loosely to be comfortable. The problem? If the jacket is loose, the armor is loose. In a crash, that elbow pad can rotate around your arm before you even hit the ground. If the armor isn't between you and the asphalt, it's useless.
3. Comfort supports safety. If you are overheating, you are distracted. If your gear pinches or restricts movement, it can affect your focus and control. Bohn's breathable base layers help riders who skip wearing gear in heat actually keep their armor on. Being comfortable keeps your reaction times sharp.
What Exactly Is the Bohn BodyGuard™ System?
Bohn Body Armor is not a jacket. It is an armored under-layer system.
Think of it as a base layer supercharged with high-tech impact protection. You wear our armored shirts and pants underneath the clothes you already own. This allows you to transform any outfit—from casual jeans and a flannel to a mesh jersey or leathers—into fully armored riding gear.
Impact protection matters most; loose armor fails on contact, and comfort helps riders stay focused and protected—Bohn's body-tight, breathable gear addresses all three areas.
The Core Philosophy: Armor That Stays Put
This is our biggest differentiator. Our shirts and pants are designed with a snug, body-close fit. This isn't just to make you look sleek; it is a safety function.
By holding the armor tight against your skin (similar to how athletic compression gear works), we ensure that the impact pads stay exactly where they should be. When you hit the ground, the armor doesn't shift. It is locked in place to absorb the energy of the crash.
Invisible Protection
We call it "invisible protection" because it fits under almost anything.
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Commuting? Wear it under khakis or chinos.
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Cruising? Wear it under your favorite leather jacket and riding jeans.
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Adventure Riding? Wear it under a lightweight shell.
You get the protection you need without looking like you just walked off a MotoGP track.
Superior Impact Protection: We Cover What Others Don't
Many motorcycle garments provide the bare minimum: a small pad for the knee and a small pad for the elbow. We believe that isn't enough. Bohn offers larger impact protectors in more places than any other motorcycle gear.
The Coverage Zones
Our protection scheme is comprehensive.
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Shirts: We cover the back (spine), shoulders, and elbows. In our Adventure shirt, we also include chest protection.
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Pants: We cover the knees, shins, hips (femur joint), thighs (outside), and tailbone.
More coverage means better impact protection in real crashes - not just CE-ratings tests.
Understanding the Ratings
Our armor uses high-quality viscoelastic foam from SAS-TEC. It's soft and pliable while you ride but stiffens instantly upon impact to absorb shock.
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CE-Level 2: All the armor in our shirts is CE-Level 2, the top level available. The hip, knee, and shin armor in our pants is also CE-Level 2.
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The Unrated Zones: You might notice our thigh and tailbone pads are "unrated." This isn't because they are weak. It is simply because no rating agency has a category for these specific protectors. We include them because falling on your tailbone or getting slammed in the thigh hurts, and we believe you should be protected there regardless of bureaucratic categories.
CE-Level 2 rated viscoelastic foam—soft when riding, rigid on impact.
Solving the "It's Too Hot to Ride" Problem
Heat is the enemy of safety. If your gear is too hot, you won't wear it.
European brands like Pando Moto, Bowtex, and Knox make similar under-layer products to Bohn. However, they are often designed for milder European climates. When you wear them in the sweltering heat of a Texas or Florida summer, they can feel suffocating.
Bohn is designed for US heat and humidity.
So how does Bohn solve the heat problem? With purpose-built fabrics designed specifically for US riding conditions.
Cool-Air Mesh
Our Cool-Air Mesh fabric is our secret weapon against the sun. It is a highly breathable, open-weave fabric that holds the armor tight but allows air to flow directly to your skin. It wicks away sweat and manages heat better than almost anything else on the market. Check out the shirt, pants, and armored shorts.
Open-weave Cool-Air Mesh allows direct airflow while securing armor in place.
When you pair a Bohn Cool-Air shirt with a lightweight mesh jacket or jersey, you get airflow that feels like wearing a t-shirt, but with CE-Level 2 armor protecting your shoulders, elbows, and back—the key impact zones in most crashes.
Performance Thermal
For the riders who brave the cold, we haven't forgotten you. We offer Performance Thermal options (shirt, pants) designed to keep heat in. These can add 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit of warmth to your ride, allowing you to extend your riding season into the late fall or early spring.
