Impact Jacket

[crispy5]

Anyone here use this jacket?

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/14328936/detail.html

[adam]

I would like to know if buying this will be a good idea and a smart decision as well.  Is there any draw backs?

[ecpreston]

I tried to find all I could about them when I was first looking at gear. They sure seem like a good idea, but the data supporting the claims is pretty much non-existent. As far as I could find, no-one has done any independent testing, and the companies that make them don't even go much into how/if they tested them or what the results were. Without any way to for me to justify the cost, and then finding out that full leathers are needed for track use anyway, I gave up.

This guy's story helps, there are a few other success stories out there, and I'm sure there will be more and hopefully some good testing someday.    I sent a message to the Mythbusters guys, I think Buster would make an excellent test subject. 

[Kasumi]

The only downside like has been said no one has done independent saftey tests on them as i know of yet however it wont be long before they do, there are success stories as has been said. The only downside would be ANY time you fell of your bike or jumped off forgetting to disconnect the rip cord would result in jacket inflation which would mean you would have to pay to have the jacket reset and the air canister replaced. Other downside is you still need full zip together or one piece leathers if you want to ride on the track however if you wont then that doesn't matter. I would personally wouldn't bother with a jacket like this because i can't be bothered to be connecting and disconnecting rip cords all the time. Other than that i think its a great investment especially if you did long commutes to work on the free way then it would pay for itself in saftey.

[Media23]

Having a rapidly inflating bag behind my neck would make me a little nervous. 

What kind of gear do some of you guys and gals out there wear?

[ecpreston]

...you would have to pay to have the jacket reset and the air canister replaced.

From what I've read, it's just another canister. You could carry a spare and hook it up yourself with the systems I looked at. No big deal, just a couple bucks.