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Alpinestart Tech Air 5 airbag "vest"

TigerDude

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I say "vest" because it isn't one really, it has short sleeves, but not sure what else to call it. A* calls it a "system." You wear it under your jacket.

Anyway I bought & received mine last week & took it out yesterday. I brought mine from A* direct, $700 USD, $10 shipping and no sales tax. My short review.

I have been eyeing airbag vests for a while, but didn't like the cost/value of what was out there. This product pushed me over the edge. It uses a microprocessor to determine when to light off the airbags, something around going free-fall/deceleration, etc. That's what I wanted - the tech the MotoGP guys use. The book describes all the situations it should work for. The book gives pretty specific limits of hooning - no wheelies, etc, and off-road within limits, but fairly high limits for me. No gradients >30%, no ruts, steps, or holes > 50 cm/19.5 inches deep.

I charges via a magnetic USB connector, should last 30 hours. You can connect it to your phone, which I did and updated the software. Comes with its own charger, which is nice because God knows I need another one.

The vest is heavy. Shipping weight is 22 pounds, I'm guessing it's ~15. Picking it up you can really tell, but wearing it on the bike isn't bad at all. It's pretty tight fitting, and the weight is very well distributed. It replaces the back protector in your jacket (there's a honeycomb one build in) so I didn't notice the bulk at all. There is a hump like a racing suit that holds the cylinders & electronics, so it isn't the most comfortable thing to lean back against on a sofa, but I don't have the sofa seat installed quite yet. Even with lot of standing riding on national forest gravel roads I had no problem with the weight.

It turns on via a top clip across the zipper. You have to be moving around for it to arm - if you're just sitting it won't. I had no problem.

It was quite cool yesterday & so I was fine, but I suspect this thing will cook me in the summer. You can't really wash it, so it's gonna get ripe. Well, it's the price we pay I guess.

I'm very happy for this extra peace of mind. Versus my gear (Shoei helmet, Klim gloves, Olympia pants/jacket, Chippewa boots) the price is about 60% of the rest of my gear, so it's a splurge. But I recommend it. Here's to hoping it never gets tested.
 
. . . It was quite cool yesterday & so I was fine, but I suspect this thing will cook me in the summer. You can't really wash it, so it's gonna get ripe. Well, it's the price we pay I guess.
. . .
Thanks for this.

This is one of the issues I have with these vests too, the over heating thing.

I don't do a lot of cold weather riding. My ideal riding gear is gear that I can ACTUALLY feel comfortable wearing, that is the gear that I will actually wear. My wife only rides ATGATT because I insist on it. But because I insist on it we own a lot of jackets and pants and multiple pairs of moto gloves and moto boots simply because its miserable to wear non-ventilated gear in hot weather and highly ventilated gear in cold weather.

I'm looking at vests, been looking at them. The tech is clearly getting better. But until they make them out of mesh or highly breathable materials I'm not sure there is one in my future.

Thank you again for the review.
 
glad you werent hurt more...Good luck with the collarbone..In 2007, I got kicked by an 1100lb thoroughbred horse,,,right clavicle was broken in more than 3 places-lucky they were clean breaks, so no pinning (even though the surgeon wanted to pin it)...It hurt like the dickens for over a month-did my own physical therapy (10 horse, horse farm, lots of moving bales of hay). I have all my range of motion but right side is a little weaker in lifting heavy objects above my shoulders.
 
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