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Airbag Vests

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delsol
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PostPosted: 22:03 - 16 Mar 2014    Post subject: Airbag Vests Reply with quote
This kind of thing

https://www.eggparka.com/english/lineup/mlv_c/index.html

Anyone on BCF use airbag systems ?

I'm obviously thinking that they might not be a bad thing, but it would be good to know more.
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BTTD
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PostPosted: 22:10 - 16 Mar 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote
Not me.
Roadcraftnottingham, or whatever he's called on youtube uses one, and if you find the video where he reviews it I think there was a discount code on it. No idea if that's still valid though.
The review is entertaining when he tests it out in a bike shop.

Edit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIJuhK4C79E
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sidewinder
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PostPosted: 23:44 - 16 Mar 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iIJuhK4C79E. Thumbs Up
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slowlydoesit
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PostPosted: 23:57 - 16 Mar 2014    Post subject: Re: Airbag Vests Reply with quote
delsol wrote:
This kind of thing
https://www.eggparka.com/english/lineup/mlv_c/index.html
Anyone on BCF use airbag systems ?
I'm obviously thinking that they might not be a bad thing, but it would be good to know more.

I'm seriously considering buying an airbag vest when I restart biking. The usual thing - husband, father, self-employed, nobody to cover for me etc. I'll do what I can do to improve my chances in the event of an off provided it isn't too onerous. For me, wearing an airbag vest over my existing jacket isn't too onerous. It's like wearing a hiviz vest.

What really focused my thinking on this is the thread on BCF somewhere (sorry, couldn't find it) in which a BCFer suffered from very serious injuries in a low-speed accident on a roundabout at about 30mph. Despite the lack of speed, he slid and hit a streetlamp or similar with his torso and that was what nearly did for him. The pictures of his wounds are gruesome.

I imagine that an airbag jacket or vest would have helped cushion the blow that caused his injuries. Do I know it would have helped? No. I'm taking a view based on the available information. We each have our own attitudes to risk while on our bikes. I accept that there certain types of accident that will kill you whatever you wear but my philosophy is that most accidents are avoidable and the severity can be mitigated. You can travel at slower speeds, not filter or overtake aggressively, hold back in poor conditions and generally work to cut your time at risk. After twenty years on two wheels I usually notice when I start subconsciously pushing my luck and that's enough to get me to back off into lower risk mode.

But one day I'm going to have an accident. When that day comes I want to be wearing gear. Good clothing hopefully reduces abrasions and burns, armour inserts hopefully absorb impacts to various bony bits, the lid hopefully reduces head trauma and an air vest hopefully reduces blunt trauma to the torso. Obviously an air vest is not a magic garment. If I come round the corner too quickly and meet a tractor with a front-mounted buckrake coming the other way the air vest isn't going to stop me from being impaled. But that's why I tend to bimble down country roads instead of ragging it.

In terms of which one, I am considering Helite. I like the fact that Mugen Denko is Japanese made but the Helite seems to deploy more quickly than the Mugen Denko product. Neither manufacturer is cheap, but their products are about the cost of a good helmet. That seems reasonable to me.
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covent.gardens
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PostPosted: 00:02 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Re: Airbag Vests Reply with quote
slowlydoesit wrote:
I imagine that an airbag jacket or vest would have helped cushion the blow that caused his injuries. Do I know it would have helped? No.

I'm sure we'd all like to think it would, but I doubt it.

Air vests are OK for absorbing the shock as you go from the bike to the ground, but once you start hitting solid objects at speed I doubt they are going to be any good at all.
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slowlydoesit
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PostPosted: 00:11 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Re: Airbag Vests Reply with quote
covent.gardens wrote:
Air vests are OK for absorbing the shock as you go from the bike to the ground, but once you start hitting solid objects at speed I doubt they are going to be any good at all.

Tarmac is not solid?

EDIT: OK, a less gnomic response.

