Personally I believe the Alpinestars airbag is the best system currently available. I have a D air, we sold the D air previously and I will say the overall experience left a little to be desired. I believe in the Alpinestars system enough that I have the vest, an Astars GP Tech V2 and a Taichi Tech-Air Compatible suit currently (being totally transparent I did not get this shit for free). My son Max has grown enough that we will be investing in a Tech-Air Vest and a new suit for him to ride and race in next season (you guessed it I won't be getting this shit free either). We have sold several Tech-Air systems and have had good feedback from riders that have crashed as well as riders who have had the vest repacked. Service of the airbag after a deployment has to be managed properly, this was something I stressed to Alpinestars before they released their system last year and I feel they have delivered as promised. For me service after the sale is a key element when asking someone to invest in something like this. Having the option of using the Astars vest in the Taichi suit is also a big plus IMO.
Thats actually the route i was gonna go. But I got a D-Air suit on black Friday too . $1400 for a whole new suit with a bag was a no brainer for me. Although i do feel the A* package overall is a better system .
the only thing about that is the reviews that say it costs an arm and leg if it goes off, and Dainese recommended that they get a new suit instead. Sometimes the repair cost $1500
Dainese says they stand by the suit as a whole product . Meaning that just repacking the suit but not repairing the damage will compromise the safety as a whole .
If the integrity of the suit has been distressed from a crash, wouldn't the factory repair be a good thing? I dunno.
Their definition and mine are probably substantially different. For example, if I scrape all the Dainese letters off the suit in a crash the factory might think it's necessary to replace those. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
I got the Astars kit from Ridersdiscount (RIP) and really like that it has 2 activations and if you use those up, you can still swap in a regular back protector and keep using the suit. Being able to swap between leathers, use them without it, and even install in some other brands (RS Taichinand Mithos for example) was racer friendly. I only used it one race weekend so far (didn’t crash) but was happy with its operating logistics. It self arms and disarms and won’t go off in a low impact low speed tip over. After a prior crash where the bike / tank surfed on my ribs for a while, I decided some air bag protection was in order. Also, I decided if I was okay with spending a few hundred bucks to repair and repaint tanks and bodywork and other parts, I should be willing to pay $350 to reset an airbag that protects my body. Hope that helps a little.
I have both Hit Air (since 2012) and Tech Air. Crashed twice in the Hit Air. Worked great in a high side, literally like landing on pillows. Other than 1 ground off button my Hit Air is still going strong. Only negative is the aerodynamic penalty at high speed tracks...so although I wore mine at most races and all practices I didn't wear it during races @ Daytona or Road America. Haven't crashed in my Tech Air....but I've seen enough of others who have to be convinced the system works great. I have both the Missile Suit and Jacket so mine serves for both track and street duty.
How would you guys with the tech air vest describe the fit with your suit? I got a missile suit this year with the intention of getting the airbag vest at some point. The suit fits me really well with a back and chest protector. I'm worried that the vest looks bulky and I'm gonna be squeezed into the suit.
The back protector is thicker than my normal back protector but it still fits fine for me. I actually squeeze in the Astar chest plates that replace the thin foam that came with the suit. That made it tighter and it does feel a little bulkier and heavier than my old setup. The pros don’t seem to look as bulky as I feel, but they are also not 190lb+ for the most part. The biggest thing I wish someone would have shown on YouTube is how incredibly awkward it is getting the suit on because you have to zip the vest in before you put it on. I have not figured out a graceful way of doing it and think I would get a million views if I videoed myself doing it.
I didn’t find getting into my leathers any different with it, although it’s always a little bit of a show getting leathers on anyways.. It definitely added a little girth around my back, but if you’re already wearing a back and chest protector it’ll fit just fine. The airbag part itself is thin, the back protector is the thick part.
I had to go a size up in the Missile vs Atemv2. Some do not, so maybe the air vest is a 1/2 size? If you are already tight up top then buy 1 size bigger.
I'd rather not because it just about perfect in fit and length in the legs and arms. I might just need to try one in my suit and see how it feels
Track suit, street jacket, race vest (they also have a street only vest which doesn’t have a race mode), laptop with usb to change between street and track algorithms. Street mode will be armed when you’re stopped at a redlight for example, track mode arms when you go over a certain speed.
Thanks! I have a hit-air, but not a huge fan of the tether approach since I've crashed too many ways that probably wouldn't inflate the vest. So this seems like a nice idea.
