Hit Air Motorrad 2 Touring Grey Mesh Airbag Jacket Review

[maximNikenGT]

Unboxing of a new Hit Air Motorrad 2 Touring Grey Mesh airbag jacket (size = XL) from Hit Air Moto in the USA. Needed to replace an old Dainese GTR jacket I've had from the early 90s with something cooler ( temperature wise) for summer riding. Facts at a glance:

• Weight of XL jacket including tether = 5.4 pounds / 2.45 kg
• Retail cost at time of publishing $825 USD / 753 €
• For a male rider 6' / 183cm tall and 190 lbs / 86 kg, fit is a little big, but if one is planning on  wearing  thicker  under layers / heated vest  or planning to use a separate chest and back protector, then this size is perfect. 
• Jacket Construction lists Hexa Powertector elbow and shoulder armor, Samtex DynaForce, outer shell is 100% polyester and 100% nylon with inner shell of 100% polyester. Airbag bladder tubing is 100% polyurethane. 

Edited September 16, 2023 by maximNikenGT
Updated with Jacket sizing = XL

[maximNikenGT]

Additional notes:

• Lots of fastening redundancy.  Pocket use  of fold over flaps, with hook and loop fasteners as well as button  snaps ensures nothing comes out of your pockets at any speeds. Front of jacket has same fastening redundancy in terms of zipper, 4 hook and loop fastener strips and 4 button snaps. 
• 5 exterior pockets: 4 in the front and one on the  right  sleeve, and one interior pocket. 
• Sleeves also have cuff zippers to allow expansion for thick cuffs or big watch. 

Vent zips are located:

• Along both sleeve forearms 
• Front arm pit zips
• Rear arm pit zips

Reflective material:

• 6 total Luminescent piping located per arm (4 on the shoulder and 2 along the upper collar bone) for a total of 12
• Shoulder Hit Air logo is very raised  lettering with reflective base
• Shoulders and upper back along collar bones use luminescent Lumidex material (e.g. where just the dots reflect)
• Center of the upper back has both reflective rhombus patch in addition to Lumidex borders
• Lumidex used in edges of hand pockets near the hips

Unusual features:

• 3 position snap cinching straps under the sleeve bicep area. Presumably this is to keep the fabric from flapping against my massive guns...💪💪💪
• Pocket with clear front. I'm assuming this is used to display badge or other identifying documentation. I use it for my Travelpass / toll booth sensor. Have heard some folks use it to hold emergency identification / signaling radio.
• Hit Air shoulder logos are very pronounced and stick out quite a bit 5mm / (1/5 inch). Not sure why this is so pronounced and the material itself is like hard rubber but slick (I'm assuming this is designed to help one slide in the event of a fall by not catching on road irregularities, otherwise it's a very noticeable jacket logo detail that I've not seen before on motorcycle protective gear). 
• First time hearing about Hexa Powertector or Samtek's DynaForce materials.  Both Hexa and Samtek appear to be based out of South Korea and have been making materials for at least 20-30 years. I believe DynaForce is used in Red Wing work boots but that's all I know about it. Anyone know more about these two manufacturers and their products?

Edited September 16, 2023 by maximNikenGT
Updated spelling

[maximNikenGT]

I took out the elbow and shoulder armor to get a closer look at whether the jacket allows fine tuning of armor placement ( it did not).  The jacket does have hook and loop fasteners to attach a separate chest and back protector (sold separately).

What was unusual is that the back has a thin foam layer between the inner liner and the exterior. Am assuming this is more for comfort and breathability than providing additional protection in the event of a fall.

Shoulder and elbow pads are Powertector while back seems to be some kind of foam. Powertector armor is a hard shell outside with foam inner. Flexible at the joints and hopefully  hard enough to reduce / deflect damage in the event of a fall. 

I unzipped the bottom edge of the jacket to see what at inside and found the airbag system nestled inside. 
 

Edited May 11, 2023 by maximNikenGT
Updated details on back foam layer

[maximNikenGT]

Tried to look up who makes Lumidex and it's a company out of South Korea named Texland Nexko : 

http://texland-nexko.com/lumidex/

Apparently lumidex retains its reflective capabilities in spite of repeated washings and had high abrasion resistance. 

[Heli ATP]

Seems like good quality, some reviews.....

 

[2and3cylinders]

Interesting but with a walk-in cedar closet half filled with expensive jacket and pant suits (and the other half filled with inexpensive and moderately priced jackets and pants, helmets, gloves, boots and all other manner of other necessary riding gear, my next air vest (and maybe pants) with be cordless.

My first choice would be the Helite E-Turtle over the others.

BTW, bicep cinch (and forearm) straps are to help keep your armor in place in case of a mishap.

It sucks that at price they didn't include a back protector.  FYI whereas I see "CE" on the armor, there is a HUGE difference often between a maker saying their armor "meets" the various types of CE ratings  and actually being registered as being tested and certified as passed.

An airbag is just one protective arrow in a ATGATT motorcyclist's quiver.  Rider as well as bike conspicuity is a major safety enhancer; i.e., added bike position lights and a headlight modulator (which I run on all my bikes), a "SeeMe" reflective and/or electroluminescent vest, under gear CE2 armored shirts with integrated chest trauma plate, elbow, shoulder and back protector, slip-on knee protection, helmet brake light, reflective appliques on the bike and helmets, drop-down sun visors, hard glove palm sliders, etc..   One helmet, jacket, pair of pants, gloves and boots can't cover all riding scenarios and environments.  That's why I accumulated enough gear for a dedicated closet over the last 50 years. Also, as gear ages and wears it must be restored or replaced as technology improves.  However, an old racing leather suit that has been well cared for and its armor updated can still offer amazing comfort and modern protection.

