After more than a decade of development, Alpinestars has brought its Tech-Air airbag technology to motocross and off-road riding with the Tech-Air MX System. Using an ECU with three accelerometers and three gyroscopes alongside AI-powered crash detection, the system is designed to recognise a crash and inflate the airbag in around 40 milliseconds, providing coverage across the shoulders, chest and back. Alpinestars claims it delivers more than four times the impact protection of passive armour when deployed, while integrated CE Level 1 chest protection and a Nucleon PLASMA Level 1 back protector provide passive protection underneath.
Where things get really clever is the choice of MX, MX RACE, ENDURO and RALLY riding modes, allowing the detection strategy to be tailored to the type of riding you’re doing. The self-contained system requires no external sensors or GPS, can be worn over or underneath riding gear, connects to the Tech-Air App via Bluetooth and offers up to 30 hours of battery life. The single inflator is replaceable where permitted, while the system is certified for up to six deployments provided it remains undamaged. At a little over 3.1kg, there’s plenty of technology strapped to your torso, but considering it’s effectively waiting to throw an airbag around you when things go pear-shaped, that’s some seriously interesting off-road safety tech.
RRP: $999.99
Website: alpinestarsmx.com.au
