Regardless of the type of motorcycle or any other two-wheeled vehicle you ride, your body and health are in jeopardy when you travel. Especially when you share the road with cars, trucks, and other motorized vehicles, personal protection is a factor, whether or not your state or municipality mandate helmets or any other gear. To help keep you safer, Dainese recently launched the Smart Jacket, a new technology airbag vest.
Dainese has been developing airbag garments for 25-plus years and currently has a line of D-Air racing tracksuits and jackets and touring jackets. The new Smart Jacket builds on the same D-Air technology used by MotoGP racers and adds a new feature: Stationary impact protection. Stationary impact protection isn’t necessary on racetracks but offers significant additional protection to non-track riders.
“Smart Jacket is the result of more than 25 years of research on the D-air system, and combines in a single, intelligent, versatile, now available-for-everyone garment the ultimate in airbag technology for motorbikes, the same used by MotoGP professional riders” Dainese Group CEO Cristiano Silei said in a release.
The Smart Jacket vest is made to be worn under or over any jacket. Dainese D-air garments do not connect directly to motorcycle and are entirely independent functional systems. The vest’s electronics include GPS, accelerometer, and gyroscope sensors, seven in all, powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery for up to 26 hours per charge. The D-Air system uses an algorithm that reads the connected sensors 1,000 times a second. If the vest’s processor senses danger, it immediately activates and inflates the airbag, the Shield. If the Shield is activated, an authorized dealer can install a replacement in the same garment.
The Smart Jacket vest’s Shield is the garment’s protective core. The Shield’s microfilament structure is designed to inflate uniformly with the same protection in all parts of the airbag. D-Air technology is the only certified motorcycle airbag protection without hardshell protection on the torso or back. The D-Air system’s back protection, for example, is rated the equivalent of seven Class 1 armor back protectors.
The new stationary impact protection, the first for any motorcycle airbag system according to Dainese, activate the Shield in the event of a collision with a stationary vehicle at an intersection. If you’ve ridden bikes, ebikes, or motorcycles on city streets, you likely know that four-wheeled vehicle drivers often don’t even notice cyclists.
The Smart Jacket vest is made of abrasion and water-resistant material and is ventilated for air circulation so you can wear it in comfort in the summer. Dainese, like other protective motorcycle clothing companies, knows that if clothing is too hot people won’t wear it and if clothing riders don’t wear can’t protect them. The vest is also foldable for storage in a backpack, top box, or bag.
The Dainese Smart Jacket vest will retail for $699 in women’s and men’s versions in six sizes each in July.