Since we can't set up control experiments that perfectly replicate accidents, it is impossible to prove absolutely that gear item A would have helped in accident Z. In the absence of firm data, people will tend to draw the conclusions that support their own existing biases.

On the other hand, I can't help noticing that auto manufacturers around the world have, for a couple of decades, been using airbags in millions of vehicles to prevent injuries caused by people smashing their faces into steering wheels. I assume, perhaps wrongly, that they are onto something. I also assume that the same principle - putting a sturdy inflated textile container between one's body and a hard object - is generally going to have some kind of beneficial role in absorbing impacts in a bike accident.

No doubt there are speeds and angles of impact at which airbag clothing will not help. And I've already made the point (groan) about sharp objects being a danger. My argument is that most of the time, something like an airbag vest will be beneficial rather than harmful. But wearing one is a personal choice.

Last edited by slowlydoesit on 00:30 - 17 Mar 2014; edited 2 times in total
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-Matt-
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PostPosted: 00:26 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote
If it was compact enough to wear over/with current gear i'd consider it - but not at current prices for most of them.

I tend to go for 'every little helps' with gear generally, so although its probably not going to help at all in a lot of scenarios, maybe even most - if it was cheap enough and easy to use and afford day to day, i'd give them a go.
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Tungtvann
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PostPosted: 01:14 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Re: Airbag Vests Reply with quote
covent.gardens wrote:

I'm sure we'd all like to think it would, but I doubt it.

Air vests are OK for absorbing the shock as you go from the bike to the ground, but once you start hitting solid objects at speed I doubt they are going to be any good at all.

As with most motorbike safety gear, it might just be that little bit needed to survive or turn a serious injury into something lesser. You'd be surprised what a couple of inches worth of 'give' when hitting an object can actually help.
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Llama-Farmer
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PostPosted: 02:05 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Re: Airbag Vests Reply with quote
covent.gardens wrote:
slowlydoesit wrote:
I imagine that an airbag jacket or vest would have helped cushion the blow that caused his injuries. Do I know it would have helped? No.

I'm sure we'd all like to think it would, but I doubt it.

Air vests are OK for absorbing the shock as you go from the bike to the ground, but once you start hitting solid objects at speed I doubt they are going to be any good at all.


He didn't hit it at much speed if it's the same accident I'm thinking of.

And an airbag may well have made the difference, in that or similar speed impacts, as perhaps would a regular CE1 or CE2 chest or back protector.
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 09:50 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote
I have an airbag vest (Careful Now) but can't remember the last time I wore it. It's fairly heavy and another thing to faff around with at both ends of the journey.

Sadly, I couldn't get a hi-vis version when I bought it, so it's urban-camo. Thumbs Down

But because THIS! IS! BCF! I will commit to wearing it for the rest of this week and report back on how NOT DEAD it keeps me.
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slowlydoesit
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PostPosted: 09:54 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote
Rogerborg wrote:
But because THIS! IS! BCF! I will commit to wearing it for the rest of this week and report back on how NOT DEAD it keeps me.

Fingers crossed eh.
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panrider_uk
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PostPosted: 10:09 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote
I'll hope the extra weight doesn't cause you any sort of distraction.
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slowlydoesit
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PostPosted: 11:03 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Re: Airbag Vests Reply with quote
Ben-B wrote:
And an airbag may well have made the difference, in that or similar speed impacts, as perhaps would a regular CE1 or CE2 chest or back protector.

I think it was the chest he hit wasn't it? (Wish I could find that thread.) When I read that it got me thinking that jackets don't usually have a chest protector. I thought that if I was considering to have a back protector AND a chest protector I might as well have an airbag vest - probably weighs no more than a chest protector and harness anyway.
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i.p.phrealy
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PostPosted: 11:07 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote
IIRC it was bEN who had the bad smash.
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Llama-Farmer
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PostPosted: 11:39 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote
Rogerborg wrote:
I have an airbag vest (Careful Now) but can't remember the last time I wore it. It's fairly heavy and another thing to faff around with at both ends of the journey.

