Choice of Air Vest technology ..

All,

After a near miss on the M3 the other day I felt the need to investigate the choice of an air vest. I made a quick decision to try a Helite Turtle Shell as I have seen quite a few being worn but when I popped into Infinity in Clapham (Apparently a Helite distributor) I was advised that they struggle to get the Helite products and are now pushing the Bering C-Protect air vest which I did try and actually quite liked as it looked significantly better and less like a life jacket.

I can't find any helpful comparisons or statements about the durability of the Bering product material after an off whereas the Helite can apparently stand the scuffing.

I'm after any views from anyone who wears either and why they chose that particular brand. Also why do we not see the police motorcyclists wearing them ?

Thanks in advance.

Helite turtle for me bought on here Look on the tube for all you want to know

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=air+vest

We have point 2 Air vests. Spares available ( the air cylinder size, format and trigger is the proprietary issue).

Heritage is in horse riding so well tested.
Available in hi biz and black.

UK company

Currently have a sale on.

https://pointtwoairvests.com/motorcycle-air-jackets/browse/122

Had 2 offs with the Turtle, not life threatening low sided on gravel, turtle saved my bones well, 1 on the GS and other one on the mountain bike, as useful for that also, little tip if you do get Helite, get this little clip it will save your lanyard from dropping onto the hot exhaust headers and melting.

https://www.helitemoto.com/helite-accessory-female-clip/

I have the helite air vest, bought directly from them. We had a demo by the salesman at our blood bike group and were given a discount.

I think he sold 15 on the night, one went off prematurely when first delivered and was replaced.

I’ve worn mine for probably 3 years and don’t like riding without it.

The only criticism is it’s weight, very heavy but I suppose it’s needed for the overall impact protection.

Like others the helite air vest was first developed for the equine market and branched out to the motorcycle world. I’m sure Infinity are just selling whatever’s best for them. I reccomended the Helite to loads of people, that’s not saying it’s the best, but I’m very happy with mine.

I have been using the Point Two air bag over jacket for a few years now - never used in anger and never gone off accidentally.

Second nature to put it on now and do not notice it when riding.

Loads of info in this thread: http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showth...acket-Tossers-Special-Offer?highlight=air+bag

Check that the turtle does not interfere with the back of your helmet whe sat on the bike. Mine did. It may be worth getting in touch with the Helite distributor who tours around iam and other clubs doing demos and selling direct. Or did last year!

scotboxer said:

Check that the turtle does not interfere with the back of your helmet whe sat on the bike. Mine did. It may be worth getting in touch with the Helite distributor who tours around iam and other clubs doing demos and selling direct. Or did last year!

Click to expand...

That's what happens when you wind your neck in.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

I wear a Hellite for work, north wales police are starting to wear them, I’m sure it won’t be long before the Met have them as well.

We e had them for about a year now, 30 riders and only 1 accidental activation. Not used in anger yet.

I’ve got used to it now but I found it rubbed my neck at first, they’re also uncomfortable to sit around in but most people will remove them to sit I’m sure. Hellite do a shorter one which a few of my colleagues wear off duty, it’s similar to the Bering one.

I still haven’t bought my own, I think they offer protection in limited circumstances but will not be useful in all mc accidents. You pays your money as they say. I will probably buy one when/if they drop in price.

scotboxer said:

Check that the turtle does not interfere with the back of your helmet whe sat on the bike. Mine did. It may be worth getting in touch with the Helite distributor who tours around iam and other clubs doing demos and selling direct. Or did last year!

Click to expand...

A good point Another is it depends on your posture eg sports bike vs adventure or naked I have no problem wearing it on my Blade I wear an Arai Chaser or Quantum so it also depends on what type of helmet too

Myself and my wife both have Helite Turtle, won't ride without it now. You can buy direct and if you are IAM etc or a Blood biker, they will give you discount. As a point of note, Helite supplied all the air vests to Point 2, they then fell out, so not sure who is supplying Point 2 now or where they get their vests from. But Helite still service Point 2 air vests

We do a fair amount of Airbag stuff here at Moto Central. The first one we ever did was the Held Air Bag Vests (Made by Helite) - we didn't sell many in fairness, I think most people went for Helite direct products when the airbgas first come onto the market. The one thing I will say about the Held one is, if anyone does have one currently on here - there was a recall on them end of last year, so get in touch with who you bought it from - not sure if Helite vests had the same issue, we don't deal with them so I've not got a clue in all fairness.

