| Phi Nguyen |
The way I understand it is Bracers of Armor are enchanted clothing and provide a base of 0 AC + the enchantment modifier. So in essence, Bracers of Armor are an AC0 item with a +5 armor enhancement modifier. This is the exact same enchantment that would go on your Scalemail +5, except the the Scale mail has a base AC of 5 (effectively giving you a total of +10 armor bonus to your AC).
The way I read it is the Bracers work exactly like magic armor in that you can add further abilities (Ghost Touch, etc.) but are limited to a maximum of +8 enhancement modifier instead of the +10 you would get with armor.
They aren't as much value for your money as magical armor, but I'm guessing that is to provide game balance for the Monk.
Hope this helped?