My first riding jacket. I believe the shoulders/elbows are armored, but the back pad is unmarked foam, so I don't think I'd trust it in a crash. The mesh breathes very very well, and some mornings I even get cold on my way to work. The velcro at the bottom of the zipper is handy, as are the adjusters at the hips, but as mentioned in other reviews the velcro at the neck can get a little constricting. I don't really mess with the bicep velcro that is intended to custom-fit the elbow armor, but as you can see it makes a perfect keeper for my Road ID....EDIT:First review was written after about 10 months riding in this jacket, and now it has been 2 years and 3 months and I'm still riding in it. A couple things have started to fray, especially the mesh liner on the right inside because the velcro likes to get stuck there. This is still my favorite jacket, and even though I have a full-on winter jacket with waterproof and insulated liner (BiLT Tempest), and even though it's getting really cold where I live, I prefer to ride in this jacket with a wind-proofing base layer (Freeze Out Zipped Gilet) than my actual winter jacket because this one allows better freedom of movement (even with base layer). My only gripe is I wish they had put the hook side of the velcro on the left side of the neck and the loop side on the part that sometimes touches you.Also, what is up with raglan looking sleeves that actually are not raglan sleeves???? I don't get it. If it has raglan sleeves, why articulate the shoulder??