Sadly, I couldn't get a hi-vis version when I bought it, so it's urban-camo. Thumbs Down

But because THIS! IS! BCF! I will commit to wearing it for the rest of this week and report back on how NOT DEAD it keeps me.


You're unlikely to be able to fully test it if you don't crash... just saying...

Last edited by Llama-Farmer on 11:49 - 17 Mar 2014; edited 1 time in total
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Llama-Farmer
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PostPosted: 11:48 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Re: Airbag Vests Reply with quote
slowlydoesit wrote:
Ben-B wrote:
And an airbag may well have made the difference, in that or similar speed impacts, as perhaps would a regular CE1 or CE2 chest or back protector.

I think it was the chest he hit wasn't it? (Wish I could find that thread.) When I read that it got me thinking that jackets don't usually have a chest protector. I thought that if I was considering to have a back protector AND a chest protector I might as well have an airbag vest - probably weighs no more than a chest protector and harness anyway.


No, most jackets and leathers will have usually just the normal shoulder/elbow protection, or sometimes a back protector as well.
Not come across one that has chest protector, although I know you can get chest protector inserts for some of the leathers, alpinestars does with theirs, and the back protector too.

i.p.phrealy wrote:
IIRC it was bEN who had the bad smash.


Yeah I think you're right
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map
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PostPosted: 11:48 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote
Rogerborg wrote:
I have an airbag ves... it's urban-camo....I will commit to wearing it for the rest of this week and report back on how NOT DEAD it keeps me.

Also how interested how invisible it makes you in an urban environment Wink
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 12:53 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote
map wrote:
Rogerborg wrote:
I have an airbag ves... it's urban-camo....I will commit to wearing it for the rest of this week and report back on how NOT DEAD it keeps me.

Also how interested how invisible it makes you in an urban environment Wink

Invisible but invincible. Folded arms
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Ribenapigeon
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PostPosted: 13:42 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote
Found this quite good review
https://bigbikemad.com/motorcycle-airbags.html
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Ribenapigeon
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PostPosted: 14:56 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote
Im sure when I was doing my tests the examiners had air jackets but I didnt see what brand.
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 15:21 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote
Mine's a Hit-Air. They're actually designed for horsists - can't think why. Whistle
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike
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Ribenapigeon
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PostPosted: 16:10 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote
Rogerborg wrote:
Mine's a Hit-Air. They're actually designed for horsists - can't think why. Whistle


Because Horsey riding is twenty times more dangerous than bikes alegedly?
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conker
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PostPosted: 17:43 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote
I wear a helite vest. Not very heavy, used to it now. Just clip in and go, I leave it over the jacket I'm wearing so just one thing to slip into and 3 extra buckles to do up.

I did a bit of research and from watching videos and seeing in person the helite inflated much faster, the hitair I could visibly see inflate, where as the helite was more explosive and I couldn't see it inflating.

Hit a bus at 50 and nothing is going to help, clip a car and take off, it might just help.

At 400 quid it was steep but if the time I make a mistake and fail to predict some idiotic behavior and I use it in anger, it'll be worth every penny if it helps.
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 18:55 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote
All right, you shamed me into it. Hit-Air cable is on Ze Beemer, I'll go and get killed tomorrow FOR SCIENCE.

Hit-Air is 1st generation, I concede that there might be better available. Just be careful about paying for marketing.
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delsol
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PostPosted: 19:13 - 17 Mar 2014    Post subject: Reply with quote
Rogerborg wrote:
All right, you shamed me into it. Hit-Air cable is on Ze Beemer, I'll go and get killed tomorrow FOR SCIENCE.

Hit-Air is 1st generation, I concede that there might be better available. Just be careful about paying for marketing.


Is there a Buy It Now price if you get deaded ?, seriously though, apart from the faff of putting it on and taking it off, what is it like to wear, is it comfortable etc.

What would it take to have made you wear it more often than you have ?
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Old Thread Alert!

The last post was made 11 years, 266 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful?
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