The Next-Gen Airbag System Is Here
We discussed that Alpinestars would debut the Tech-Air 5 airbag system at CES, and now the company has done it. The active electronic airbag system utilizes six integrated sensors and artificial intelligence to detect a crash and deploy the airbag technology.
This new system works faster and better than any of the mechanical systems that are already on the market. The airbag system itself provides better protection, too. It now covers the shoulders, chest, ribs and all of the back. This should dramatically reduce the possibility of shoulder and collarbone injuries.
Alpinestars says that it used years of research collected from over 50 percent of the top MotoGP riders as well as data from Alpinestars customers to create this new piece of gear. The airbag can deploy in as fast as 20 to 40 milliseconds, depending on the size of the garment.
According to Alpinestars, the impact absorption the system provides reduces impact force by up to 93 percent when compared to a passive protector. The battery in the system provides 30 hours of riding time, and the system can be charged by a simple micro USB connection. Status of the airbag system can be seen through an app. This vest can be worn under basically any jacket, too, making it one of the best options on the market. The price sits at $699.95.
My heart pitter patters at the sound of this thing. I ran their last setup and in the end I had to get rid of it because the holes in the sleeves were too small and badly pinched me. I switched to the Dainese Misano D-Air (I even bought a backup jacket) and it’s less than ideal since they say it won’t work on first impact. Either way, after a bad accident in which I broke a lot of bones I’ll never ride without one again. I look forward to hearing more about this jacket and how it pairs with others, etc.
Oh man, IIRC the air bag system in my D-Air jacket is completely removable leaving me a very high quality leather jacket that already has the expanding panels. AKA, no need to buy a compatible A-Stars jacket. Definitely will want to learn more to see how this jacket might better protect if rear-ended or otherwise in a car accident. Sweet!
Can you confirm this line, “This vest can be worn under basically any jacket, too…”? Per David B’s comment, the Dianese D-air jackets have expandable panels that let the jacket “grow” when the airbag(s) inflate. If you do not use such a jacket the airbag will expand into the rider potentially causing more damage. Does the Alpinestars require a similiarly compatible jacket, or can it really be worn with any old jacket I have lying around?
They say it can work with any jacket that has 4cm of room. “…self-contained wearable airbag vest that can be worn under any proper fitting textile jacket1 or Tech-Air compatible jacket, or any leather jacket with 4 cm of space around the circumference of the rider’s chest.” Indeed, the trick will be how to measure this.