Impact Jackets

[RavnMonster]

Hey guys, I am a serious noob to the motorcycle scene.  Does anyone here use one of these impact jackets? thoughts? opinions?

http://www.impactjackets.com/

[Popeye the Sailor]

I haven't heard a thing about them. As far as I know, a good set of leathers and associated gear (helmet, gloves, boots) should be all one needs.

[teddy037.2]

...so what happens if you're in a crash where you aren't "ejected from the bike"?

is this thing armored? or airbag only? 

[55Spy]

Too many things to go wrong for me I haven't heard anything about em tho. 

my luck I'd wind up looking like the stay puft marshmallow man at a gas station in no time after trying to walk away still attached to the bike which would of course now be on the ground .

[somegirl]

If professional racers start using them, I'd consider them.  For now I think I'd prefer good-quality leathers with armor.

[mdriver]

If professional racers start using them, I'd consider them.  For now I think I'd prefer good-quality leathers with armor.

+1 

I'm sure some type of personal inflatable safety device will eventually be used in pro racing. But until it becomes widespread and the bugs in the technology get ironed out I'm sure not going to be the guinea pig for it.

Remember when airbags were first being introduced into the automobile market. People in low speed impacts were getting severe burns, and broken hands/wrists/noses when they otherwise would have been unharmed using just a seat belt. Not saying the inflatable safety garment industry will face the same hurtles, but there are certainly allot of variables to deal with.

[Mac_48]

it looks like a crappy version of the Dainese airbag...

[teddy037.2]

If professional racers start using them, I'd consider them.  For now I think I'd prefer good-quality leathers with armor.

exactly 

of course, the flip side is the lack of gravel runoff in street situations. but I'm still not sold on the airbag thing.

[Slide Panda]

I recall someone askign about these on TOB.  Still have yet to hear of anyone using them for street applications - but the concept is being added to race suits and Ms. Inc noted. 

If course the system isn't fool proof - and some folks joked about playing inflator tag... But the concept seems pretty sound.

[RavnMonster]

Too many things to go wrong for me I haven't heard anything about em tho. 

my luck I'd wind up looking like the stay puft marshmallow man at a gas station in no time after trying to walk away still attached to the bike which would of course now be on the ground .

LOL.. That was my first thought. I get off the bike and forget to unhook it and the damn thing goes off and I look like an idiot. 

I agree with most of you guys, I think its a great concept but probably wont see any real wide spread use for a few more years till they iron out the bugs and improve the design.

[Dainesedan]

+1 

I'm sure some type of personal inflatable safety device will eventually be used in pro racing. But until it becomes widespread and the bugs in the technology get ironed out I'm sure not going to be the guinea pig for it.

Remember when airbags were first being introduced into the automobile market. People in low speed impacts were getting severe burns, and broken hands/wrists/noses when they otherwise would have been unharmed using just a seat belt. Not saying the inflatable safety garment industry will face the same hurtles, but there are certainly allot of variables to deal with.

We've been deveolping an air bag suit for the last ten years.  It first saw actual race use last year in the 125's and 250's and is about ready for prime time.  Unlike other air bag systems that use a hokey tether system, our suit uses accelerometers, g-force sensors and very complicated soft ware so that it will only deploy under the right circumstances.  Here is some more info on it as well as some video of it in use: http://www.dainese.com/eng/d-air.asp

[triangleforge]

Yeah, but just think how thankful you'd be if you rolled off the road & into deep water and your own personal life jacket popped open, huh? Ever think about that, Mr./Ms. LeatherLover? 

Seriously, I REALLY like the idea of head/neck support in the event of a crash, and I did a quick look at the Hurt Report abstract and it noted that "The most deadly injuries to the accident victims were injuries to the chest and head."  So it would seem that beefing up chest protection (the report notes that leather does a great job of reducing abrasion injuries, but that these tend not to be life-threatening) would be a good place to improve moto gear.  And FWIW, if I remember the discussion on the old board, there was a link to a recent TV news story of a rider who had a hellacious crash near DC or Baltimore and credited his helmet & MoonBounce jacket with allowing him to walk away with essentially no injury. 

That said, I'm going to stick with leather for now; it fits, it works (including in the Arizona heat -- don't see much venting on those Impact ones), I've got a whole lot invested in it...  And Impact's marketing leaves a little to be desired -- in their promo video they: 1) spend a lot of time showing models riding around wearing the inflatable vest (no sleeves) with just a tanktop underneath, 2) they demonstrate the inflation by having the models WALK AWAY FROM THE BIKE, highlighting the product's biggest design problem, and 3) most of the video is about deflating the jacket & replacing the CO2 cartridge, right under the red-letter warning "This video is for demonstration purposes only please do not attempt to repack airbag or replace the CO2 Cartridge. This should be done by an authorized dealer only."

i really like Dainese's approach to the problem, but it's not going to come cheap -- production of a motorcycle airbag along those lines by any manufacturer is never going to come close to the economies of scale that make auto airbags more affordable (but still not cheap).

[teddy037.2]

Yeah, but just think how thankful you'd be if you rolled off the road & into deep water and your own personal life jacket popped open, huh? Ever think about that, Mr./Ms. LeatherLover? 

I'll keep that in mind if I ever decide to drive off the island 

[DoubleEagle]

I read about a Jacket that had an Air Bag system built in it. It was tethered to the bike so that you wouldn't set it off accidentally  (like what motor crossers have used to kill the engine if they are thrown from their bike ) .The system had air tubes shaped like a roll cage in an open dragster and it was operated with a small CO2 dispenser. It said it could be easily deflated in 2-3 minutes and a new CO2 dispenser attached easily. I believe it was being sold by a company in Australia  it's scalled Hit Air ?.

[scott_araujo]

I kinda like the idea.  The tether may be a bit primitive but it's simple and effective.  They have several different styles in mesh, mesh and leather, and waterproof nylon.  The mesh models come with a wind/waterproof liner.   They listed CE armor in the shoulders and elbows and a lower back pad so they're probably similar to a lot of jackets we already wear even if it doesn't inflate.  In the videos it takes a pretty good tug to set it off.  Still, you might both set it off and knock over your bike if you walk away quickly.  Having some serious back problems I'm really thinking about getting one of these.  Of course I'm sure the first accidental deployment will be when I'm gassing up on a ride with 20 other guys

Scott