sunshine Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Is there a legitimate reason why the Helite vests are $300 more than the Hit Air vests they used to be a distributor for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlxr Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Make sure you are comparing comparable vests. I looked on Hit Air website, they make several different models with different prices. I think the price difference was closer to $150. In addition, Hit Air charges extra for additional padding, which will narrow the price gap. Someone would have to compare them side by side to really tell the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshine Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Make sure you are comparing comparable vests. I looked on Hit Air website, they make several different models with different prices. I think the price difference was closer to $150. In addition, Hit Air charges extra for additional padding, which will narrow the price gap. Someone would have to compare them side by side to really tell the difference.Oh, I see. Yeah, that's almost legitimate. I wonder if the full back airbag on the Helite is really necessary. I can't think of a situation where you might fall flat on your back in such a way that the extra cushion in your lumbar region would make much of a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlxr Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Your spine and brain are the too most important things to protect. Virtually all protective gear starts with helmet and spine protection. For me, 60 years old, nearly 40 years of riding, uncountable dirt bike crashes, a few street bike wrecks, I've tried lots of different protective gear over the years. I went to a dealer just to try the air vest, and when he pulled the cord to inflate it, I bought it on the spot. I have no idea which vest is better, but go to a dealer who has one and decide for yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshine Posted November 5, 2016 Share Posted November 5, 2016 Your spine and brain are the too most important things to protect. Virtually all protective gear starts with helmet and spine protection. For me, 60 years old, nearly 40 years of riding, uncountable dirt bike crashes, a few street bike wrecks, I've tried lots of different protective gear over the years. I went to a dealer just to try the air vest, and when he pulled the cord to inflate it, I bought it on the spot. I have no idea which vest is better, but go to a dealer who has one and decide for yourself.I would really like to try one on before I bought it, just so I can know what size to get to fit over my jacket but none of the dealers around here stock them at all. I'm already sold on the idea of the vest for the exact reasons you mentioned (I'd also like to be 60 and still riding street bikes one day!), I'm just reluctant to play the shipping/restocking game to the get the right size. I'm a bigger dude, (6'5" 260ish) so I want to make sure there's enough bag on my body to protect the good bits should the vest actually deploy (knock on wood). Which vest did you get from a dealer? Maybe I can find a close-ish dealer on the manufacturer's website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlxr Posted November 5, 2016 Share Posted November 5, 2016 I am 6' 3", 250 lbs without riding gear. Being a old dirt biker, I have been wearing dirt bike chest/back/shoulder/arm/elbow protector for decades. I bought a leather riding jacket large enough to wear over the dirt bike chest protector. I bought the largest vest they make because it fits over my chest protector and leather jacket. There is significant adjustment with the velcro/buckle straps, and the vest is not supposed to fit tightly because it needs room to expand when it inflates. Best I can tell you is go by the size recommendations on their website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshine Posted November 5, 2016 Share Posted November 5, 2016 I am 6' 3", 250 lbs without riding gear. Being a old dirt biker, I have been wearing dirt bike chest/back/shoulder/arm/elbow protector for decades. I bought a leather riding jacket large enough to wear over the dirt bike chest protector. I bought the largest vest they make because it fits over my chest protector and leather jacket. There is significant adjustment with the velcro/buckle straps, and the vest is not supposed to fit tightly because it needs room to expand when it inflates. Best I can tell you is go by the size recommendations on their website.Did you get a helite or air hit vest? They have different size charts apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlxr Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 I got the Helite, I did not know anything about the Air Hit vest at the time, so I did not make any effort to compare them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakota Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 After reading through this thread and watching some videos I have decided to give the helite leather jacket a try. I wanted a jacket to pair with my Rokker jeans for short jaunts when the Aerostich is just too much to deal with. Will update once I have a chance to try it out. Hopefully will never have to really test it however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakota Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 My leather Helite jacket arrived today. It appears to be a quality piece of kit. Will defer pictures and review until I have a chance to get some miles in it, but I am impressed so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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