Your wife should be happy you are trying todo a dangerous activity as safely as possible. I have been wearing the TechAir5 for 2 years now. It has deployed once on a slow speed fall. I love mine so much I bought on for our daughter who is learning to ride. Airflow is so much better than I ever imagined. Good on you for making the safe choice.
Thanks, my wife is actually happy for me now. I just bought it without discussing it with her, which was the problem, not the actual suit, which she is also very impressed with. Safe travels
Yes I tried it on too. It seems more for racing/track days and it felt too long down the back for me, and felt more restrictive, similar to the Off Road one. However, I hear really good things about it.
All of these airbag systems have their pros and cons. After looking around, I went with the Klim A1 Rally vest because it’s stretchy, least bulky and most breathable, In&Motion is a proven algorithm, and I can replace the gas cannister. I wear it 100% of the time when I ride.
I have the same Tech Air 5 and never ride without it. It is now three years old and has never deployed. I want to keep it that way. In summer it can add to the heat as the airbag does not flow air to the skin, but I get by wearing it under a Revit Sand 4 adventure jacket, which flows a lot of air if all the linings are removed and vents opened. In summer I am wearing only a T shirt under the airbag and jacket and its fine as long as I am moving. The one downside not mentioned is that the long back protector gets in the way of zipping the Sand 4 pants to the jacket, but I figure that it I come off, the inflated air bag inside the jacket will keep it in place on my body with no chance of riding up while sliding down the road. Cheers, Alan.
I think Alpinestars says that you need 4cm of circumference extra in a jacket. That isn’t too much. It certainly isn’t 4cm in every direction. That would be huge. I’m concerned about the breathability. I don’t ride in the heat of the summer now. I’m sure they will get better and better in the future. I like the serviceability of the 7x, but it is more expensive and has a long back pad that probably wouldn’t stay under my jackets.
Yeah, that 4cm thing seems very subjective. I'm gonna go with what the gear shop says when I go there. It was looser than I thought for standard gear, but tighter than I thought for alpinestars gear with airbag support... so really difficult to tell.
I think the techair is the best system out there. Im suprised at the price in NZ crazy expensive. Here in Australia there $1100. Techair 7 $1500. One thing is that all airbags doesnt matter what brand will trap heat on summer.
You need to confirm the vest has recognised you are wearing it and has passed the self test. Green light only!!!!!! Dont just see leds and ride. It won't be armed. Plus don't forget to get it serviced every 250 hours
I have the same jacket . Actually you do have a air bag protection on the shoulders so you don’t need the shoulder protection in the jackets that you wear on top ride safe D
It's good that you are looking for additional crash protection and having purchased it, it will be justified if/when you happen to come off. I went through the same decision making process, though it wasn't an impulse buy. The reason I went with a Helite Turtle 2 jacked as that when it was set-off, I could replace the cartridge myself and be back on the bike in a few minutes, avoiding having to send the jacket back for inspection, as it works off a lanyard and not an electronic inertia sensor. The other point was that it is worn external to my textile jacket and not inside leathers which might be damaged by the inflation or compress you further with the leathers restraining it's expansion. The Moto GP rider's leathers are designed to allow an internal airbag function, I'm not so sure about their off the seld leathers. One word of caution with the Helite lanyard activated vests, make sure there is sufficient slack that it doesn't go off simply because you start to dismount forgetting to disconnect the lanyard. The vest going off scares the crap out of you, as well as taking your breath away momentarily.
Yes I did pause between the Tech Air and Helite, eventually went with Tech Air for the reasons stated. But regardless, any airbag adds that safety factor and glad you have one!
Yes, I tried a few different Helite systems.. I think they are good and you cant go wrong, I just found the Alpinestars felt more comfortable, more premium, and and easy to use, so have gone with them. Any airbag system will add to your safety considerably!
