Helite Air Vests- what do you owner's think of the products?

I am pondering purchasing a Helite touring jacket with the airbag built in. LOL, while I hope most of you have not had to test the airbag in an accident, what do you owner's think of the products and the company over time? St.

BMW MOA President Reece Mullins was wearing a Helite when he encountered a deer on his RT. I think he wrote something about it on the Forums (with photos) but I can't put my finger on that right now.

I just looked and found that BoxFlyer was wearing a Helite when he was rear-ended by a Toyota RAV 4. See the thread here: https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?100781-2016-R1200RT-Accident-Recap-Helite-Turtle2

I recall reading Reece Mullin's and BoxFlyer's account of their accidents and the credit given to the wearing of the helite vest with preventing injuries. These accounts were largely responsible for me obtaining helite vests for me and my wife. I found the company very professional to deal with and we got the vests, extra lanyards (for other bikes), and extra CO2 (just in case of inadvertent vest actuation). I have not crash tested either the Helite Vest or my 'Stich.

I could not locate the post by Reece about his accident. I did find some other stuff - yikes!!!

https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?88535-Helite-Turtle-Airbag-Vest

https://www.bmwmoa.org/blogpost/1239289/338217/Helite-Adventure-Jacket

https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?97939-Inflatable-Jackets-Vests-in-2020

https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?89221-inflatable-vests

https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?86717-Helite-Turtle-Airbag-Hi-Viz-Vest-Review

https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?98132-BMW-Rallye-Jacket-or-Others

I just bought a new Dainese jacket and sized it to allow an Alpinestars 5 jacket under it. It includes shoulder and upper arm protection that the Helite doesn't, nor does it require a tether to the bike.

I have a 'stich and the Dainese, so I'm going to buy something that works with either. And based on my experience with electric jackets, the tether is a complete PITA that I always forget to unplug. My buddy set his Helite off by getting off his bike and doing exactly what I do with my electric jacket.

I saw the Helite jacket at the Quail Lodge Motorcycle Show last year and was not impressed, hence my looking at vests more deeply.

I have the Hit-Air vest very similar to the helite. I wear it all the time and have not accidently set it off getting off the bike. It takes a pretty good tug to deploy. I have stepped back several times with it hooked up and hit the end and it did not go off.

My problem

LOL, my problem is I am not of average size and weight. I cannot order jackets online and expect a fit and in a lot of cases there is not a big enough size to fit me.

I do like the alpinestar vest with the extra shoulder padding, I question it's neck coverage such as Helite has to reduce or prevent whiplash (LOL, exactly what just happened to me in my recent accident)

I loved my Aerostich Roadcrafter Jacket, its back pad and padding did their job along with the Cordura.

LOL, few dealerships or brick and mortar stores stock jackets and riding gear in my size and are not interested in having an item shipped to them that may or may not fit me.

So, it is early stages of the looking. Winter is on in my neck of the woods and I am still in pain from the accident. St.

Fortunately, I have never been in situation where my Helite needed deploying.

Despite wearing it on every ride and having buckle up reminders beside each bike's ignition, I occasionally forget to attach the tether. Luckily once I start rolling, my routine is to check that it has been secured and occasionally have to pull over to attach the tether. If I were buying mine today, I would buy the recently introduced electronic version which is not tethered to the bike. This would eliminate the need to remember attaching the tether.

The Helite is heavy. The weight disappears once I am on the bikes as the lower part rests on the pillion's seat. However I am now down to 5'6" (used to be 5'9.5"). If you are tall, the weight might not disappear as does mine. I have a bicycle cable lock to attach the Helite to the bike if I am going to do a walkabout (not a short trip into a gas station); for me, the weight is a too little much for that activity. (Of course I'm a short, 140+ lbs, grumpy old man, quickly approaching my 76th year.) Your physical fitness is possibly in better shape than mine and the vest's weight would not be an issue for you.

Bought the highly reflective version which, for me was a mistake. I have key parts of it covered with black duct tape to eliminate the vest's reflection onto my GPS.

The Helite, once deployed, can be folded back up, and with a spare cartridge on board, is operational again. I believe that some vests need to send back to the company to ready for future use.

It is a good product to take on every ride.

The helite and hitair can both be repacked and rearmed by the user. I think all of the electronic ones have to go back and be inspected and repacked for a considerable fee. Some also have a monthly service fee, I know the KLIM does. Also you are limited by battery power. If I am out riding for several days and camping I don't want an extra electronic item to keep charged.

I do offroad riding on my GSA and I disconnect or do not wear the vest when doing that, do not want it deploying during a fall over. But I do wear Klim gear with level 2 padding and a neck brace from Leait when I do not have the vest on.