We also started selling the Dainese D-air systems in late 2017 - which in fairness, the technology is incredible compared to all of the pull cord systems, but obviously for this you pay a premium - it's well worth one if you have the extra bit of cash to invest in one.

We've also been doing the Bering C protect systems, we were given them on cinsignment by the UK distributor, we didn't ask for them, and have done a couple but not sure if any of our end users have needed to test them in all fairness, I believe the answer is no.

As well as this (I know it's a long list!) for 2019 we're taking on the Alpinestars Tech air products, which is very comparable to the Dainese D-Air systems, again more expensive than the pull cord systems, but goes off twice if needed.

As well as this, last one I promise! We'll be doing what I think might take the airbag market by storm.. It's made by Ixon And Inmotion - it's a stand alone airbag vest which you can wear under anything you have! The vest itself is just £379.99 and you then pay a subscription fee which is around £10 a month I believe maybe a tiny bit over that, just like a phone subscription which is paid to Inmotion. This keeps your airbag active. You can pay it off in full, and once you've paid a certain amount of months it's no longer needed to be paid for - you can also pay the full payment upfront which is about the same price as the vest again. This I don't have full information on yet, but can definitely get it if needed - we'll be doing those later this year.

I'm very clued up on Dainese / Alpinestars Air bag technology if anyone has any questiosn about those, and will try and answer all questions about any others if needed also, just drop us a message if you'd like

I have a point 2 that i would be prepared to sell !

My reasoning for a vest over a system built into a jacket, is I have more than one jacket, winter, summer etc and wanted something I could wear all year around. The tether is not an issue, it soon becomes second nature to unclip when getting off, plus spare tethers are cheap, so you can use the vest on multiple bikes.

I use Helite Turtle Airbag, but bought it new offeBay (second hand and never worn) for £200.

Saved £350 on RRP.

They're listed on eBay regularly, so just wait for one to come along in your size.

Helite also offer a test and return service to check it over if you feel a need to.

casbar said:

My reasoning for a vest over a system built into a jacket, is I have more than one jacket, winter, summer etc and wanted something I could wear all year around. The tether is not an issue, it soon becomes second nature to unclip when getting off, plus spare tethers are cheap, so you can use the vest on multiple bikes.

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+1 same here.

Also in very hot weather in summer it keeps the heat off your back, and you can open your jacket fully, as the airbag straps keep jacket in place and no flapping... So airflow is great.

Another option is to wear a Leatt neck brace and back protector.

The downsides of an airbag, is it has to be deployed before it protects your neck...

So if something hits you, until you are ejected, it wont protect you.

eg.

- Bird Strike.... no protection
- Sideways impact.... delayed protection
- Lowside.... delayed protection
- Rear impact.... delayed protection

So delayed protection, you may have already experienced whiplash or worse, before the airbag is triggered.

A neck brace is ALWAYS ready..

Had a couple of demos by the Helite people over the years ... I'm convinced

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-vDLTz3T/0/79577e8d/640/i-vDLTz3T-640.mp4

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-D84tvm3/0/c88cc0e7/640/i-D84tvm3-640.mp4

Hope the links work


I hope never to test it, but I know a few who have ... and they swear by it.

I've got a helite turtle. When I bought it I bought the size recommended by the guy who gave the demo. It seemed a bit big but it was what they said. I saw a photo of one after about a year and queried the size. Exchanged a few photos and they changed it for a different size without hesitation. So first class customer service from them.

I had a cracking discount from them because I'm a Blood bike rider.

Warlord said:

Another option is to wear a Leatt neck brace and back protector.

The downsides of an airbag, is it has to be deployed before it protects your neck...

So if something hits you, until you are ejected, it wont protect you.

eg.

- Bird Strike.... no protection
- Sideways impact.... delayed protection
- Lowside.... delayed protection
- Rear impact.... delayed protection

So delayed protection, you may have already experienced whiplash or worse, before the airbag is triggered.

A neck brace is ALWAYS ready..

Click to expand...

There is a plus and minus to everything, how does a back protector and neck brace protect your front then? Is there any evidence as to the number of people who have got whiplash and crashed from a bird strike. The deployment is in mili seconds, so why wouldn't it protect you from a low side or side impact, as the impact happened and the mass was moving the bag would be inflated before the movement stopped. Please show the evidence on your assumptions, or are they just assumptions.