Money argument is a little bit off in my opinion. Is it a lot of money you need to spend at once ? Maybe. It depends on how much money you make. Is it expensive ? Don't think so, considering that this tech can save your life or mitigate major injury. If you are going to have an accident and won't be able to work for couple of months (at best) than that's very expensive. Much more than 1000 bucks. In my opinion. This year a also bought airbag system. I choose in&motion and vest from french company Furygan. Evolution+ is thier latest airbag that allows you to wear it under or on top of your jacket. I combined this with Pandomoto AA shell.
@ardilladent yup, you are right. It wasn't that it was expensive, more that I went ahead without discussing it with her. She and I are both happy I am much safer. So all good. Thanks for your comment.
Buy the Helite airbag vest you are better protected because of bigger air cartouche, no expensive checkups needed, no worries about the electronics and cheeper. There is not one reason for me why should go with Alpinestars. Here in Europe they did some testing with different vests and came to the same conclusion. My vest had been activated once and the impact on the ground was so smooth that I didn’t feel it with my back, airbag vests are a important step forward for riders.
The reason to choose the Tech Air 5 is that it protects your shoulders, the Helite/Hitair will not. I have seen two riders in my club seriously bust up shoulders with the Helite.
@@rickdelmonte1682 I see must have something to do with body shape. For me the Helite protects me well, just experienced it today offroad again😉 Have always a safe ride👋
Mike, I have a Hitair which holds the patent on the Helite mechanism, both very similar. It is lighter, cooler, can be worn with any jacket, and is more comfortable than the Tech Air 5. I would rather use it, but having survived a big high side while wearing the Tech Air 5 with no injuries, I suck it up and keep wearing it. Any airbag is worth wearing.
Your wife should be happy you are trying todo a dangerous activity as safely as possible.
I have been wearing the TechAir5 for 2 years now. It has deployed once on a slow speed fall. I love mine so much I bought on for our daughter who is learning to ride.
Airflow is so much better than I ever imagined.
Good on you for making the safe choice.
Thanks, my wife is actually happy for me now. I just bought it without discussing it with her, which was the problem, not the actual suit, which she is also very impressed with.
Safe travels
@@smackbikeNZ❤
Did you ever considered buying alpinestars 7x . Thanks for the video. Really complete and informative.
Yes I tried it on too. It seems more for racing/track days and it felt too long down the back for me, and felt more restrictive, similar to the Off Road one. However, I hear really good things about it.
@@smackbikeNZ thanks 😊
All of these airbag systems have their pros and cons. After looking around, I went with the Klim A1 Rally vest because it’s stretchy, least bulky and most breathable, In&Motion is a proven algorithm, and I can replace the gas cannister. I wear it 100% of the time when I ride.
As long as there is enough room for the shoulder air bag To deploy !!!
Interesting take. Just ordered Alpinestars latest offroad airbag. Have a nice weekend!
Yeah nice. I'm envious.
I have the same Tech Air 5 and never ride without it. It is now three years old and has never deployed. I want to keep it that way. In summer it can add to the heat as the airbag does not flow air to the skin, but I get by wearing it under a Revit Sand 4 adventure jacket, which flows a lot of air if all the linings are removed and vents opened. In summer I am wearing only a T shirt under the airbag and jacket and its fine as long as I am moving. The one downside not mentioned is that the long back protector gets in the way of zipping the Sand 4 pants to the jacket, but I figure that it I come off, the inflated air bag inside the jacket will keep it in place on my body with no chance of riding up while sliding down the road. Cheers, Alan.
Thanks Alan, great you are still wearing it all the time after 3 years!
I think Alpinestars says that you need 4cm of circumference extra in a jacket. That isn’t too much. It certainly isn’t 4cm in every direction. That would be huge. I’m concerned about the breathability. I don’t ride in the heat of the summer now. I’m sure they will get better and better in the future. I like the serviceability of the 7x, but it is more expensive and has a long back pad that probably wouldn’t stay under my jackets.
Yeah, that 4cm thing seems very subjective. I'm gonna go with what the gear shop says when I go there. It was looser than I thought for standard gear, but tighter than I thought for alpinestars gear with airbag support... so really difficult to tell.
I think the techair is the best system out there.
Im suprised at the price in NZ crazy expensive.
