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Hit Air rs-1

I actually just crashed in this vest 2 weeks ago at Thunderhill.
My IG post after the crash, showing the damage to the vest and the rest of my gear.

My helmet barely touched the ground because the airbag deployed around my neck as soon as I hit the ground (I low-sided on an off-camber right, so I'm pretty sure I touched the ground briefly before it inflated,) but it kept my neck stable, and kept my head off the ground for the rest of the slide. As you can see in the pictures, the left shoulder of my suit took most of the abrasion, and while I slid on that side, it also eventually punctured the air bladder of the suit. Fortunately, after contacting Hit-Air, they let me know that this is repairable, which is costing me about $120 plus shipping to Japan. I walked away from that with a slightly sore neck, and after getting some parts for my bike, I rode the next day with no pain at all.

Do I wish the vest had better abrasion resistance? Sure thing. When I started looking for airbag vests, I initially wanted the Helite Race vest, but after trying them on at a distributor in Emeryville, I sadly found that even the small was too large for me (I'm a thin woman.) While I believe that's the superior vest, it's also twice the price, so that's the other downside.

Overall I'm happy with how the Hit-Air RS-1 performed, and if it wasn't repairable, I had planned on purchasing a new one. But even the repair is cheaper than having to send an Alpinestars or Dainese suit in to be re-packed after deploying, which is about $200-$300 each time. The other downside with the other brands, is that they don't puff up as much around the neck. They may protect your collarbone from being broken by your helmet, but they aren't doing a whole lot to protect your neck, which is super vulnerable, and the main reason I wanted a vest in the first place.
 
Thanks for sharing your experience. Glad you are ok. Bummer about your bike and new paint job.

Here is the response I got from Hit Air:

The RS1 can be used with suits with and without the hump. It has the canister in the back and some riders like it better when they ride low on their bike. It does have the same neck protection, but because it is shorter, it doesn't protect as far down the spine and rib cage as our MLV models.
 
Correct. The vest is shorter because with the more extreme body position of track riding, your legs would likely push the vest up if it were longer. And the lanyard is in the back instead of the front as to not interfere with moving around on the bike and gripping the tank. You just have to remember it's back there before swinging your leg off the bike. The back part that allows for the suit's speed hump to poke through is adjustable with velcro, so you can make that area bigger or smaller depending on your gear. It does cover my entire rib cage, but I'm also a smaller person. I also wear back and chest protectors inside of my suit, but it comes with a small lower back armor (I remove this,) and you can purchase velcro chest armor for the front if you want.

You can see where the inflated parts cover in this video. There isn't as much back protection because most track suits have the speed hump which acts as impact protection as well, so if you were to use it on the street, you should definitely still wear a back protector. The lower back armor is mostly to protect you from the co2 canister that is located there.
 
I'm getting an insta gram sign in window. Have a link to the actual vest?

AdriV said:
I actually just crashed in this vest 2 weeks ago at Thunderhill.
My IG post after the crash, showing the damage to the vest and the rest of my gear.

My helmet barely touched the ground because the airbag deployed around my neck as soon as I hit the ground (I low-sided on an off-camber right, so I'm pretty sure I touched the ground briefly before it inflated,) but it kept my neck stable, and kept my head off the ground for the rest of the slide. As you can see in the pictures, the left shoulder of my suit took most of the abrasion, and while I slid on that side, it also eventually punctured the air bladder of the suit. Fortunately, after contacting Hit-Air, they let me know that this is repairable, which is costing me about $120 plus shipping to Japan. I walked away from that with a slightly sore neck, and after getting some parts for my bike, I rode the next day with no pain at all.

Do I wish the vest had better abrasion resistance? Sure thing. When I started looking for airbag vests, I initially wanted the Helite Race vest, but after trying them on at a distributor in Emeryville, I sadly found that even the small was too large for me (I'm a thin woman.) While I believe that's the superior vest, it's also twice the price, so that's the other downside.

Overall I'm happy with how the Hit-Air RS-1 performed, and if it wasn't repairable, I had planned on purchasing a new one. But even the repair is cheaper than having to send an Alpinestars or Dainese suit in to be re-packed after deploying, which is about $200-$300 each time. The other downside with the other brands, is that they don't puff up as much around the neck. They may protect your collarbone from being broken by your helmet, but they aren't doing a whole lot to protect your neck, which is super vulnerable, and the main reason I wanted a vest in the first place.
Click to expand...
 
Anyone in the bay area selling these? This might be one I'd like to strap on before deciding. It certainly seems to work.

But I can already picture myself forgetting the lanyard and blowing myself up.
Something that's guaranteed to bring a laugh with other riders around.

"Dude just blew up, right over there."
 
No blow ups but have forgotten to hook up and lost a lanyard.
 
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