Oh I don't know about that now. I'm sorry Teknic lovers but I wore them for almost 10 years,then Dainese,then A* and now Icon. Teknic is not better than Icon for protevtion or quality. What is killing me about this whole discussion is a total avoidance of facts. Teknics makes some WAY flashy gear, I've often suspected that Icon and Teknics are made in the same place. I'm gonna research this alittle because I believe that I was told by a Parts Unlimited rep that a number of different gear manufacturers are made in the same factory in China. I'm gonna look into it.

did you read my post?

avoidance of what facts? you've yet to provide any yourself. I said Teknic has a track record for having good shit... not that it was better than Icon... just that they've been around and proven themselves so they'd have a tough time selling next to PROVEN companies...

what marko and I were talking about was the comment about the track pants that I bought... that VB said Icon's would fit better and be cheaper... sure cause if you don't offer anything it's free... free=cheaper... I got ya...

My only issue with Icon is that they don't make any NON-flashy gear... sure Teknic, shit even A* makes some flashy shit... (none as flashy as Icon IMO) but they make a lot of "subdued" gear... and Icon doesn't make anything but street gear

Teknic is track proven and street proven. A buddy of mine who use to race 200mph+ around Atlanta's perimeter wears nothing but Teknic. And if you see this guys garage you can see he has crashed a lot with torn up bike parts lying everywhere. When I was getting a bike and talking about gear he said "Get Teknic, Dainese, and Taichi". Or something like Tai Chi. I've never heard of them nor been able to find them but heard they were good.

He told me not to cheap out with Icon gear. By the way this guy is "Ghetto Fabulous" and loves that crap. He rides an 08 Hayabusa that spits out 202hp to the wheel. Has owned 3 ZX-12s both 200mph+ capable and all totaled out. He even wears the chrome dome sometimes and thought about putting a 360rear on his Busa for a bit(Thank god he didn't). But when it came to riding hard he gears out all the way.

Considering Icon gear is right up this guy's alley and he won't wear it I think that says a lot.

Which I'm fairly new to motorcycles and Icon might make gear just as good or better than Teknic, Dainese, or whatever. But I'm not going to test it out myself so I'm going to stick with what I know is good and that is Teknic.

Damn I just thought of an example about hte quality of Icon vs others. I was looking at back protecters and saw the Icon spine protecter. Then saw a Dainese spine protector. The guy at Cyclegear told me not to get the Icon one. He demostrated why. He grabbed the Icon back protector and bent it backwards in a position I don't want my back going in if I wreck. Then I tried the Dainese and I couldn't get it to bend back. That is the difference you pay.

Icon is fine if it's all you can afford or I'll go out on a limb and say if you want something for bike night or just a night out on the town where you want some protection but don't want to be in a $1000 One Peice.

Either way someone who buys Icon gear(No matter how flashy or not) is far superior to the countless bikes you'll see in the summer with shorts and a t-shirt and no helmet even in some states.

This arguement is just like Chevy vs. Ford, Mobil 1 vs. Castrol, Honda vs. Suzuki, etc, etc... Every piece of Icon gear I have ever held in my hands appeared to be top quality under very close examination.

OSP. Didn't you crash a while back? Where you wearing Icon gear? If so how did it (Or whatever brand you were wearing) hold up in it?

I was only wearing Icon boots... they held up fine... I still wear them to this day... My Power Trip mesh jacket held up decently, but the armor slide and I got burnt through the leather uppers... One of my A* SMX air-2 carbon gloves was fucked, but other than losing a small part of my thumbnail, my hand was tip top.

That being said, I know Neebs knows a guy who went off the road and hit a stump at high speeds and his Icon boots flew off... Of course, I have to guess that either they didn't fit right, he didn't have them fastened correctly, or it was just a one in a billion chance and probably would have happened no matter what boots he was wearing... I have trouble getting them on and off and I have probably 10k miles in 'em.

What kind of Icon boots? I tried on Icon Super Duty 2 Boots and felt like I could have kicked them off if I tried hard enough.

Then I tried on some Shift Fuel Street Shoes and they felt snug around my ankle along with the rest of my foot. I don't know the quality in a crash but they felt superior to the similar style Icon boots.

I do like this one Denim re-enforced Icon pants that I might get for everyday riding(Such as if I'm going to shoot pool or just cruise to the store) from Icon. I'm not gearing up in full race gear to grab a sandwich nor walk around a pool table in leathers. There is one I like that isn't overdone with patches.

Which Icon gear could look better if they dropped the NGK, Parts Unlimited, etc patches.

Icon Field Armor Boots FTW

Ok,again I don't get it. Haven't any of you actually LOOKED at Icon's website BEFORE you've started mouthing off? For every jacket Icon makes with patches,they make the exact same jacket without. For every jacket they make in "loud" colors,they make in black. I have Alpine stars "skate" shoes,should I use them to illustrate how unprotective their gear is? I've crashed the field armor boots and leg armor three times since I've had them and they never "fell off" or "fell apart", that's more than I can say for Nitro boots. Most Icon boots are for casual riding and NOBODY ever said they were designed for doing 200+ mph around the streets of Atlanta. If you or your friend want to ride like that on the street I have two suggestions; 1. stay the fuck away from me and 2. buy ALOT of insurance and put it the name of someone you love. I don't care what gear you have on at those speeds, eventually you're gonna get fucked up.

Once again,have you even looked at Icon's website? They make alot of "non-flashy" gear. You put on you A* red,white and blue power ranger boots and I'll put on my all black Icon boots and we'll see who's flashy now!!! I wore NOTHING but Teknics for 10+ years,why doesn't my opinion count? I've had "top of the line" teknics gear fall apart. A* Gp+ gloves broke 3 of my fingers when my hand got smashed flat against a car because the knuckle armor didn't float like Icon's and the edge "guillotined" my fingers! I own a Dainese jacket that I can't wait to take off when I stop because it's so uncomfortable in anything but a race tuck position! BTW How much time do you spend on the track? Most guys,in my 25 years experience,laugh at dudes that show up wearing full race suits to go on a casual ride. Am I saying they aren't smart? Nope. But it definitely brings to mind tuner wannabes that have fire extinguishers and 5 point harnesses in their Cavaliers or Civics. Besides, the basis for your "quality" arguement seems to revolve solely around the fact that Icon doesn't make "track gear". So what? I'm not trying to be Mat Mlladin on the street! Believe it or not,Icon has started a trend in street gear that the "unbiased" observer can see the other gear manuacturers following. As far as style,cut and fit are concerned. Anyway,I'm gonna look into actual quality and not perceived quality this week and we'll see.