Dainese' D-Air System Coming to US Shores

Dainese' D-Air System Coming to US Shores

Dainese' trick high-tech D-Air Line-Up will finally be made available for purchase in the US starting in April of 2017.

The announcement was made at this year's CES convention in Las Vegas where they were displaying their proprietary air-bag-suit system and the technology behind it. Only a small number of Dainese jackets are compatible with the D-Air system for now but the Italian gear company has said many future products will accept the system. Although the D-Air line has been available in Europe for several years, and Alpinestars Tech-Air system has been in the US for over a year, but it's still big news to hear that your local D-Store will soon be stocking the company's latest and greatest. While Dainese' airbag system was provided to racers with Dainese sponsorship participating in official organized leagues in the United States starting as early as 2013, the highly effective system will finally be made available to the public in the US. Like the majority of advancements in motorcycle technology, the D-Air System first appeared in MotoGP and professional racing before trickling down to the public market.

The technology behind the advanced safety system is beyond complex. A small computer built into the suit runs literally thousands of calculations every second in response to advanced sensors to determine if one is in the early stages of a highside or a lowside where the rider rolls. A promo video released by Dainese to further explain their airbag suit was released which can be seen below. (I personally find it bizarre that to demonstrate the system in action they used footage of Luis Salamon, a promising Moto2 rider who died last year in a crash during qualifying. Luis is a sad and constant reminder that the system can't always save you).

Having the newest and best gear doesn't come cheap and the D-Air suits and jackets are no exception. The initial D-Air line of jackets from Dainese such as the Continental (urban, Cyclone (touring) and Misano (race) all fall roughly between the $1,500 and $2,000 mark with the one piece D-Air Misano suit costing $2,500. As time goes on these prices are expected to come down significantly. Not necessarily for these exact models, but for future suits offering the D-Air System.

It's reasonable to wonder whether or not these cutting edge products truly justify their price tag. Dainese has claimed it's system reduces the force of impact transferred to the body by 90% in contrast to conventional riding suits with CE Level 2 armor. Alpinestars' Tech-Air System's jackets and suits are in the same price range as the Dainese D-Air line, which does demonstrate that the development and production of these systems must have costed millions or Alpinestars would have attempted to undercut their long time rival.

The technology behind the D-Air system took years to develope. It consists of countless sensors, three gyroscopes and complex algorithms all working together to asses its surroundings within thousandths of a second at any every moment. The system was certified with a rigorous procedure requiring _eight-hundred tests. _

The complexity of the D-Air system that makes it so impressive is at the same time responsible for one of its major downsides. When the D-Air airbag is deployed, it must then be sent back to Dainese to be reset and readied for future use. When this is compared to more economical motorcycle-airbag-vests from companies such as Helite, who's vest can restuffed on the spot by its wearer after the airbag's deployment. Helite's airbag vests are simply inflated by a small cO2 canister, meaning a new replacement canister can be swapped in after the bags deployment instead of having to send anything in to a factory.

The Italian gear manufacturer made news earlier this month when it was announced that they would be contracted the ultra-cool task of designing and building the suits that will be used on the first manned mission to Mars. This isn't their first space-rodeo though, in 2015 their SkinSuit was used for the first time by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. (I won't go into how the SkinSuit functions but it's pretty cool and you can read more about it HERE). The European Space Agency must have been pleased with the SkinSuit because Dainese Science and Research Center has gone on to create the BioSuit which is intended to be used on the first mission to Mars around 2030.

Being hand-picked over every other company in the world to build a spacesuit that's the most advanced of its kind that's ever been built is not a small feat and speaks to Dainese' level of competence at producing technologically advanced high-functioning systems that are the best of the best. It would inspire some confidence knowing my track suits tech was developed at the same place as the suits being used on the ISS and Mars. With that thought in mind, the price tag starts to look a lot more reasonable. Coupled with the fact that if you've ever suffered any serious riding injury and had to pay expensive medical bills, (not you Canada) for surgeries, ambulances or overnight stays, two grand for an item that could reduce the chance of serious injury by up to 90% seems completely justified.

In 2015 Dainese "celebrated" their 1000th deployment so people are clearly using these systems. Unfortunately so far the suit only covers the area around the neck, shoulders and chest and provides no additional protection to anywhere else on the body. Also not everyone has $2,500 to spend on a suit they only wear a few times a month at most. So is it worth it? Depends on your situation, how often you canyon or track ride and how much disposable income you have to spend on frivolous moto-toys? That's for every two-wheel pilot to decide for themselves, the D-Air system products are definitely pretty amazing pieces of safety gear though.