New Air Bag Vest

I wear this now:

2016 Hit-Ait Air Bag Vest. Approx $550.00 delivered.

http://www.bikebone.com/

There's two other manufacturers: Dainese, who makes a high-end model that leashes electronically to the cycle, and Helite. I wore the Helite vest, and at 4 lbs, it was almost twice as heavy as the Hit-Air (at 2.5 lbs). When it's on you, you can really feel the weight difference.

Supposedly, the airbag inflates in under 250 milliseconds. That's prett fast. Like this: If it activates, and you're launching over a car hood, it will inflate before you reach the other side of the car hood. An eye blink is about 30 milliseconds. Thats fast.

This vest physically ties into the cycle frame via a lanyard with a quick disconnect. It takes alot of pulling force on the lantard to active the vest. I've forgotten to disconnect before dismount many times now, and have not (yet) caused the vest to pop.

Thats the hardest feature for me: Remembering to "tie in" to the bike before riding away, and remembering to disconnect before dismounting.

But, I do enjoy the extra safety of airbag tech.

I feel safer already :)

* Last updated by: mebgardner on 12/16/2016 @ 4:53 PM *

Looks like a good safety deal...hope ya never need it bro!

COOL! looks like it inflates around the neck as well as torso.

Thanks Grn. Me too!

Rook, yup. Up and down both sides of torso, around each side,, around the neck (and seals to the bottom of the helmet to immobilize the neck), and expands a tail-bone piece to protect my sensitive butt!

Wow, like the look and safety features on the vest. Guess one can wear it on top on leather suits for added safety.

By the way, thanks for sharing this. I'd heard about that feature on suits but never a vest. Interesting.

You're welcome. The companies offer this feature in coats and jackets, also. I opted for the standalone vest because I have different needs for pro, for different rides. I ride dirt and street, dual sport, ADV, and the '14R super sport.

So, I have a tether mounted to each cycle, and I "clip in" to my ride 'o the day.

The jacket and / or coat options become an expensive specialty garment. The vest can be worn over motocross armor to ADV air-weight armor, to full on rain gear ADV coat (when you might need it most, right?)

The choice to clip in while riding super sport street is a no-brainer. The same decision when riding 2-track or single track is a bit tougher. I decided to do it anyway for a couple reasons. It's where I take the most hits, it's where I take big hits if I crash (OK, not as big as a 70 MPH+ get off on pavement, but still, big enough to break bones, crush ribs, etc), and ... best of all, this thing is "rechargeable". This compartment I'm pointing at in the pic above? That's a 60 cc CO2 cartridge, replaced for about 20 bucks delivered. That, and the bag folds back up into the vest for another use (not that I *want* another use...)

So, I'm posting this for my friends. These are now affordable. I rationalize it by thinking it costs about the same amount as one ambulance ride. Yeah, a bit morbid, but WTH, works for me!

My wife rides, too. We bought a 2nd vest for her. That's what I think of these things, I voted with my wallet to the tune of over a grand. Worth it? Well, like Grn said, I hope I never need it.

There is a back-story for those still reading. Why did I decide to buy these? I was convinced from a friend on another forum, the ADVRider.com. He hit a deer, at night, at 50+ MPH. He also had a GoPro running at the time, so he posted the get-off video. Now, he wears a lot of gear, good gear for street riding. Part of what he wears is identical to the vest I've bought, the one pictured above. So, bottomline it: No broken bones, and he was up and around walking the next day. Injuries? A slug of skin removed from a thumb joint. That's it. It's compelling evidence, and it's not the only one.

WOW! Any chance you'd post the video?

Here's Freds story. A long term inmate of ADVRider.com, appears in Face Plant forum:

http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/crashed-hitting-a-deer-at-about-55mph.1171110/

Hope you never have to test it out in a real accident. Fred's motorcycle crash video was scary to watch.

Yeah, y'know, I had a close encounter with a coyote last year. 2-up, wife on the back, slabbin' it at 75+.

My wife tells me she saw the animal at the roads edge. I saw it when the coyote was maybe a half car-length (15 ft?) from the front wheel, running full tilt across our path.

It passed in front of us, and my life passed before my eyes.

I thought to solve that with a steering damper, based on another inmates' story of hitting a concrete block at speed, and saving it because he has=d a high quality steering damper. Eventually, I talked myself out of that equipment, based on a bunch of other's encounters with critters at speed. They go down, I don't believe there's any avoiding it.

So, I say to myself now, if I'm going down because of a critter encounter, I'm gonna be best protected I can find, my wife too.

I'm hyper-aware, at feeding times, of the increased potential of danger. Tucson's not exactly a big city, it's surrounded on all sides by vast deserts, lush deserts that support *lots* of critters. Deer, some elk in high country, bear coming down in winter. Lots of deer.

I browse the face plant forum about once a week, always looking to learn something the easy way. Its astonishing how many times I read about deer encounters. Its *common*.

one more vote hear for gear . I went with the Helite Adventure jacket just because it eliminates one item . The vest would be absolutely more transferable between types of rides and much better on the wallet..

WOW I am a believer... That was a scary video... I am sure he needed to take off his pants and shake them out... I sure would... I am going to go looking this week... It only makes sense to ride with a vest like that...