Information On Motorcycle Air Vests

I suspect I'm somewhat outside the demographic of this thread, but for what it's worth, I tried the Helite vest once, and once was enough. I was at a motorcycle trade show several years ago and got talked into being a demonstration guinea pig. Technically, the vest was very nicely made and well thought through with the ripcord thing, and it fitted nicely. The Helite guy had to give the ripcord a pretty good yank to fire the CO2 cartridge, and…BANG! The vest inflated in a split second to cushion all around my neck: my head was remarkably well stabilised left/right and fore/aft; it cushioned all the way down my back – it was a good length – and all the way down my front. The thing is, women come equipped with two extra parts up front, and the vest crushed the bloody buggering hell out of mine, to the point that I was afraid I was injured. I couldn't get the vest off quickly enough and I hurt for several days. I suppose that would be better than hurting for two months because you fell off your bike and cleverly broke your shoulder, or not hurting at all because you fell off and broke your back. However, I'm yet to be convinced that anyone at Helite thought about a) women riders, or even b) women riders who might have had reconstructive surgery and have a chestful of artifical that an airbag vest could damage. All y'all burly blokes may find the experience less hazardous!

I don't ride with an airbag vest myself, but I would recommend them.
 
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Tor said:
1. What brand do you use? Klim Airbag Vest (In&Motion Electronics)
2. What was the cost (with all the extra stuff you need)? Vest $399 / $120 / Year In&Motion Subscription. More info on the In&Motion Site
3. How does your model run as far as sizing goes compared to MC jacket sizing? Mine runs true to jacket size. Will be worn right inder outer jacket.
4. How long have you had it and have you encountered any issues? 2 years. No issues. Formware update done from your phopne ~every 3-4 months.
5. What body parts does it protect well (especially concerned about my ribs)? Torso / Neck. When it blows up, it completely locks your head in place. DAMHIK.
6. Do you have a E version or a tethered version (and why)? Completely Autonomous.
7. If tethered, where do you attach the tether on your motorcycle? n/a
8. If you have had problems, how was the support? No issues. I know the support is great.
9. Can you 'recharge' the vest if fired yourself or is it a 'send in'? Recharge yourself. New cartridge: ~$90
10. Is it an 'over the jacket', 'under the jacket' or 'built in' (and why did you chose that model)? Under the outer jacket. Backplate in jacket is removed, because the vest has armor.
11. How well does it ventilate in very warm weather and humidity? Has front ventilation / stretch panel. This vest fits snug on your torso.
12. Have you had the unfortunate occasion for it to work and how well did it work? Yes. Worked very well.
13. Would you buy it again? Yes.

When I broke my clavickle, it is not something that the vest can prevent, if you get a blow directly on your shoulder. This is a vest, limited shoulder coverage.
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Pretty much my experience with my KLIM vest. I forgot to add as you did the d3o back armor that is part of the vest which is pretty substantial.

I will always emphasize the fact by not having a tether you are less restricted and don't have to worry about not connecting it. I used to forget connecting my tethered vest many times when stopping for breaks, fuel etc. No connection means no airbag - that in itself to me made the decision to buy an electronic system. The electronic airbag systems are well proven now for quite a few years and make the experience of using one much better. In addition to not remembering to connect it, I cannot count how many times I have hopped off my bike and forgot to disconnect it and got myself all bunched up.
If you are the kind of person who forgets where you put your bike keys and do the jacket pocket marumba dance trying to find your keys then you should consider buying an electronic untethered vest.
 
Arellcat said:
I don't ride with an airbag vest myself, but I would recommend them.
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I’ll hijack the thread on this one… as a cop I’ve responed to countless vehicle accidents; not one with air bag deployment said they were uninjured and it was a pleasant experience. Almost every one with little to no vehicle damage and air bag deployment involved blood and bruises… ;)

Tom
 
Tor said:
1. What brand do you use? Klim Airbag Vest (In&Motion Electronics)
2. What was the cost (with all the extra stuff you need)? Vest $399 / $120 / Year In&Motion Subscription. More info on the In&Motion Site
3. How does your model run as far as sizing goes compared to MC jacket sizing? Mine runs true to jacket size. Will be worn right inder outer jacket.
4. How long have you had it and have you encountered any issues? 2 years. No issues. Formware update done from your phopne ~every 3-4 months.
5. What body parts does it protect well (especially concerned about my ribs)? Torso / Neck. When it blows up, it completely locks your head in place. DAMHIK.
6. Do you have a E version or a tethered version (and why)? Completely Autonomous.
7. If tethered, where do you attach the tether on your motorcycle? n/a
8. If you have had problems, how was the support? No issues. I know the support is great.
9. Can you 'recharge' the vest if fired yourself or is it a 'send in'? Recharge yourself. New cartridge: ~$90
10. Is it an 'over the jacket', 'under the jacket' or 'built in' (and why did you chose that model)? Under the outer jacket. Backplate in jacket is removed, because the vest has armor.
11. How well does it ventilate in very warm weather and humidity? Has front ventilation / stretch panel. This vest fits snug on your torso.
12. Have you had the unfortunate occasion for it to work and how well did it work? Yes. Worked very well.
13. Would you buy it again? Yes.

