Is Level 2 armor always bulkier than Level 1?

Not always. Level 2 pads can be thicker or heavier than Level 1, but some viscoelastic materials reach Level 2 in thin, flexible pads. Judge by the printed label, not by thickness.

Does Type B protect better than Type A?

No. Type A and Type B describe the protector's minimum coverage area, not its protection level, and both must pass identical force limits. Type B covers more area, so it is the better pick when it fits your body.

Is a Level 2 back protector equivalent to Level 2 elbow armor?

No. Each part of EN 1621 sets its own force limits — 9 kN mean for a Level 2 back protector versus 20 kN mean for Level 2 limb armor — so levels only compare within the same body zone.

My armor has no T+ or T- mark. Did it fail the temperature tests?

No. The hot and cold impact tests are optional; a missing mark means the maker did not claim that condition. Baseline certification still requires passing at ambient temperature and after wet conditioning.

How do I pick a back protector size?

By your waist-to-shoulder length. EN 1621-2 sizes back protectors as a centimetre range no wider than 5 cm, so measure your torso rather than going by jacket size.

Updated 2026-07-18

Armor levels explained: EN 1621 from limb pads to back protectors

What the levels, letters and marks on EN 1621 armor labels mean: the 50 J drop test behind them, the verified force limits for limb, back and chest protectors, and how to decide when Level 2 is worth the extra bulk.

One drop test behind every level

Every part of the EN 1621 family — limb armor (part 1), back (part 2), chest (part 3) and airbag (part 4) — rates products with the same core experiment. A guided 5 kg mass is dropped to strike the protector with 50 J of energy while the pad sits on an anvil. A load cell records how much force, in kilonewtons, passes through to the body side. Less transmitted force means a better result.^[2]^[5] Published test descriptions show the limb test drapes the pad over a domed anvil standing in for the joint, with a flat-faced striker playing the road.^[6]

Certification requires passing at ambient temperature and again after wet conditioning, so a pad cannot earn its level only on a dry bench.^[1]^[5] And the standards themselves note that these kilonewton figures are laboratory comparison values, not real-crash forces — a level is a published test result, never a prediction of how any individual crash will go.^[2]^[3]

Level 1 and Level 2: the verified numbers

Each part sets its own force allowances, so the same words — Level 1, Level 2 — mean different numbers depending on what the pad protects:

Limb (EN 1621-1:2012) — shoulder, elbow, hip, knee: Level 1 allows at most 35 kN mean transmitted force, Level 2 at most 20 kN. Central strikes must stay within those same caps; perimeter strikes are capped at 50 kN and 30 kN respectively.^[1]^[6]
Back (EN 1621-2:2014): Level 1 allows 18 kN mean with no single strike above 24 kN; Level 2 halves that to 9 kN mean, nothing above 12 kN. The protector must also come through without fragmenting or leaving sharp edges.^[2]^[8]
Chest (EN 1621-3:2018): both levels pass the same attenuation limits — 18 kN mean, no value above 24 kN — and Level 2 adds a load-spreading test at 15 kN mean with nothing above 20 kN. Chest Level 2 is not half of Level 1; it adds a distribution requirement instead.^[3]^[5]
Airbag (EN 1621-4:2013): Level 1 allows 4.5 kN mean and Level 2 just 2.5 kN when tested inflated — far below any passive foam allowance. More in the airbag vests guide.^[4]^[8]

So levels compare only within a body zone, and a bare "CE Level 2" claim without the part number is incomplete information.^[3]^[4] If you see 18 kN quoted for elbow armor, the writer has borrowed the back-protector limits; the limb numbers are 35/50 and 20/30.^[1]^[2]

Zone letters, Type A or B, and the temperature marks

A complete limb-armor label typically reads like "EN 1621-1:2012 Level 2 K+L Type B" — the format here is drawn from published label examples rather than the standard's own layout clause.^[1]^[9] The letters are body zones: S for shoulder, E for elbow and forearm, H for hip, K for knee and upper tibia, L for the lower leg below a separate knee pad, and K+L for one long guard covering the knee and most of the shin, common on MX and adventure knee guards.^[1]^[10]