 

 

[maximNikenGT]

True test will be how comfortable the mesh jacket is under hotter ambient temperatures e.g, >90 degrees F / 32 degrees C. 

[maximNikenGT]

After letting the Scotchgard spray dry on the jacket I took a test run of the new jacket out on the road tonight at about 10PM. Ambient temperatures was 78-80 degrees F / 26-27 degrees C.

The gray mesh itself almost looks reflective in the daylight but is clearly not when compared to the luminescent shoulders and Lumidex reflective dots at night.

Motorrad 2 mesh jacket is cooler wearing at speed (with all zips opened) than my Aerostich RC3 Lite one piece suit (with pit, thigh, and back zips open). Air flows more noticeably into the arm vents and the front pit vents in addition to feeling wind through the jacket's mesh construction. For me the jacket would probably be too cold to wear with all vent zips open at highway speeds with ambient temperatures below 68 degrees F (I tend to get cold easily). 

Key things that I missed in comparison to my Aerostich:

1. I did miss the magnetic collar that the Aerostich has to keep the mandarin style collar strap open to allow additional cooling through the neck area. 

2. Also missed the Aerostich mini carabiner to secure my keys when off bike. Not a huge deal with all of the Motorrad 2's pockets but very used to the mini carabiner. 

Will see how well the jacket performs as temperatures continue to climb here in the South. 

[2and3cylinders]

The pic above is me in about 1998 or 99 in my 2 PC custom tailored Stitch which I bought in 88 and they now call the Classic but of course have improved it tremendously.  I still have it and on occasion try to squeeze into for a ride but cool it's not. It's maybe good up to 80 to 85°F.  I'm wearing over the jacket an original Super SeeMe vest then made here in Chicago where I used it when I commuted down to the Loop.  Under my arm is a Shoei RF200 and in my hand is a pair of Teknic Carbon Kevlar racing gloves.  I still also have the helmet, which I bought to match my fastest red 98 VTR1000F Superhawk, the vest AND the gloves!  The VTR is all original except for clip-ons, saddle, pipes and such, and it has 111,000+ miles on the "unopened" engine and he  started right up from its winter slumber yesterday.  I bought a matching 98 recently to keep him company but that'll go up for sale after I install a mosfet VRR I wired up, along with an 01 HD XL1200S Sporty; it itself being a fairly rare bird that truly lived up to its name back in the day.

I've been an ATGATT pilot since 73 when I raced 2 smokes up and down CA.

[maximNikenGT]

This is only my third dedicated motorcycle jacket in almost thirty years of riding...😱

[2and3cylinders]

1 minute ago, maximNikenGT said:

This is only my third dedicated motorcycle jacket in almost thirty years of riding...😱

That's why you bought a new one cause you're growing

Out not up

I found that out when I was your age and that's when I had to rotate my wardrobe

I found that out when I was your age and that's when I had to add to my wardrobe. I've saved it all  because you Always dream about fitting back into it.

If I can't i'm gonna have a fire sale.  Just can't decide if it'll be figurative or literal.

[maximNikenGT]

 Didn't  know  that the bicep straps is for preventing elbow armor from moving in the event of impact/slide.

At first I thought you meant the strap was to physically prevent the armor from moving up within its interior sleeve in the event of a slide, but upon closer review of placement of the strap on the inner bicep, I believe the strap does help keep the elbow armor in place by preventing the sleeve itself from bunching upwards towards the shoulder during a fall.  

I incorrectly assumed  the straps were physically constraining the armor movement within the sleeve. 

Good to know.   

Edited May 11, 2023 by maximNikenGT
Updated with photos

[2and3cylinders]

Do you have room to double the armor

2-CE1 pieces layered and taped together Or adding a Termperfoam layer taped to the existing armor 

Tightening up the fit in the sleeve And adding comfort will keep the armor from shifting too.

[maximNikenGT]

The shoulder and elbow armor is CE A rated according to documentation. 

https://www.hit-air.com/en/motorcycle/lineup/jacket_vest/jacket_vest_type04/motorrad-2.html

Oddly the Hit Air vests have CE rating but the Motorrad 2 jacket itself does not. 

https://www.hit-air.com/en/motorcycle/lineup/all-in-one_harness/all-in-one_harness_type01/mlv-c.html

 

Edited May 11, 2023 by maximNikenGT
Added images

[maximNikenGT]

On 5/11/2023 at 12:35 PM, 2and3cylinders said:

Do you have room to double the armor

2-CE1 pieces layered and taped together Or adding a Termperfoam layer taped to the existing armor 

Tightening up the fit in the sleeve And adding comfort will keep the armor from shifting too.

Good suggestion if the fit was too loose but the fit itself is fine for me without too much bulk. 
 

The internal sleeves are cut to fit the Powertector armor snugly otherwise I might have swapped in my thicker and larger Aerostich TF-6 armor.

 

Not trying to approximate Ursus Mark VI bear fighting level armor. 😀
https://www.vice.com/en/article/evk38w/the-man-who-built-a-suit-to-fight-bears-showed-us-how-we-should-live