Airbag Jackets.

[bingo296]

Anybody have any thoughts or experience with airbag jackets? is it really necessary? Thanks Jhon

[distantThunder]

i have been watching the development of these things for a while.

here is where they stand.
the main airbag jacket on the market sells for a few hundred dollars.
it inflates using a ripcord that is clipped to your bike.
if you get ejected then the ripcord activates a CO2 gas system that inflates the jacket.
the actuating force is about 50-60 pounds.

i was reluctant to buy one of these ... cuz' i just didn't like the idea of a jacket
that anchored me to the bike. i want to have the freedom to slip off that bike,
or jump off, in an accident. however the sales rep for the airbag jacket company
told me that you can have the factory set the actuation force lower if you want.
so if you want the thing to separate at 20 pounds - they could do it.

there is another design by Dainese that works with a system of accelerometers
that sense whether you are upright on the bike, or you have fallen over.
this one is not yet on the US market. it is likely to be more expensive, maybe
$1,000-$2,000 range when it hits the streets. To me, that cost seems too high.

MC riders in Europe are using these airbag jackets.
they have just not caught on in the USA.
i have seen some sucess stories where guys had "big saves" using these jackets after going down.
but there is still not a lot of reports showing how they do in a variety of accident scenarios.

so .. make up your own mind :-)

dT