Type A and Type B describe size, not performance. Type A is the reduced-dimension version of a protector, Type B the full-dimension one; both must pass identical force limits, so if a Type B pad suits your build, the extra coverage is worth having.^[1]^[9]

T+ and T- are optional marks: the pad was impact-tested again after conditioning at +40 °C or −10 °C and still met its claimed level. Soft armor can soften further in heat and stiffen in cold, so these marks are relevant for hot-climate and winter riding. A missing mark means the maker did not claim that condition — not that the pad failed it.^[1]^[5] Read the edition year after the standard number too: the levels and codes here come from the current editions, and older-edition labels were certified against different definitions.^[1]^[2] Our label decoder and the CE label guide walk through any specific tag.

Back and chest protectors: coverage classes and fit

EN 1621-2 covers both strap-on back protectors and the inserts that slide into a jacket pocket. Labels carry a coverage class: FB for full back — the central back plus the shoulder-blade area, the largest class — CB for the central back only, which is typical for in-jacket inserts, and LB for lumbar-only, kidney-belt style protection.^[2]^[8]

The back test uses a different impactor from the limb test. The 50 J drop uses a kerbstone-shaped bar — 5 kg, 160 mm long with a 12.5 mm-radius striking edge — falling onto a curved anvil. This simulates a back-first fall onto a kerb edge.^[2]^[6] Sizing is by your waist-to-shoulder length, marked as a centimetre range no wider than 5 cm, so choose a back protector by torso length, never by jacket size.^[2]^[8]

Chest protectors under EN 1621-3 come as one-piece (full) or two-half (divided) designs; divided pads exist so chest protection can integrate into ordinary jackets.^[3]^[5] How pocket armor interacts with the garment's own certification is a separate topic — see garment class vs armor.

When Level 2 is worth the bulk

The common certified materials are rate-sensitive foams — compliant while you ride, stiffer under impact. Retail listings show D3O's thin Ghost line sold in both Level 1 and Level 2 versions,^[11]^[14] SAS-TEC viscoelastic pads reaching Level 2 while staying thin and flexible,^[13] and Forcefield's layered Nitrex Evo back protectors holding Level 2 along with the optional cold-condition T- pass.^[12] Even so, Level 2 pads can run thicker or heavier than their Level 1 siblings,^[6] which is why Level 1 remains a deliberate choice where low bulk and flexibility matter — a lower bar in the same test, not the absence of one.^[7]

On paper the step matters most at the back — the allowance drops from 18 kN to 9 kN, against 35 to 20 for limbs — and a back insert hides in a pocket where bulk is least noticeable.^[1]^[2] For limbs, take Level 2 when the pocket accepts it and the garment still sits close; the pad is tested positioned over the anvil, so a pocket that holds it over the joint is part of the protection.^[1] When heat or movement push you toward thinner pads, a Level 1 pad you keep wearing does more than a Level 2 pad left in a drawer. Every rating here is a published lab result — see our methodology — never a promise about a specific crash.^[2]^[4]

Common questions

Is Level 2 armor always bulkier than Level 1?: Not always. Level 2 pads can be thicker or heavier than Level 1, but some viscoelastic materials reach Level 2 in thin, flexible pads. Judge by the printed label, not by thickness.
Does Type B protect better than Type A?: No. Type A and Type B describe the protector's minimum coverage area, not its protection level, and both must pass identical force limits. Type B covers more area, so it is the better pick when it fits your body.
Is a Level 2 back protector equivalent to Level 2 elbow armor?: No. Each part of EN 1621 sets its own force limits — 9 kN mean for a Level 2 back protector versus 20 kN mean for Level 2 limb armor — so levels only compare within the same body zone.
My armor has no T+ or T- mark. Did it fail the temperature tests?: No. The hot and cold impact tests are optional; a missing mark means the maker did not claim that condition. Baseline certification still requires passing at ambient temperature and after wet conditioning.
How do I pick a back protector size?: By your waist-to-shoulder length. EN 1621-2 sizes back protectors as a centimetre range no wider than 5 cm, so measure your torso rather than going by jacket size.