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Best airbag vest!

I finally bit the bullet and bought a Dainese Mugello-R suit with D-Air last weekend. One thing I’m very pleased with is the Dainese documentation included with the bag explicitly says multiple times that it will not deploy if you low side and slide without tumbling, whereas when I asked Alpinestars about their algorithm, they will deploy in any low side above the speed threshold (something like 30 MPH). I believe Dainese is the only airbag provider out there who says they won’t deploy in a low side slide.
 
berth said:
Having "instant on" extra torso armor isn't a bad thing, but we can sorta already do that passively (at the cost of weight and bulk). But having the neck protection to help against things like collar bone fractures I thought was a key benefit of these systems.
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Good point no neck protection from D or A*. Wondet why they opted out.

BTW, our collar bone/clavicle is part of torso/chest, not neck.

Krooklyn said:
Yeah, the Astars looks pretty legit. My only concern is how much more heat it will mean during my commute. As it is now, I don't like to commute in the summer when it's going to be > 90 on my ride home. Adding a vest seems like it will drop my tolerance down a bit. I'd like to hear how well/poorly these vests flow air.
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Hey Krooklyn, happy 2020! Because airbags need to hold air they are nor porous and don't allow air to flow through them. So, unfortunately, they will trap body heat.
 
RVFRick said:
Hey Krooklyn, happy 2020! Because airbags need to hold air they are nor porous and don't allow air to flow through them. So, unfortunately, they will trap body heat.
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I thought the Dainese vest proclaimed to allow some sort of ventilation. Per their website it says the below, which I have to admit I was very skeptical of...

https://www.dainese.com/us/en/smart-jacket.html

It offers perfect ventilation for warmer days and its advanced technology can withstand any downpour or weather conditions.
 
Yeah, the Dainese website talks about ventilation at least 10 times on the page, so it better be really good.
 
Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that we have been monitoring this thread closely. Lots of great content and questions. It also shows that Airbag Protection has become a vital part of the riding community which is great to see. As some of you have already heard, HELITE will be introducing several new products in 2020 which we are extremely excited about.

HELITE will be offering an Electronically Triggered Airbag System besides the already existing Mechanically Triggered Airbag System!

The first available electronic option will the HELITE GP Air Vest. Then the Electronic System will also become available for the HELITE Turtle 2 Vest. We do not expect these to be available until Spring 2020 and pricing has not been released yet either!
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The Electronic Systems will feature 2 sensors. One that is decting impact even at stanstill and one motion sensor in the Vest itself. The Vest is instantly re-usable by simply replacing the CO2 cartridge similar to the already existing Mechanical Airbag System. No need to send the vest in to have it re-set or re-packed UNLESS, of course, it is damaged and you would like us to check the functionality.

If you have any questions whatsoever feel free to send me an email to patrick@helitemoto.com! As soon as we have pricing information available and a better ETA we will also be accepting pre-orders.

Ride Safe!
 
The Helite vest looks pretty good depending on price.

I'm concerned about the fork mount sensor though. Having multiple bikes that I switch between, this isn't something I want to have to worry about. First world problems, I know.
 
sLing said:
https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2...orrifying-footage-of-head-on-motorbike-crash/

Airbag saved a rider from potential death
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That truly was a horrible crash. Not sure whether the rider wore HELITE or another brand airbag. That doesn't change the fact that Airbag Technology most likely saved his life.

It also emphasizes that, no matter how experienced you are as a rider, you simply don't have complete control over certain factors. In this case the oncoming car.

Ride protected!
 
mrzuzzo said:
The Helite vest looks pretty good depending on price.

I'm concerned about the fork mount sensor though. Having multiple bikes that I switch between, this isn't something I want to have to worry about. First world problems, I know.
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The fork sensor provides additional safety. You can get additional fork sensors for the rest of your bikes.

Without the fork sensor you still have the vest sensor but might be vulnerable at standstill situations...
 
I bought an AStars TechAir race vest and Missile Jacket for my first track day a few months back. Since then I've purchased several more compatible jackets and overall I'm happy with them, price notwithstanding.

It's quite heavy but once you have it on you don't really notice it, and it seems to flow air reasonably well, enough that once it got colder on my commute I had to get a warmer jacket...

I've ended up just swapping out each my seasonal jackets (mesh, waterproof, track w/ hump, sexy black leather) for AStars ones that take the vest. I'll probably pick up a 1-piece suit for this trackday season.

It takes ~1 minute to swap the TechAir vest between jackets, and then it just becomes a natural part of suiting up. I put my jacket on my shoulders, close the kidney belt and magnetic clasp, check the LEDs and then forget about it for the rest of the day.

I subscribe to the philosophy that the best protection is the stuff you'll actually wear, and while I looked at the Helite stuff, I know myself well enough that an external airbag would get left behind more often than not, and I estimated it would take < 1 week before I deployed it by forgetting to detach the lanyard...
 
robwormald said:
It's quite heavy but once you have it on you don't really notice it, and it seems to flow air reasonably well, enough that once it got colder on my commute I had to get a warmer jacket.

I've ended up just swapping out each my seasonal jackets (mesh, waterproof, track w/ hump, sexy black leather) for AStars ones that take the vest. I'll probably pick up a 1-piece suit for this trackday season.
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I put a waterproof rain jacket over mine to keep the wind out. Does a reasonable job for riding round here.

What other jackets do you have? I thought the Race vest incompatible with textile products.
 
I didn't know they offered these options. Thanks!
 
The 24Ride hoodie doesn't seem to be available in the USA. I ordered one last week from Germany so we'll see how much I get nailed on duty.
 
I've ordered from overseas several times and never had any duty charges (Europe and Asia). Knock on wood.
 
Thread resurrection; destroyed my Hit-Air vest and looking for a replacement.

MaxMoto said:
HELITE will be offering an Electronically Triggered Airbag System besides the already existing Mechanically Triggered Airbag System!
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More than a year later, the Electronic Helite airbag is still not available; was this another victim of Covid?
 
Bump on this thread.

I ended up buying a Dainese Smart Jacket vest. It's on sale right now at the Dainese Store in SF and I've been eyeing it for a while.

Overall I like the construction - very lightweight and comfy. Seems pretty breathable too which means I can wear it over/under various gear at any time of year. I also think it looks pretty nice like pretty much all of the Dainese lineup of gear, so I won't look out of place when I'm posing at Starbucks with my motorcycle while sipping on my triple mocha frappuccino.

I'll report back here if/after I crash which is hopefully not any time soon.
 
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