Jackets Would you buy an Airbag Jacket

Sadlsor said:
This ^ ^ ^ gives me hope that there are still those in our species who recognize the value and utility of critical thinking.
Could not have said it better.
Click to expand...

We also have to remember that motorcycling is inherently dangerous. Riding is all about your level of acceptable risk. For almost all there are options, including driving in a cage vs riding (or is it piloting) a motorcycle.

Protection can become so oppressive it becomes a hindrance AND increases the likelihood of an accident.
Perhaps the best protection is to just stay home. (But wait, most accidents happen within a 2 mile range of your home! You'd better move.)

Hidden inside all that humour and truth above are the pearls of wisdom you'll have to pull out and polish to make your own. Pick as much or as little safety stuff as you want (observing any government mandated mandatory minimums) and ride on. Nothing fits everyone and you'll never get 100% agreement on anything motorcycle safety related.
 
Life entails a certain amount of risk. I've never reveled in surviving a motorcycle ride (or airplane), but I feel I can sufficiently mitigate the risks to make the experience worthwhile. The Helite is interesting. But it adds another layer of kit that has to be donnedd, doffed, maintained, etc. One of the reasons I love Aerostich is it is a reasonably protective piece of gear that is very easy to use. If they built a Helite into an Aerostich, etc, that would be tempting. Even so, once the temps climb past 80f or so, I'm down to jeans and a mesh jacket. ATGATT is great, pouring sweat out of my boots is not. We pays our money and takes our chances.

RT
 
Obo said:
We also have to remember that motorcycling is inherently dangerous. Riding is all about your level of acceptable risk. For almost all there are options, including driving in a cage vs riding (or is it piloting) a motorcycle.
Click to expand...
It boils down to this ^. How much risk you're willing to accept and what you chose to do about being comfortable with any risk level.

I won't be buying an airbag device.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Obo
Yes it is all about your tolerance for risk and I've taken plenty of risks in my past with motorcycle racing, flew hang gliders and ultralight aircraft for many years, owned several airplanes, flew aerobatics, was an open water diver etc... I find in my 63 years I don't bounce back at the same rate as I used to, probably my reflexes are not as good as they once were as well. I feel that I want to protect myself a bit better and still enjoy riding my bike. I laugh when I see people cringe about paying 500-800 dollars for safety gear. One incident could cost you a whole more. I remember an old Bell Helmet advertisement from back in the 1970's, "If you have a ten dollar head buy a ten dollar helmet". That's back when a full face Bell Star helmet cost about 100 bucks. I am glad to pay 400.00 bucks for a Klim airbag vest plus 12.00 a month for the subscription. It is comfortable and does not interfere with my riding experience - if anything it is more comfortable than my jacket with a back protector installed as I have removed the protector now when riding with the airbag vest.
 
I've never bought into the "$10/$10 helmet" marketing, because it's just that— marketing. It's deliberately designed to imply the "more you spend on a helmet (our Bell line) the safer you'll be. So pay more." Yay marketing team!

Safety stats can be very helpful but at the end of the day are meaningless as they can't predict the outcome or type of a collision with absolute certainty. They're a gamble of their own.

That said I don't cringe a bit when somebody tells me or I observe they spent $XXXX on some item of their personal choice. If their purchase pleases them and doesn't hurt me than I'm all Alfred E. Neuman. Whether they never get their money's worth or whether is saves their life or family nest egg isn't the point for me. It's that they gave thought and made a decision for them that they're comfortable with. They didn't sell the kids or spend their college education [I'm OK with spending their inheritance] or miss the mortgage payments for the next year or three. I can and do respect that without any measure of denigration.
 
I have been wearing a Helite Turtle vest over my Roadcrafter 3 lite suit for two years now. Once you get used to the tether it is very easy to use. The extra layer and the fact it partially blocks the rear back vent on the 'stich does add to the heat factor, but I learned a long time ago that the only way to make the heat manageable is constant hydration.

I like the simplicity of the Helite over the other solutions. I carry a spare CO2 canister in case I need to recharge it.
 
Several years ago now, over on NT-Owners.org, one of the riders had an accident. He was very experienced like most of the riders here are. He was leading a group of riders and all was going well till the road turned, and he didn't. He has no idea what happened and the docs said it wasn't one of those mini-strokes or TIAs. He almost died. All of his riding gear was in great shape. But if I remember correctly, he had 17 broken bones in his chest, a fractured vertebrae and a crushed vertebrae. Several months later, he was released from the hospital and over a year later, he was finally moving around doing some of the things he had done previously. I'm not sure if he ever rode a motorcycle again.

I didn't have to experience an accident like that to learn from his experience. I did my research and bought a Hit-Air airbag vest. The MLV-P in hi-vis yellow. https://www.hit-air.com/en/motorcycle/lineup/all-in-one_harness/all-in-one_harness_type01/mlv-p.html I won't ride without it.

My first experience with it inflating was a bit embarrassing. I pulled up to a large busy intersection to make a right turn. I realized the light had just changed, but it would take a couple seconds for the traffic on the left to realize the light went green for them, and if I hurried, I could get out in front of them. I gave it some gas and let out the clutch...and a teenager with a skateboard walked out into the crosswalk in front of me. I grabbed the brake lever ...and looked up at the sky while I was laying on the ground. It's called physics. :D

As I'm laying there taking stock of what just happened, I realized I was laying on the edge of the curb. It was right against the back of my ribs...but I didn't hurt. My brain said that was unusual. It should be hurting really bad. Then...oh...the airbag vest went off.

Without the airbag vest on, in that 1 mph getoff...I should've had a couple broken ribs. The only thing hurt was my pride...and the airbag vest that looked so pristine before, now had a bunch of mud from the gutter on it. I bought another C02 cannister and for about $20 and five minutes of effort, it was back in order again.

FWIW, my thoughts are to get a vest, not a jacket. I wear my airbag vest with a summer jacket and a winter jacket. If the airbag was built into the jacket, I'd have to get two of them. And some of us are riding gear junkies and have quite a wardrobe.

Second, he pointed out some very valid points on the electronic airbag vests. Things like how the amount of inflation is next to worthless because in order for it to fit under a jacket, it can't have the volume you'd get on a tethered vest. And check the price on what it takes to send your electronic vest to the manufacturer. It's almost as much as I spent on my Hit-Air airbag vest. In the meantime, you don't have an airbag.

The cost of the Hit-Air MLV-P was a little over $500...a lot less than a trip to the Emergency Room would be.

Chris
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom