I wear a Leatt STX-RR and don't really notice it except when I'm looking far over my shoulder & up, but even then it isn't intrusive. I know at Jennings I only feel it in T13, VIR North in T1 looking at T3, and that's about it for all the tracks I've ridden with it on. It's a good safety blanket.
are there any vests that offer good shoulder protection, or would I need to look at full suits for that
Just wanted to bump this thread and post a crash report on my track Hit-Air vest. I had a pretty legit highside (by my standards) last weekend: [youtube]bUkElLmzi1w[/youtube] In that super-slow mo bit, you can see from my shadow that the airbag was inflated almost immediately after I came off of the bike. I slammed against the ground and hit my helmet against it a bit, but mostly just slid (then was hit by my sliding bike) and came to a stop. I was in good enough shape that I was able to pick up my bike and move it off of the track. All that resulted was some stiffness in all of my joints and neck for the next few days. Looking at the video, and how my helmet hit the ground, I don't think it's a stretch to say that the vest saved me from a really solid hit against the concrete, and thus possibly a concussion. Due to sliding directly on the vest, some seams came apart and unfortunately the bag itself ripped at one of the corners, but I'll definitely be getting another one to replace it after seeing how quickly it went into action, and I'd rather not know how I fared without one. As you can see from my helmet, it did make contact with the ground, snapping off the aero vent and scuffing a bit, but for getting kicked off of my bike and landing on my back I think it's as minimal damage as you could hope for:
Called the dude at Motoairarmor after looking at his website, gave me a great deal, he has all the Hit Air Jackets and Vest 972.922.3379 his wife sells the horse vest too, she hooked my gf up with one. Great deals, highly recommend
My buddies and I were all talking about the vests this past weekend at ACC. Seemed like we were all in agreement about getting them next season. Great report Knolly and, by your video, I think you're right about being spared a large smack to the back of the head.
Thanks for the great writeup Knolly. Maybe they are offering some "winter discounts". Sent from Tapatalk
Looks like a bunch of intrest in these how many of you guys in the Michigan area? Maybe try put togther a group buy on them. I'm sold save one helmet no less a ER trip would pay for it instantly
I have the race vest and the fit and cord placement doesn't hinder any tucking or movement on the bike. Unfortunately I tested it out in a lowside last year at year at Barber. Deployed in milliseconds and I was pretty much unscathed up top but had a minor ankle sprain due to getting caught up In the bike a bit. I believe they are well worth the investment.
Today I picked up an air vest since they were on sale. I got the RS-1 race version, a little different than the normal version. http://www.pure-asc.com/shop/moto-gear Coupon code XMAS2014 works until end of the day new years eve. It would seem that these would be best at protecting the neck, but not help much for shoulders or ribs. Of course the neck is a good thing to protect but I don't see myself wearing an MX style neck protector at the track.
I just orderd the rs-1 from him as well. Pretty sure it protects the upper body just not lower/tail bone like the light vest. The guy from hit-air said the spidi neck uses the hit air bags
My last crash I broke my collarbone in 4 places and broke 7 ribs, so I kinda feel the need to protect more than the neck. Of course, 6 weeks of pain is substantially more desirable than a lifetime of paralysis. Ideally, I would like to bounce around in the middle of a 12 foot beach ball after a crash, lol.
My thought on the rs1 hot air bag vest. If you're filling a suit bigger than a 46 it's not going to fit. My a* suit is race fit right with my Knox back and chest protector and the vest is tight with the adjustment all the way out. The blue matches awsome. I can't put it on by myself can't get arm in and it doesn't slide on the suit sleeves. Rear key box out of sight out of mind shouldn't hinder any movement. Looks well built and should be great protection if needed.
The guy that runs Safermoto was kind enough to send me this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9_cJRF93Eo&feature=youtu.be&noredirect=1 I do a bit of a variation of it, but same basic idea to get the vest on by myself.