I also have a raptor jacket and the paddock jacket, The armor is interchangable between the two, elbow and shoulder joints too.
I just went to the trump dealer and bought a new backpad and it was only $12. The heavy duty elbows and shoulders were a different story though. About $30 EACH. So I keep the back pad in both and swap the joints as it gets cooler into the paddock jacket.
Support your dealers, if you like them, it helps keep them in business.
The pads are useful if you go down. They will help but without them it can be worse. The back pads are a little stiff though. But you get used to them. I never had leathers with them before, and figured I would take all that "girlie" padding out, but have grown accustomed to them and now I don't feel as safe if I wear something else without them.