Here in Australia there $1100.
Techair 7 $1500.
One thing is that all airbags doesnt matter what brand will trap heat on summer.
You need to confirm the vest has recognised you are wearing it and has passed the self test. Green light only!!!!!! Dont just see leds and ride. It won't be armed. Plus don't forget to get it serviced every 250 hours
Yup, only takes a few seconds for the amber light to go off and to have one green. Still loving the vest
I have the same jacket . Actually you do have a air bag protection on the shoulders so you don’t need the shoulder protection in the jackets that you wear on top ride safe D
@motorbikedude I keep the shoulder armor in when wearing the airbag, that seems to be the normal protocol.
It's good that you are looking for additional crash protection and having purchased it, it will be justified if/when you happen to come off. I went through the same decision making process, though it wasn't an impulse buy. The reason I went with a Helite Turtle 2 jacked as that when it was set-off, I could replace the cartridge myself and be back on the bike in a few minutes, avoiding having to send the jacket back for inspection, as it works off a lanyard and not an electronic inertia sensor. The other point was that it is worn external to my textile jacket and not inside leathers which might be damaged by the inflation or compress you further with the leathers restraining it's expansion. The Moto GP rider's leathers are designed to allow an internal airbag function, I'm not so sure about their off the seld leathers.
One word of caution with the Helite lanyard activated vests, make sure there is sufficient slack that it doesn't go off simply because you start to dismount forgetting to disconnect the lanyard. The vest going off scares the crap out of you, as well as taking your breath away momentarily.
Yes I did pause between the Tech Air and Helite, eventually went with Tech Air for the reasons stated. But regardless, any airbag adds that safety factor and glad you have one!
Did you get to try the Helite Airbag Backpack? Sounds like you made a very considered decision, good work.
Yes, I tried a few different Helite systems.. I think they are good and you cant go wrong, I just found the Alpinestars felt more comfortable, more premium, and and easy to use, so have gone with them. Any airbag system will add to your safety considerably!
Well you are in a better position.
Once my uncle said I bought something long ago to his wife.
It was an elephant.
Money argument is a little bit off in my opinion. Is it a lot of money you need to spend at once ? Maybe. It depends on how much money you make. Is it expensive ? Don't think so, considering that this tech can save your life or mitigate major injury. If you are going to have an accident and won't be able to work for couple of months (at best) than that's very expensive. Much more than 1000 bucks. In my opinion. This year a also bought airbag system. I choose in&motion and vest from french company Furygan. Evolution+ is thier latest airbag that allows you to wear it under or on top of your jacket. I combined this with Pandomoto AA shell.
@ardilladent yup, you are right. It wasn't that it was expensive, more that I went ahead without discussing it with her. She and I are both happy I am much safer. So all good. Thanks for your comment.
Buy the Helite airbag vest you are better protected because of bigger air cartouche, no expensive checkups needed, no worries about the electronics and cheeper. There is not one reason for me why should go with Alpinestars. Here in Europe they did some testing with different vests and came to the same conclusion. My vest had been activated once and the impact on the ground was so smooth that I didn’t feel it with my back, airbag vests are a important step forward for riders.
The reason to choose the Tech Air 5 is that it protects your shoulders, the Helite/Hitair will not. I have seen two riders in my club seriously bust up shoulders with the Helite.
@@rickdelmonte1682 I see must have something to do with body shape. For me the Helite protects me well, just experienced it today offroad again😉 Have always a safe ride👋
Mike, I have a Hitair which holds the patent on the Helite mechanism, both very similar. It is lighter, cooler, can be worn with any jacket, and is more comfortable than the Tech Air 5. I would rather use it, but having survived a big high side while wearing the Tech Air 5 with no injuries, I suck it up and keep wearing it. Any airbag is worth wearing.
@@rickdelmonte1682 I use the Helite Turtle 2.0 for the reason to wear it over all my jackets, and yes any airbag system is worth wearing it
How small does it fold up? (Thinking of storing it in my top-box when I park the bike).
I am waiting for the injector seat -
with built in parachute.