Why a garment needs its own document
Armour standards classify a protector on a rig. They say nothing about the material the protector is sewn into, the seams that hold it together, or whether the garment stays on. EN 17092 addresses the garment as a product — its materials, its construction and where protection is required — which is a different question from how a shoulder protector performs.
Classes rather than levels
The standard defines classes, published with letter designations, which describe intended use and the requirements that follow from it. They are not a single scale from worse to better in the way a level is: a class intended for one kind of riding requires a different set of properties from another. The class letters are printed on the garment label with the standard.
What this changes when comparing jackets
Two lines have to be read rather than one. Which class the garment is certified to, if any — and what armour it actually contains, to which level and type. A garment can be certified while its back pocket holds an uncertified pad, because those are two different documents describing two different products.
Where to read it
On the garment label, alongside the maker and the size. Where a listing cites a standard without a class, the class is the thing to ask for, since it is what the certification actually records.
Questions riders send in about this
Does a certified garment include certified armour?
Not necessarily. The garment standard and the armour standards are separate documents, and the armour supplied is stated separately by the maker.
Is an uncertified jacket unsafe?
This site does not make that judgement. What it reports is what a maker publishes: which standard a garment is certified to, which class, and what armour is in it.
Last reviewed 18 September 2026