[spork]

Was wondering if anyone has purchased an airbag vest for safety (Big names are Helite and Hit-Air, but im sure there are others).

I'm considering Helite but i was wonder what yall think

 

[wingman05]

I have the Helite Turtle Air Bag Vest. Its very well made, lightweight and reusable. A lanyard attaches to an immovable part of your bike (like the frame under the seat) and then clips to a trigger mechanism on the vest. The vest is inflated by C02 in the blink of an eye. It takes significant force to trigger the air bag vest so you don't have to worry about dismounting and walking away while still attached and setting it off. I believe it takes 60lb pull pressure to deploy the vest. I stumbled upon the Helite Air Bag Vest while watching a GP Motorcycle road race on TV. When they rolled the credits, Helite air bag vest caught my eye and I did the research.

I have a new air bag model Goldwing and a Helite Turtle Air bag vest in Hi-Vis Yellow and I hope I dont ever need either air bag. But if the day comes that I do, they will hopefully afford the protection I need. My Philosophy is that you don't need such things until you do! For my money, its a sound investment.

 

[Andy Cote]

I just this past week received my Hit-Air in the mail. Went for a ride yesterday, about 4-1/2 hours total with temps from 54 to 71. I bought the vest to go over my Firstgear Kilimanjaro textile jacket or Joe Rocket mesh jacket. I also bought the two piece chest protector and the lightweight back protector. Both jackets have back armor but thought I'd see if this was worth it ($40).

I looked at their inflatable jackets but the reviews say they run small and I know my current jackets fit well. The other thing is the Hit-air is not washable except with a damp cloth so decided a vest would be best.

I liked the amount of adjustability and the minimalist design of the vest. Seems well made and a good approach.

I didn't notice the weight or an increase in warmth. Thankfully I didn't try it for it's designed purpose (although came close twice).

I weighed black, yellow and Lumidex. I went with the Lumidex. I have tried hitting it with a flashlight in the garage and so far I am not that impressed. I could see the reflective piping on the jacket more readily than the vest. I will be testing this some more but as of now I would not recommend the extra money for the Lumidex.

The Hit-Air online pages are sad. Factory site is poor. The safermoto, bikebone and amazon sites helped some and there are comparison sites for the various brands. Alpinestars has a new jacket out which was price prohibitive to me. The Helite is a closer price match but I read as much as I could and couldn't see how it was any better that the Hit-Air.

 

[jspringator]

I have worn an airbag vest for years. First I had a Hit Air that I wore for several years. I had a parking lot off with a deployment. I sent the bag back to Crash Bounce, the seller, for inspection. They sent me a rearming kit, and I rearmed it. A couple of years later I had another parking lot off. The CO2 cartradge went off, but the airbag did not deploy. After sending it back to a new seller (crash bounce went out of business) and they diagnosed a ruptured blader.

Rather than get another Hit Air I got a Helite (pre Turtle). It is substantually heaver than the Hit Air, is physically larger, and flows no air.

I was looking to upgrade to one of the new electronic airbag jackets, but after ordering 3 and sending them all back, I gave up and bought a Goldwing Airbag model. I still have the Helite, but when summer hits I'm going to get the hit air model with neck protection. It is significantly smaller and has gaps for air to flow. I think it will be a perfect complement to the Wing Airbag. Inflation speed is primarily needed for frontal impacts. The Wing airbag works well for those situations. Tethered Airbag speeds are adequate when you fall off the bike for other reasons.

 

[Sladep]

Have just purchased an Alpinestars Tech-air vest and compatible jacket. Got a 20% discount on the jacket at MotoGP in Austin in April. It's expensive but so are medical deductables, physical therapy and everything else associated with an injury. Tried to set it up for the first ride today but couldn't connect the wiring like the manual says to, so I took it back to Cycle Gear to see if they can get it right. Witnessed a close friend wearing a He-Lite vest get creamed last year when we were returning from Sturgis. He was stopping hard for a late-announced left turn. I was ahead of him and 2nd in our group of about 9. I decided it would be too risky to the others to make the turn-in, so I and #3 went on to turn around and come back. Jim was rider #5, about 75' behind me. An older driver in a pickup hit him hard from behind. I watched it all in my review mirror from start to finish. Motorcycle parts flew everywhere, and he went flying too. His Beemer went tumbling down the highway. I stopped and turned around and raced back to the scene. I through for sure I'd find him dead. He was on his knees, vest puffed out! I couldn't believe it, and asked how are you? He said pretty good! We got an ambulance and him to the hospital for examination and observation. He was not badly hurt and was dismissed the following day. It was stunning and shocking to watch and am very glad he came out ok. The Beemer was destroyed. The back wheel was crushed in half and split apart, frame very bent, all the plastic from the tank back destroyed and scattered in shards on the highway. The bike took nearly all the impact. No doubt it could have been much worse and I think his vest had a lot to do with it. We all spend whatever it takes to buy great helmets and now that this technology is available, I'd rather use this money to prevent an injury than to repair one, not to mention the down time and pain and suffering. BTW, my GL1800 is an '08 Airbag, so if I ever t-bone anything I'll be exploding all over the place!

 

[Bluehighways]

I like to rely on what my Level IV came with stock from the factory.

 

[UNCLEJOHN]

I like to rely on what my Level IV came with stock from the factory.

YOU'LL NEED TO CARRY TOOTHPICKS WITH YA TO GET THE "KERNELS " OUT ! :surprise::laugh:

 

[Danl]

turn off your phone, camera, mounted GPS and watch the road, and your safety factor will increase 10 fold.

 

[Sladep]

**** good advice Dani.

 

[StevieMac]

I've been wearing a HitAir vest for over three years now on all my bikes including my race bike. I've had the vest deploy three times at the track and it's done it's job. So far the vest has not been damaged so I just re-arm and re-pack it and it's back in business.

 

[Sladep]

Got my Alpinestars Tech-air out for the first ride today. Love it.

 

[Matt(BCNV)]

I had one.. I low sided on a mountain road.. bounced over the cliff and died..... (not really)

Mattbcnv