Air bag jacket

[DaWood]

Saw this article and thought it was interesting.

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/14328936/detail.html

[rjb/AKA Bob Barram]

We had a rider at the Mootmag this year with such a jacket, a bit pricey but the idea is excellent.
Bob

[ThomasMagna]

I like this too. I figure the price will come down after a lot of richer folks than I buy one. Color tvsc and omputers and the like used to be really expesive but now look at it.  .Probably not during my riding years, but sometime I am sure.

[lragan]

Yeah, the rider was me.   .  I have never actually crashed with the jacket, but I did a small dump in the driveway once, and it inflated before I hit the ground.  Suddenly, I look like Pop-n-Fresh or the Michelin man!    Another time, I pulled off the road to use my cell phone, and dropped my glasses on the left side of the bike.   Instead of disconnecting the lanyard from the bike, I leaned over to pick up the glasses and pulled it too hard, and POOF! again.

The company wants you to send the jacket back to them for recharging and repacking, but that is entirely uneccessary.  I found the company in NJ that makes the nitrogen cannisters that fit in the hem of the jacket.  They are about $8 each.  If you buy one, I recommend that you study the bladder installation so you can refold it and put it back correctly.  It is not difficult if you think it through.

I have worn the jacket in hot and cold.  It has a removable liner for colder weather, and is mesh, so it is reasonably comfortable even in the summer.  I took the bladder out of it and washed the jacket a few weeks ago, as it had collected a "ring around the collar" and other effects of multiple rides, like bug splatters.  

The only real disadvantage I found, except for the price, is that it is heavier than a simple mesh jacket.  Weighs about the same as my heavy leather jacket, which I only wear now in the coldest conditions.

I went with the bright yellow-green color for visibility.  Riders of the last MOOTMAG will testify to its visibility.  Not so pretty with my blue bike, but, hey, riding a bike is like flying VFR "see and be seen".

I hope I never really test its function in a high speed crash, but I am pleased to see it worked for someone else.  My son found the web site and insisted I buy one.  I feel good about it.

Lawrence

[Magnum Magna]

At work we were discussing accidental inflations and re-packing.  That is good you found a place that has the correct nitrogen canisters.  

To prevent accidental inflations, I thought the pull would have been about 10 pounds, but I guess I would have been wrong.

[DC Smith]

Video says 18-26 pounds of pull to activate.

[lragan]

I haven't measured it, but you have to tug reasonably hard.  I leaned down quickly, and it went off.  Of course, when you come off the bike, you don't want the beast tying you to it.  

Since that time, I moved the connect ring from the back seat mount (directly under the sissy bar) to the front, so I have a little more slack.  I have never triggered it trying to dismount, as it tugs enough to remind me that I am still tethered without inflating.

Lawrence