When I broke my clavickle, it is not something that the vest can prevent, if you get a blow directly on your shoulder. This is a vest, limited shoulder coverage from the side.
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I Watched This One Inflate One Time and he looked locked in to me
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Tor
Arellcat said:
I suspect I'm somewhat outside the demographic of this thread, but for what it's worth, I tried the Helite vest once, and once was enough. I was at a motorcycle trade show several years ago and got talked into being a demonstration guinea pig. Technically, the vest was very nicely made and well thought through with the ripcord thing, and it fitted nicely. The Helite guy had to give the ripcord a pretty good yank to fire the CO2 cartridge, and…BANG! The vest inflated in a split second to cushion all around my neck: my head was remarkably well stabilised left/right and fore/aft; it cushioned all the way down my back – it was a good length – and all the way down my front. The thing is, women come equipped with two extra parts up front, and the vest crushed the bloody buggering hell out of mine, to the point that I was afraid I was injured. I couldn't get the vest off quickly enough and I hurt for several days. I suppose that would be better than hurting for two months because you fell off your bike and cleverly broke your shoulder, or not hurting at all because you fell off and broke your back. However, I'm yet to be convinced that anyone at Helite thought about a) women riders, or even b) women riders who might have had reconstructive surgery and have a chestful of artifical that an airbag vest could damage. All y'all burly blokes may find the experience less hazardous!

I don't ride with an airbag vest myself, but I would recommend them.
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I appreciate your input as obviously that 'aspect' was not something I had even thought about for ladies - Ouch!!!
I don't know if the latter 'ladies' versions address that issue or not but that is good for ladies to know looking at this thread.
But your demographic is definitely important in this discussion!
 
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If you have cables for electronic devices and remember to plug them in, you'll probably remember to hook up the tether. If you have everything blue toothed, you'll probably have to learn to tether the vest.
 
Hey Uncle Phil
Take a look at this video of and older rider experiencing a fairly easy fall with a KLIM airbag. It really protected him and deployed very quickly.

 
Arellcat said:
I suspect I'm somewhat outside the demographic of this thread, but for what it's worth, I tried the Helite vest once, and once was enough.... All y'all burly blokes may find the experience less hazardous!
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Fitting the vest to your body size is very important, and I thought my Turtle 2's instructions glossed over that. My first deployment left me gasping for air in the grip of a huge vest-hug. I could barely draw a breath. When I got home, I adjusted the straps so i could put a fist over each of my breasts oriented as if I were pulling an arrow out of my chest. The second deployment was still quite firm, but tolerable.

I think women need a way to inflate the vest to try it out, given the variation in breast sizes. I have an empty CO2 cartridge that I plan to drill and thread to accept a tire inflation valve that I picked up at an auto parts store. We can then inflate vests w/ a bicycle pump to 4 psi - Helite USA told me the pressure inside a fully deployed vest is 6 psi - to check the fit.

I remember in karate practice some of the women wore plastic breast shields for sparring. Helite could easily mold such a shape into the air bladder for women to reduce the impact pressure while allowing a firm fit. You should write them a letter and let them know your experience.
 
Ron said:
If you have cables for electronic devices and remember to plug them in, you'll probably remember to hook up the tether. If you have everything blue toothed, you'll probably have to learn to tether the vest.
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I'm already 'connected' to the bike with heated gear and audio so one more 'plug' is not a big deal for me. ;)
 
Uncle Phil said:
I'm already 'connected' to the bike with heated gear and audio so one more 'plug' is not a big deal for me. ;)
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Go with what think will work best for you, UP. There are pro's and con's for both systems (tethered vs electronic) For me, What do I like with the Klim vest?
In no particular order:
  • Completely autonomous
  • Complete neck and head lock-up when inflated (the vest presses up against the helmet edge when inflated)
  • Long battery life (~26 hours, a good two days worth of riding)
  • Goes to standby when no movement >10 minutes for battery conservation
  • Extremely good support from In&Motion
  • Telemetry data transferred to In&Motion every time the unit is connected / charging, and on your home network. This data is used to improve the logarithms used in the controller, hence the updated firmware at pretty frequent intervals.
  • Short (1-2h) charge time
  • Different logarithm modes (I am using two, "Street" mode or "Adventure" mode, i.e. pavement or offroad.
  • Very easy to get ready for re-use after inflation. You only need a new canister (I carry a spare in my luggage). Its is just a matter of disconnecting the old canister, remove it, and install the new.
  • Ability to control / check the vest status with In&Motion mobile app: Battery Live, firmware status (if there is an update, this is pushed to the vest from the mobile app).
 
