New Klim Airbag Vest for $400 +$399 or $12/month for it to work | GTAMotorcycle.com

New Klim Airbag Vest for $400 +$399 or $12/month for it to work

FullMotoJacket

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All set up for a big fat lawsuit. I've seen dumb before.... And it looks just like that!
 
Daniese air bag vest doesn’t need subscription
 
This subscription model along with in-ap purchases or “unlocking features“ gets my goat. It’s just greed and I wish it would die. This example really doesn’t make any sense...it’s safety equipment that doesn’t really require an external input to work. Most other safety bag vests can determine whether or not you need the vest inflating without a wifi signal from a base somewhere in a different city.
 
You can also buy a lifetime activation but people love monthly payments.

Sent from my Chesterfield using my thumbs
 
You can also buy a lifetime activation but people love monthly payments.

Sent from my Chesterfield using my thumbs
The monthly payments may not be a bad deal for some folks. It looks like that includes a replacement brain box every three years. I wonder how many months of subscription are required to remain eligible for that. For many people four or five months a year covers the vast majority of their riding. $60 a year for an airbag that includes a new brainbox every three years seems good to me. They may say in the fine print that you need to keep subscription active though. In that case, why can I pay $399 if you are telling me that the brain box should be replaced every three years (which would only be $360 under subscription)?
 
If you look beyond the headlines and alarmist nonsense, it's not the cheapest system, but it actually makes a lot of sense and offers features the competition doesn't. The hardware in an airbag vest is pretty set, and like so many things these days, the value is in the software and algorithms that actually decides when to pull the pin on the vest. That software isn't set, and is constantly being updated from crash and false alarm data. Vests now are way more advanced than they were even a year ago.

The Klim vest uses the third-party In&Motion system that's also in gear made by more Eurocentric brands like Ixon, Held, RST and Furygan. It's essentially a clip-in brain that contains the relevant IMU's and hardware required to monitor the vest and decide when to go pop. When you buy a piece of kit using the system, you're buying just that kit (it's cheaper) and then have to sort out the airbag bit separately through In&Motion.

To clear up a common misconception, it doesn't need to be connected to work while you're riding. It updates when you are home, essentially when you're charging it. Like all the wireless systems, it needs to be checked before you ride to ensure it's charged and the gyros are working etc, essentially by looking for a green light. The Alpinestars and Dainese systems are identical. At no point would you be ambushed by it suddenly not working mid-ride.

Most importantly, you can just buy the system outright. Nobody is forcing you to subscribe. It costs $400 USD on top of whatever you pay for the kit that uses it, and you get a two-year warranty, similar to the competition. With exchange it's a bit more expensive all-in, but compare the initial purchase price for competing gear:

- Klim Ai-1 vest: $550 ($500 CAD from US)
- Held eVest: $445 CAD from Germany
- Alpinestars Tech-Air 5: $900 ($880 from US)
- Dainese D-Air: $870
- Helite (tether): $900
- Hit-Air (tether): $780

The monthly/yearly subscription is purely optional, and you also have the option to buy it out after three years for $100. At $120/yr, to me it makes sense to go that way considering how fast this end of the market is developing. In three years, it's entirely possible we may have better options available. Airbags also rely on seams and glue etc, so I wouldn't want to be relying on something too old anyway.

The In&Motion system has a few other advantages. The 'brain' is swappable, meaning you can have one unit spread over a few different pieces of kit. For me, I'm looking at the Held or Klim vest for street riding and an RST suit for the track. For the one subscription, I can cover both kits and both situations. The Alpinestars and Dainese vests are designed for either street or track, but not both, while the In&Motion unit can be switched in the app (though there is a small fee for the track mode to be activated). They also offer an 'adventure' mode for dirt riding, which neither the Astars or Dainese systems do, though again, there's a fee.

One of the biggest advantages is it can be inflated three times before needing to be shipped out for inspection, while the AStars and Dainese units have to get shipped back every time. This may be less of an issue for street riding, but crashes at the track aren't uncommon, and it would be nice to be able to swap the canister and keep riding with protection. It uses Argon, which is more expensive but inflates much quicker than the cheaper CO2 cartridges used in the Helite and Hit-Air tether systems.

After this long screed, I promise I don't work for them. But I've been watching the airbag thing evolve for a while now, and the In&Motion system is at least on par with Alpinestars (depending on the features you care about) and I think well ahead of at least the Dainese vest, which offers minimal neck protection. Reading people lose their minds about the subscription option without understanding how it actually works seems to be universal everywhere this kit comes up (the comments in the Revzilla video are predictably ill-informed), so I figure it makes sense to at least share what I've researched. This isn't some dystopian cash grab, just another option to lower the initial cost of entry barriers with some added features.
 
XaaS is coming in all industries. Uber, Hololens, Regus, Office 365.

"You will own nothing and you will like it"... LOL
 
Anyone actually had to use one of these vests? I know they are standard now in motoGP but was wondering if anyone had personal experience with them.
 
I have a tether one. Never used it but feel more secure with it on. Also...the tether is simple...on my bike no problems...off my bike it’s balloon time.

Edit: these subscription plans all work on a giftcard type model. A reasonable percentage of people just allow the parasitic draws from their bank accounts and won’t ever cancel the payments when necessary just like how a reasonable percentage of people receive gift cards and don’t ever use them. That’s what the company banks on.
 