A lot of things to think about to get the one that is right for you.

tsconver said:

The helite and hitair can both be repacked and rearmed by the user. I think all of the electronic ones have to go back and be inspected and repacked for a considerable fee. Some also have a monthly service fee, I know the KLIM does. Also you are limited by battery power. If I am out riding for several days and camping I don't want an extra electronic item to keep charged.

I do offroad riding on my GSA and I disconnect or do not wear the vest when doing that, do not want it deploying during a fall over. But I do wear Klim gear with level 2 padding and a neck brace from Leait when I do not have the vest on.

A lot of things to think about to get the one that is right for you.

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My friend set off his electronic vest in July at a dead stop in a parking lot in the Alps—one of those off-balance sort of things that can happen to any of us. This was a Ducati vest, which I believe was made by Dainese, and required ordering a new internal bladder at $400 which did not arrive at his dealership until sometime in October. He had the liner replaced but the vest is still not showing the correct blinky light sequence so it’s going back in for further attention. So yes, the supposed convenience of the electronic versions may work out to be not quite so convenient in the end.

Best,
DeVern

D-Air Smart Jackett

After considerable research, I purchased the Dainese Smart Jacket: https://www.dainese.com/us/en/motor...et-201D20039.html?dwvar_201D20039_color=BLACK .
I do not think one can go wrong with the Klim or Alpinestar vests/jackets, either. But, the tethered products are completely out-dated.

Klim: https://www.klim.com/Ai-1-Airbag-Vest-3046-000?cur=USD .
Alpinestars: https://www.alpinestars.com/products/tech-air-5-system .

Deployment

LOL, I am not too worried about the ease of repacking after deployment unless of course it is an unintentional deployment. Sadly at two of my accidents, EMT people turned jackets, riding pants boots and other articles of clothing into a jigsaw. I expect most likely in an accident with an air vest the same might happen? I guess it would depend on the accident and the condition I would be in. St.

The expense of destroyed gear from an actual accident is one thing, a $400 recharge and 4 month wait for dropping the bike at a dead stop in a parking lot is quite another…

Best,
DeVern

craydds said:

After considerable research, I purchased the Dainese Smart Jacket: https://www.dainese.com/us/en/motor...et-201D20039.html?dwvar_201D20039_color=BLACK .
I do not think one can go wrong with the Klim or Alpinestar vests/jackets, either. But, the tethered products are completely out-dated.

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Sometimes simple is better. I like my tethered vest. It meets all the same standards as the electronics one with nothing electronic to fail. As long as I wear it and plug it in it will go off in a get off.

tsconver said:

Sometimes simple is better.

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Kinda like my old airheads. Reliable as a sledgehammer.

Recently rec’d an e-mail from Helite stating that I can pre-order the tetherless version of the vest. My plan is to get one in spring.

GTRider said:

The expense of destroyed gear from an actual accident is one thing, a $400 recharge and 4 month wait for dropping the bike at a dead stop in a parking lot is quite another…

Best,
DeVern

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Four years ago I had parking lot dead stop tip over and it did not activate the Helite.

Also I have neglected to detach the Helite tether and in dismounting and attempting to walk away, the stress on the vest was fortunately not great enough to deploy it.

Apparently a significant force is required for a Helite to work, which I think is a good thing, especially after the above experience.

Added a bit to the title for clarity.
OM

The air bag technology that is out there I highly recommend. I did not post the after action review from my deer strike in the forums, simply because I had about 40 photos, and it was just easier to post on the Facebook page.

The Air bag vest (Helite I) definitely saved my life or prevented me from sustaining incapacitating wounds. Since the incident Rhonda has purchased the Air Bag jacket from Helite. She tried it on at the rally and was able to get the right size.

As a result of increased sales through word of mouth, I think it’s a safe bet that Helite will be at the rallies in the future with seminars and sales. You would be able to get the right fit there.

The tethered vests are the way to go IMHO as I won't pay a penny for a subscription in order to use a $800 piece of equipment I paid for. What if you forgot to pay?
Does the vest not work when you have an accident???

Tethered

I am not too concerned about the tethered systems, I am so used to unplugging my heated gear in the winter, I think I could do the same with a tether.

Thanks so far for the feedback and stories. I need to loose a few pounds I have gained by sitting around healing from my accident before I commit to sizing and purchasing a jacket. I will say, Helite has reached out and told me if I give them my specs, they will fit something for me.

I love the light gray touring jacket, they sell but their 4X didn't fit. They have bigger sizes in the black version but I am not much for black riding gear. St.