Alpinestars Tech-Air 5 Plasma Airbag System

I am extremely impressed by this airbag vest. It is exactly as described and is so simple to use. It is comfortable to wear and gives me a great sense of confidence.

I am not an off the rack person I am 5feet 10 inches tall and weigh 220 yes I like to eat after much research and chatting with Max Van I purchased a Tech Air 5 Plasma vest . When it arrived I tried it on and it fits very well and my chest is 44 1/2 inches and my waist is 46 inches so if you are built like me a size XXL will fit nicely where I live it’s cold now so it will be a while till I can say how well the vest works riding

DESIGN FLAW & FIX Back Story: For my first Off-Road use, I wore my TA5P in Off-Road Mode while riding my 400 lbs G310GS on the WV Hatfield-McCoy Trail System (HMTS) with six friends riding their sub-300 lbs dirt bikes. I characterize the HMTS as Green routes = easy fun; Blue routes = harder than any of the 9 BDR and TAT trails I've ridden; and Black routes = OMG I need buy a dirt bike for next time I do this. For upper body protection, I was wearing my TA5P with a Mosko Moto Jersey and Mosko Moto Elbow Guards because the TA5P is too hot for me if I also have to wear armor over the TA5P protected areas. During a slippery rocky ascent, the rider in front of me went down and I made the mistake of stopping on the ascent to help rather than completing the ascent and walking back down. I compounded that mistake with the mistake of stopping at a spot where it was awkward to get my side-stand down and dismount. As a result, I fell backward down-slope and landed hard on my back. The TA5P deployed before I hit the ground. It was a valid deployment; the TA5P had no way of knowing how far I was going to fall, what I was going to hit along the way, or what I would hit at the bottom. I have a long history wearing a Hit-Air Vest, so I know to always carry at least one replacement inflator; more on long trips. However, this was first time I replaced my TA5P's inflator; that was another mistake. I should have practiced changing my inflator so I knew what to expect. As it was, I was learning to change the inflator while also trying to diagnose a problem with my TA5P. After I installed a new inflator, my TA5P's System Status LED remained Red (it should have turned Blue). Initially, I thought it was because the red arrows on the new inflator didn't quite line up with the red arrow on my TA5P's black box, so I tried a second new inflator whose arrows did line up; that didn't work either. Side lesson: The red arrows won't necessarily line up and they don't need to; just make sure you get the inflator fully screwed in. With my TA5P System Status LED still Red, I reported my problem to Alpinestars via their Help Center (link below); I did this at 5:27 PM Sunday, 9/21/25. One minute later, I received an email reply wherein the Alpinestars AI correctly summarized my problem and said a technician or support agent would contact me as soon as possible. The next day at 1:48 PM Monday, 9/22/25, I received an email with the following instructions: Please attempt the below to verify the canister connection is intact: -Unzip the back of your vest to expose the back plate -Undo the velcro and open the back plate of your vest -Remove the two torque (T-20 Torx) screws that hold the plate that covers the battery -Please find the green and yellow wire that goes from the bottom of the control unit to the canister -Verify that this connection is intact and no wires are pulled out of the connection -If the wires are intact but the connection is removed from the control unit, please insert the connection back in with the green and yellow wires on the side closest to the battery connection (Note: Other than adding the "(T-20 Torx)" parenthetical, I have quoted this verbatim.) When I followed these instructions, I found the two-wire connector that connects the green and yellow wires to control unit completely pulled out from the control unit; the green and yellow wire connector was loose inside the black box. I plugged that connector back in and tested how easy it was to pull out; it was very easy to pull out. When I plugged that connector back in; closed everything up, and tested my TA5P, the System Status LED was now Blue showing the system was active and ready for use. Yesterday, I wore my TA5P for a three-hour on-road ride and a two-hour off-road ride and it worked as expected (no crashes; no deployments). Here's what I told Alpinestars: "That worked; thank you. The green and yellow wire that goes from the bottom of the control unit to the canister was completely disconnected from the control unit. You do realize that this is a design flaw, right? Almost certainly, I accidentally disconnected those wires from the control unit when I disconnected the expended cannister. Within the context of a safety system, that type of failure should not be possible; and if it is possible, it should not be hidden behind a screwed down plate. Please fix this. Two obvious options are (1) You should secure that wire with an anchor point between the cannister and the connection; and/or you should change the plate that covers the battery to be see-through so such an obvious disconnection would be immediately visible during a simple inspection." Alpinestars replied saying "We are happy to hear that this fixed your issues with your vest. We appreciate your feedback, and I will pass it along to our design team." Final Note: If you don't already carry a T-20 Torx wrench or bit, I recommend that you add on to your tools or carry one with your replacement inflator.

I just returned from a 1,500 mile moto tour wearing this vest. It is super comfortable, and the battery life is excellent. I hardly notice the vest while riding, and it even vents heat decently in warmer conditions. I hope I never need it to deploy, but it's a great piece of protective gear.

For reference I’m 5’11” 180lbs with a 40in chest and the large fits well. I went with this because I wanted something I can use on track and street. It’s very comfortable and I never really notice it under my jacket or race suit. I have deployed it once on track and it did its job well. Went off well before I hit the track on my low side crash. Only ended up with a few bruises so it could have been much worse. Replacing the canister is very easy as well which is another nice feature so you don’t have to send it in to repack.

Lost the front under heavy braking on a mini-moto track that was being run in reverse (inadequate runoff), hit the ground hard shoulder/back first and impacted the tire wall. My airbag deployed and the only fractures I sustained were on the 4th and 5th ribs in the unprotected area below/behind the armpit. I'll never know if I would have experienced more breaks and damage without this vest, but my back is miraculously undamaged considering how bad the rest of my body faired with bumps/bruises.

It is in fact more comfortable than the old one

The airflow in this is amazing. While riding I don’t even notice it’s there. Paired up with the Rideknit 4 jacket the airflow through the upper body is the best I've experienced, highly recommend. I don’t have any of the complaints I've heard from others with different airbag vests. It’s lightweight, lets air in, and isn't constrictive at all

Wow, what a difference this Tech Air 5 Plasma makes. I can actually get my 1 pc. on and off without any help! This is much more comfortable than the previous version. The flow is about as much as you could hope for in an airbag vest, it's not bad at all. The old version basically has zero air flow. I'm 6' 200lbs, the XL fits perfectly. Would definitely recommend.