If you look beyond the headlines and alarmist nonsense, it's not the cheapest system, but it actually makes a lot of sense and offers features the competition doesn't. The hardware in an airbag vest is pretty set, and like so many things these days, the value is in the software and algorithms that actually decides when to pull the pin on the vest. That software isn't set, and is constantly being updated from crash and false alarm data. Vests now are way more advanced than they were even a year ago.

The Klim vest uses the third-party In&Motion system that's also in gear made by more Eurocentric brands like Ixon, Held, RST and Furygan. It's essentially a clip-in brain that contains the relevant IMU's and hardware required to monitor the vest and decide when to go pop. When you buy a piece of kit using the system, you're buying just that kit (it's cheaper) and then have to sort out the airbag bit separately through In&Motion.

To clear up a common misconception, it doesn't need to be connected to work while you're riding. It updates when you are home, essentially when you're charging it. Like all the wireless systems, it needs to be checked before you ride to ensure it's charged and the gyros are working etc, essentially by looking for a green light. The Alpinestars and Dainese systems are identical. At no point would you be ambushed by it suddenly not working mid-ride.

Most importantly, you can just buy the system outright. Nobody is forcing you to subscribe. It costs $400 USD on top of whatever you pay for the kit that uses it, and you get a two-year warranty, similar to the competition. With exchange it's a bit more expensive all-in, but compare the initial purchase price for competing gear:

- Klim Ai-1 vest: $550 ($500 CAD from US)
- Held eVest: $445 CAD from Germany
- Alpinestars Tech-Air 5: $900 ($880 from US)
- Dainese D-Air: $870
- Helite (tether): $900
- Hit-Air (tether): $780

The monthly/yearly subscription is purely optional, and you also have the option to buy it out after three years for $100. At $120/yr, to me it makes sense to go that way considering how fast this end of the market is developing. In three years, it's entirely possible we may have better options available. Airbags also rely on seams and glue etc, so I wouldn't want to be relying on something too old anyway.

The In&Motion system has a few other advantages. The 'brain' is swappable, meaning you can have one unit spread over a few different pieces of kit. For me, I'm looking at the Held or Klim vest for street riding and an RST suit for the track. For the one subscription, I can cover both kits and both situations. The Alpinestars and Dainese vests are designed for either street or track, but not both, while the In&Motion unit can be switched in the app (though there is a small fee for the track mode to be activated). They also offer an 'adventure' mode for dirt riding, which neither the Astars or Dainese systems do, though again, there's a fee.

One of the biggest advantages is it can be inflated three times before needing to be shipped out for inspection, while the AStars and Dainese units have to get shipped back every time. This may be less of an issue for street riding, but crashes at the track aren't uncommon, and it would be nice to be able to swap the canister and keep riding with protection. It uses Argon, which is more expensive but inflates much quicker than the cheaper CO2 cartridges used in the Helite and Hit-Air tether systems.

After this long screed, I promise I don't work for them. But I've been watching the airbag thing evolve for a while now, and the In&Motion system is at least on par with Alpinestars (depending on the features you care about) and I think well ahead of at least the Dainese vest, which offers minimal neck protection. Reading people lose their minds about the subscription option without understanding how it actually works seems to be universal everywhere this kit comes up (the comments in the Revzilla video are predictably ill-informed), so I figure it makes sense to at least share what I've researched. This isn't some dystopian cash grab, just another option to lower the initial cost of entry barriers with some added features.
This is pretty much the same conclusion I came to when I looked into some of these vests. Klim's cost model allows more people to get past the entry cost, and as sales increase, the prices should go down. The problem I have is that Alpinestars seems to be the only system with full coverage around the shoulders. Is that a big deal? Rightfully or wrongfully, it is to me, because that's where I landed the only time I broke anything from a crash. So sign me up when we have Alpinestars coverage with user-replaceable cartridges and the optional Klim subscription plan.
 
So if I end buying the Klim Ai 1 Air bag from Chromeburner.
I would also have buy or make payments on the In&Motion?
I am purchasing two items?
 
This is pretty much the same conclusion I came to when I looked into some of these vests. Klim's cost model allows more people to get past the entry cost, and as sales increase, the prices should go down. The problem I have is that Alpinestars seems to be the only system with full coverage around the shoulders. Is that a big deal? Rightfully or wrongfully, it is to me, because that's where I landed the only time I broke anything from a crash. So sign me up when we have Alpinestars coverage with user-replaceable cartridges and the optional Klim subscription plan.
I think the universal vests tend to go smaller around the shoulders because it's the hardest thing to fit under all circumstances. Dainese's vest has a tiny airbag with minimal volume over the shoulders, but their sport jackets with integrated airbags seem to completely cover the shoulders. That said, the street jackets (mostly textile) are closer in size to the vest, so it might be about balancing comfort and weight with protection. The Klim/Held vest has a much more pronounced neck roll, which seems like it'd stabilize your head, so there's definitely differences in design philosophy.

So if I end buying the Klim Ai 1 Air bag from Chromeburner.
I would also have buy or make payments on the In&Motion?
I am purchasing two items?

Essentially, yes. Once purchased, you link the box to the app on your phone and register, choosing whatever purchase/subscription option you prefer. If you buy, you get two years of warranty and software updates, and then just own it subsequently. If you subscribe, the updates last as long as the subscription, up to and including getting an updated module if one is released. Either way, you need to link it to the app to make sure you have the latest software installed.

Just a heads up, but FC-MOTO has the Klim vest on for $480 CAD at the moment...
 
I completely forgot about the best part of the subscription option: you can suspend it for the months you aren't riding. For example, fair-weather riders might have less than 6 months of payments per year, which drives the ongoing cost down by half.
 

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