Sizing for Every Body
Riders come in all shapes and sizes, but traditional gear often assumes we are all 5'10" and 170 lbs.
At Bohn, we are proud to offer a size-inclusive fit. We build our gear to fit lanky builds, plus-size riders, riders with a "beer belly," and petite women.
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The Range: Sizing runs from 3XS up to 5XL.
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The Variations: We offer Short, Tall, and Big options depending on the product.
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The Result: We can fit riders from 4'9" all the way to 6'10".
Comprehensive sizing from 3XS to 5XL with Short, Tall, and Big variations.
Our sizing chart is accurate assuming you are wearing the garment with all the armor installed. And if you still can't find a fit? Reach out to us. We may be able to custom fit it for you.
The Honest Conversation About Abrasion
We get asked this a lot: "Is Bohn armor abrasion resistant?"
By design, Bohn's shirts and pants are not abrasion resistant.
We made this choice intentionally. Adding Kevlar® linings to the base layer would make them thicker, heavier, and hotter—defeating the purpose of a lightweight, cool under-layer.
How to Handle the Slide: We recommend a layering approach.
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High Speed / Highway: If you are riding at very high highway speeds or on a track where long slides are a risk, wear an abrasion-resistant layer over your Bohn armor. This could be leather, heavy denim, or a Kevlar® shell.
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Casual / Touring: For many riders, wearing a good pair of jeans over Bohn armor is sufficient. Our customers report that in everyday street crashes (bumps and rolls), while the mesh fabric can show some wear, the armor stays in place and doesn't tear free from the garment. They often escape without significant injury.
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Bohn Outerwear: We also manufacture our own Kevlar®-lined flannels, jackets, and sweatshirts. These feature Kevlar® fabric woven throughout the entire garment – not just reinforcement patches at the elbows and shoulders like many other brands – and are designed to work perfectly over our armor.
The layering approach—Bohn armor under abrasion-resistant outer layer.
A Note on "Safety Guarantees": No gear can guarantee safety. Bohn mitigates damage and helps prevent injury, but we cannot promise it will save your life. We provide some of the best impact protection on the market to stack the odds in your favor.
Value: The "Buy Once" Philosophy
Motorcycle gear is expensive. Traditional gear often forces you to buy a summer jacket, a winter jacket, and a rain jacket.
Bohn offers a different value proposition: Versatility.
Because our armor is removable, you can swap one set of armor between multiple fabric shells. You can have a Cool-Air shell for July and a Thermal shell for November, using the same armor.
Removable armor allows you to use one set across multiple garments.
Plus, our gear is designed to last. The armor is rated to last 10 years before its protective abilities degrade. You can buy once and wear it for a decade.
Comparison shoppers often look at brands like Pando Moto, Bowtex, or Knox. While those are quality brands, Bohn is often far more affordable while delivering equal or better impact protection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I wear underwear under the pants?
Yes. You should treat Bohn pants like a base layer or long underwear. Wear your regular underwear underneath them for hygiene and comfort.
Is the armor removable for washing?
Yes, all armor is removable. This makes washing the fabric shell easy. You can also swap the armor into different Bohn garments.
I have big calves/thighs. Will these fit?
Because we use stretchy fabrics like Lycra™ and mesh, our pants are very forgiving for riders with muscular or larger legs. Check our size chart—we likely have a "Big" or standard size that will accommodate you comfortably.
Can I wear these off-road?
Yes. We have specific "Adventure" pants where the shin armor is slightly shorter (5 x 8 inches). This is designed to ensure the armor doesn't conflict with tall, stiff motocross or adventure boots.
Where are you located?
We are proudly Made in the USA. Our headquarters are in Mooresville, NC, just north of Charlotte. Our team and quality control are right here, and some production runs are sewn here as well.
Do you offer free shipping?
Yes, we offer free shipping on orders over $109.
Final Thoughts
Riding a motorcycle is about freedom. It shouldn't be about suffering in stiff, heavy gear or worrying that your pads will slip when you need them most.
Bohn Body Armor offers a way to ride that is cooler, more comfortable, and incredibly protected. Whether you are a cruiser rider, an ADV enthusiast, or a daily commuter, our system adapts to you.
If you are ready to "dress for the impact" and experience the comfort of the Bohn BodyGuard™ system, check out our shop or contact us for sizing help. We are here to help you ride safer and longer.
