• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

Air Bag Jackets

All of these vests/jackets have air flow problems to one degree or another. Obviously there can't be air flow holes through the air bag material so whatever you put on is going to restrict air flow to your torso.
Helite and Hit Air make mesh jackets which take care of the arms but the torso is still covered. Vests will have the same issue.
The other con I forgot to mention about my Helite Adventure jacket is that the air bag is built in while Dainese/Klim/Alpinestars are vests which can be used with different jackets - summer or winter. The air bag on the Helite can be removed if you want to clean the jacket but in reading the instructions it appears to be a pain to do.
Having the bag built in is kind of a plus also since you don't have to put on a jacket AND and a vest. And honestly, the way the Helite is made you'd never know there was an air bag in there.
 
Last edited:
N4teTheGreat said:
I'm also a little worried about the heat, but I've also been running a Dianese water proof rain jacket as my year round jacket, it only has two vents in the front so it's not great. I've ridden in 120 degree heat and it was not pleasant, but I just un-zipped the jacket about halfway, which I realize defeats some of the protection. I figured if I can live with a rain jacket year round, I can live with the Helite jacket as well, it comes with more vents than my current jacket has so there's that.
Click to expand...

I've been using the Klim A1 vest. After 3 years of subscribing the cost is the same as purchasing outright. Software updates are included. Venting is effective. Under a airflow jacket I've not had a problem riding in the heat.
 
greenmonster said:
All of these vests/jackets have air flow problems to one degree or another. Obviously there can't be air flow holes through the air bag material so whatever you put on is going to restrict air flow to your torso.
Helite and Hit Air make mesh jackets which take care of the arms but the torso is still covered. Vests will have the same issue.
The other con I forgot to mention about my Helite Adventure jacket is that the air bag is built in while Dainese/Klim/Alpinestars are vests which can be used with different jackets - summer or winter. The air bag on the Helite can be removed if you want to clean the jacket but in reading the instructions it appears to be a pain to do.
Having the bag built in is kind of a plus also since you don't have to put on a jacket AND and a vest. And honestly, the way the Helite is made you'd never know there was an air bag in there.
Click to expand...

Hadn't thought about this, so you can't wash the jacket with the vest in? I don't clean my jacket that often anyway, but there are times where the bug guts and dust get to the point it needs a washing.
 
My cooling vest works fine when wearing my Hit Air and either my Roadcrafter one piece or my Klim 2 piece. You want to restrict airflow when wearing a cooling vest anyway. Too much and it dries out fast, not enough air and it doesn't work.
 
N4teTheGreat said:
Hadn't thought about this, so you can't wash the jacket with the vest in? I don't clean my jacket that often anyway, but there are times where the bug guts and dust get to the point it needs a washing.
Click to expand...

My instructions are somewhere but from what I recall you can wipe down the jacket as much as you want, they recommend Nikwax to preserve the waterproofness of the jacket. You can also remove the air bag itself. It's kinda like removing a liner from a jacket but there's a bit more to it. Not to scare you or anything. I've never done it so I have no personal experience.
 
I've got the Helite Touring jacket in silver - https://en.helite.com/products/touring-airbag-motorcycle/

I did a dumb, came to a stop, right foot down into an area that was deeper than expected. Fell over, jacket deployed, didn't feel a thing, stood up, picked up the GSA, spent maybe 5 minutes removing the spent cartridge and installing the new one, and I was on my way again with all protections restored.

Armored elbows, shoulder, and back. Two complaints - 1) no kidney belt like Klim, and 2) collar could use some stiffer fabric to keep the collar vertical instead of rolling into the neck.

Beyond that, it's a great jacket. :thumbup

I can ride down and let you check it out, just LMK. :thumbup
 
Exintern said:
I've been using the Klim A1 vest. After 3 years of subscribing the cost is the same as purchasing outright. Software updates are included. Venting is effective. Under a airflow jacket I've not had a problem riding in the heat.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input.

Added Klim to the OP.
 
In re-looking at your options in the original post maybe an idea is to go cheaper on the jacket and get the highest quality vest. It's the vest that will keep you safe (er) from impact which is the killer, the jacket will protect from sliding and offer some protection to elbows and shoulders. That way you could get a winter AND a summer jacket and just switch out the vest accordingly.
This might eliminate the need for a cooling vest. I can't imaging putting on a cooling vest, then an air vest, then my jacket. I'd feel like the Michelin Man.
Just a thought.
 
Hear ya Ed.

A good thought.

That 3 layer summer deal would suck and the glory of an evaporative vest lost.
 
Another Klim owner here. I've ridden in temps up to 114f visiting family back in Fresno and as long as I was moving i was comfortable. What drove me to the Klim is the fact that the vest and the brain are separate. Should something happen and the vest gets rashed up and damaged, it's just a new vest for another $400 and transfer the brain into it vs paying for a complete replacement.
Software and algo updates are seamless if you pair it to wifi, it will update everytime you charge it (if needed). Also, everytime you charge it, it dumps it's logs back to IneMotion to help them collect more data for improved detection function. It can store a decent size log in the event of a deployment too which will also help to refine the algo.
I also like that it has an integrated CE1 back/spine pad that is upgradable to CE2 for $50. It fills in the area between the bladders down your spine and provides some extra protection to the computer/brain at the same time.
 
Whammy likes the Klim badlands jacket it doesn't have that im old as fuck and should sport a long ass ZZ Top grey beard look. Sorry guys I just dont like those adventure type jackets. On the other hand the A-stars jacket seems pretty neat too.

Seriously leaning towards getting one of these kinds of jackets just not one of those long ones.
 
To each his own style, not sure why the ADV styling grabs these days, but it does :)
 
I’ve been jealous of women's handbags cause of all the the stuff they can carry. The adventure style jackets have all those pockets for me to loose stuff in. The length can be an advantage in rain to avoid damp crack syndrome.
 
I bought a Hit-Air Vest-YS (https://www.hit-air.com/en/motorcycle/lineup/jacket_vest/jacket_vest_type01/vest-ys.html) from another Barfer about 18 months ago. I'll wear it most times I ride and certainly for any distance rides. Personaly I like the bright hi-viz look, but I can understand why others might not.

I prefer the vest instead of a jacket, since I can wear it over any of my existing jackets (although it looks pretty goofy over my Aerostich suit!). It's a manual, so I have to remember to attach it to the bike each time I get on and off. No issues yet with it going off accidentally, although I very nearly pulled the bike over when I forgot to unplug and tried to walk away...

It comes with a spare cylinder, so if I crash and it goes off, then even if it's unusable for the remainder of that ride, it can be repacked and the new cylinder inserted prior to my next ride.

So far I haven't crashed, but it's nice to know it's there.....
 
Why not carry a spare cylinder on the bike?
 
senpai71 said:
although I very nearly pulled the bike over when I forgot to unplug and tried to walk away...
Click to expand...

I was thinking about this last night, a likely scenario for me, step off the bike, feel the tug of the tether, fail to save the bike from a tip-over and then have the tip-over pop the airbag adding insult to injury... :laughing My only hope is, if I ever do that, it gets caught on video so I can monetize it on YouTube...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top