Review of Alpinestars tech-air vest and jacket
[What]
Tech-air is alpinestars' airbag system that does not require tethers or gps signal. It's a self contained ECU + sensors in the vest + 2 canisters that will deploy to fill the air bag. The ECU and canisters are housed in a CE level 2 back protector. You will need the vest, plus a compatible jacket/suit. More info here:
Tech-Air? Street Airbag System | Alpinestars I've also uploaded the manual
here.
[Where to get them]
For vest, Motostorm is the only site that ships the tech-air vest, this info was shared by
@NOLA in the other thread.
https://www.motostorm.it/en/search.html?q=tech-air&marca=ALPINESTARS
The jacket and suit can be obtained from your favorite site. From what I've found, motostorm is the cheapest for the jacket (v2), and fcmoto/bikerland.de for the one piece suit (v2). Prices change often so keep checking.
[Options]
The v2 jacket and v2 one piece looks the same, but the jacket is m00 whereas the one piece is r00.
I don't see any point in getting the textile jackets for tech-air, so no comments there
For the vest, there are two versions, the race and the street version. It seems better to get the race and not the street version because only the race firmware can be flashed to run either the race algorithm or the street algorithm.
In race mode, the race vest deploys one canister at once and is slower - but the rider can jump back on and still be protected by the second canister. In street mode the race vest deploys both canisters at once and is faster, deployment detection is also different (e.g. getting hit from behind while waiting at the light - this will never happen on the track). One site I found says that the street vest is a bit more protective and covers more of the upper body, but I have not been able to find the exact difference in coverage. The pdf manual that I posted doesn't describe this either.
[Misc questions]
Do I really need a compatible jacket/suit? Short answer, yes. Long answer, not really, but it makes no sense to use other jackets/suits (see below).
Technically, the connection of the vest to the jacket is all physical (5 velcros, 2 zippers) except the led status indicator on the left forearm. That's easy to rig up so that's not a problem. The real problem is that normal jackets/suits will not have the expansion panels at the right places for the air bag to deploy properly/safely. Check out the youtube videos showing the deployments, notice that the suits are a tight fit, but then the air bag deploys properly due to the stretch panels. Eg
So, if you can get custom made jackets/suits that have the proper expansion panels, there is no reason why you can't use those instead. But, I think it would make no sense cost and hassle-wise to go that route. And how would you know that the expansion panels are proper? Alpinestars have tested theirs (extensively, I suppose). How are you going to test yours
Are there other jacket/brand choices for the vest? Short answer, no. Long answer:
When searching I've found that BMW has a version too, called the street air, that alpinestars makes for them.
Der StreetAir Anzug von BMW Motorrad. Mehr Schutz in Millisekunden. So it's less about the marketing brand, but whether the suit/jacket is compatible.
Size? I usually wear a 38. When I got the 38 jacket I tried it on without the vest, and it was tight already. Then I added the vest, and it was even tighter, but not to the point of being uncomfy. On the bike, I feel much better, so I think the jacket is just a more aggressive/race-fit than the other jackets I have. So, I'd agree with
@NOLA that you should pick the same size as before. But if you want a more relaxed fit, maybe go up a size.