Like helmets and other safety gear for review, unless the reviewer is unusually intrepid, the subject item and its features can only be discussed obliquely. This review of the new Dainese Smart Air motorcycle airbag vest is such an item. Spoiler alert: I did not crash whilst wearing the said item, but that does not mean I cannot or do not appreciate its value.
The Smart Air chest and back airbag vest follows the Dainese Smart Jacket and has a few new features that make it especially compelling for those riders considering airbag protection.
A versatile piece of protective gear, I can wear the Dainese Smart Air Jacket under or over jackets. Zippered gussets on the back rib areas open about 1.5 inches on each side to allow enlargement for fitting over jackets.
Airbag manufacturers recommend a wearer has a couple of inches of room within the jacket to accommodate inflation. On a cold day when I have installed my jacket’s liner, there is inadequate room for the vest. So, I unzipped the Smart Air’s gussets and wore it over the leather jacket.
This vest is CE Level 2 certified for chest and back. The previous Smart Jacket only had an inflatable bladder in the back and not a hard back-protector. The Smart Air also includes a firm traditional-style back protector, as you might find in a race suit, as part of the garment.
This vest allows three activations before a new gas generator is required, which can be installed by the end user. Their earlier Smart Jacket only allowed one activation then had to have the gas generator replaced by authorized personnel. This is quite a step in the right direction, although I wonder about the kind of rider who will need three activations, other than off-road adventurers.
The D-air Road Shield inflator cartridge contains argon and helium gases, plus a pyrotechnic charge. Dainese tells me it can be transported via airplane after notifying the airline.
When I first received the vest, I downloaded the Dainese D-air app from Apple’s App Store for my iPhone 14 Max. There is an app available for Android, as well. I completed the simple registration (name, email, password, telephone number, etc.), and the app recognized my vest.
The app immediately led me to a firmware update. This process took about one minute. I was then asked by the D-air app about my riding mode choices. I was offered Racing, Adventure Touring, Sport, Road Touring, Heritage, Commuting, Enduro/Trials, and MX. You can choose multiple modes, so I selected Sport, Road Touring, and Commuting.
Out of the box, the battery had just a five percent charge. To remedy that, I plugged in a USB-C cable (cable and charging block not included) in the back through a slot accessed by pulling apart a two-inch-wide hook-and-look closure. Finding the Dainese Smart Air vest’s charging port will be easier if you have good lighting—it’s in there.
Once charged, I connected the activation tab across the top of the zipper, which connects with a snap closure. I like that Dainese has another snap closure on a red ribbon that, when snapped, prevents the arming snap from making contact. I prefer this snap activator, with its secondary snap preventing accidental activation.
Once activated, I received a steady stream of beeps from the Dainese Smart Air vest. This did not seem normal, so I did something most technical people hate doing—I read the manual.
The manual advises that the Smart Air vest is shipped without the connection to the gas generator in place—a safety feature. This is what triggered the beeping warning.
The solution requires unzipping around the perimeter to expose the hardware and slide open the gas generator’s plastic cover. Sure enough, there was another plastic cover over the bottom end of the gas generator with a loose wire next to it.
The instructions directed me to break off the little protective shipping cover and press in the wire connector. Next, I pushed the gas generator cover back into place, tidied up the components, and rezipped the perimeter zipper. This took five minutes.
The Dainese Smart Air vest is shipped with a thick manual in many languages and printed in a tiny font. While I was able to harvest the information I needed to activate the vest, I wish Dainese would produce a quick start guide.
Now I’m in business, and can put the vest on so my chest and back are protected. I’m a US 48, so the XL/XXL fits me nicely. That’s the largest size available, though XS/S (US 32/36) and M/L (US 38/44) are there for smaller riders.
As it’s a vest, my shoulders and arms rely on traditional body armor. The Dainese Smart Air vest is Level 2 certified, and the rechargeable lithium-ion polymer battery is rated for 12 hours of use. Also, the vest’s outer chest pocket can be used for a driver’s license, credit card, or registration.
According to the Smart Air vest’s manual, the armed system is ready to trigger in the presence of vehicle vibrations or speeds exceeding six mph. The events that will trigger activation are “crash against an obstacle, crash by a vehicle, high-side, low-side with tumbling, and low-side without tumbling.” Other riding modes set within the app have different trigger algorithms.
The unit has been programmed and tested to trigger during high-side and low-side crashes. According to Dainese, It should not trigger during “small wheelies or small steering wobbles,” though “particularly violent episodes could cause the system to trigger.” In the event of a low-side, the system becomes protective within two-tenths of a second after first contact with the ground.
One of the drawbacks of airbag vests I’ve experienced, especially during hot weather, is heat build-up due to limited ventilation. This test is being conducted in the winter, so I can’t comment on this other than that Dainese has built this vest with thin and perforated polyester. I will update this paragraph when the Southern California summer arrives.
Should you get sweaty in the Dainese Smart Air vest, keep the Febreze handy—the manual says the vest cannot be washed or dry-cleaned.
A product such as the Dainese Smart Air vest is something you always want to wear, yet never want to use. Fortunately, I haven’t yet tested the protective qualities of an airbag, and I hope to keep that record unblemished. However, the Dainese Smart Air vest allows me the flexibility to wear the protection over or under a jacket, and with many different jackets. With a list price of $690, I appreciate getting as much use out of the Dainese Smart Air vest, without actually using it.