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TPadden said:
I’ll hijack the thread on this one… as a cop I’ve responed to countless vehicle accidents; not one with air bag deployment said they were uninjured and it was a pleasant experience. Almost every one with little to no vehicle damage and air bag deployment involved blood and bruises… ;)

Tom
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Not sure I’m reading this correctly. Are you saying the accident scenes with the airbags involved blood and bruises? And are we talking cars or bikes here?
 
Erdoc48 said:
Not sure I’m reading this correctly. Are you saying the accident scenes with the airbags involved blood and bruises? And are we talking cars or bikes here?
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Cars, most involve bloody nose, split lip, or facial bruise, especially if wearing glasses. Point was: I wouldn't volunteer to test a car's air bag either. :oops:

Agreed, the vest should not be tightly worn, leave room for a fist. :thumb: Testing is for dummies (and influencers). ;)

Tom
 
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TPadden said:
The vest should not be tightly worn, leave room for a fist. :thumb: Testing is for dummies (and influencers). ;)
Tom
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That's why I want an external one instead of an internal one - as my jackets are already snug (something to do with a dinner plate disease I think! ;)).
Good tip on how to space one out!
I am looking at vendor supplied 'extension' straps just to be sure I can get the thing over my 4XL riding jackets and get it snapped.
 
With the extenders, you should be fine…I have a set of 2 for my Hit-Air and I’m hoping to never need them in the future- I recently wore multiple layers (T-shirt, long sleeve over shirt, and my Kevlar lined hoodie which is thicker material and now my winter jacket essentially) and I was still able to have the vest on over all of that without it being too tight (and I keep my heated vest at the ready, used it on the ride home last week- nice on the outbound, cooler on the way home, and still, the vest wasn’t too tight on me). Usually the chest aspect of the vest doesn’t require the extender, it’s the lower one over the abdominal region that’s normally needed in case of ‘dinner plate disease’. The vests aren’t supposed to fit too loose nor too tight, snug enough to be effective in case of need, I guess kind of like a helmet properly fitted.
 
TPadden said:
Agreed, the vest should not be tightly worn, leave room for a fist. :thumb: Testing is for dummies (and influencers).
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There are two kinds of bike riders, those who have dropped their bike and those who will drop their bike. Sooner or later, most everyone who wears an airbag vest (excepting perhaps some electronic versions that don't deploy at low speeds*) will become a tester. Guess we are all dummies. But that experience can be shared to help others select the best protection for themselves.

It is my understanding that seatbelts also leave some magnificent coloration after an accident...the higher the speed the bigger the bruises. The alternative to these safety devices is not pretty.

*I don't see the point in a vest that does not deploy in low speed situations. People break bones when they fall, dropping a bike while parking it or pulling up to a stop sign on a hill with an off camber turn (Dohboy has a nasty one at the end of a street near his house) can exacerbate such a fall. Besides, there is entertainment value in having the vest deploy...for my third test I plan on laughing at myself.
 
SMSW said:
Guess we are all dummies...for my third test I plan on laughing at myself.
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Certainly, if you crash test your helmet or air bag while wearing them, on purpose. ;)

I don't see me doing either just to see what happens, we can agree you seem to have tested your's enough to receive a dummy certification. :rofl1:

Tom
 
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SMSW said:
*I don't see the point in a vest that does not deploy in low speed situations.
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You WILL, once you spend enough time on a monster-truck-sized "adventure bike", riding challenging offroad.
BMW GS 1150 or 1200 or 1250 Adventure / KTM 1190 or 1290 Super Adventure anyone...?
Have you ever seen Noraly drop her non-monster-truck-sized adventure bike? Do you think she wants to change a cartridge each and every time for her low-speed drops?
 
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Sadlsor said:
You WILL, once you spend enough time on a monster-truck-sized "adventure bike", riding challenging offroad.
BMW GS 1150 or 1200 or 1250 Adventure / KTM 1190 or 1290 Super Adventure anyone...?
Have you ever seen Noraly drop her non-monster-truck-sized adventure bike? Do you think she wants to change a cartridge each and every time for her low-speed drops?
Click to expand...
She might wish she did if she ends up breaking some ribs in one of those falls - trust me on that one!
 
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