Will a Parachute Become Part of Your Riding Gear?

Dragsters have them, some military jet aircraft have them, and parachutists have them.

Parachutes.

A Swedish company called Airbag Inside will be selling its airbag jeans, vests, and shorts later this year.  They also have plans in the works to someday develop a parachute system for bikers. Parachutes are great for slowing things down and maybe the right design can be a practical safety feature for riders. If not on the street, then maybe at least on the track.

Rather than the traditional design in which a small drogue chute catches the wind and then pulls out the main chute, the Airbag Inside folks are working on a system that uses small canopies that do not need a drogue or airflow. They will inflate with regular airbag methods. You can learn more in this article from Cycle World.

The key to something like this will be practicality and ease of use and, of course, price. If it's a cumbersome, uncomfortable add-on or garment, then buy-in will likely be limited. If it's too expensive, same thing. There's a fine line between safety and price and comfort.

On a different note, I don't know about you, but I'd be sorely tempted to jump off the roof of my house (it's a low roof) just to see if the damn thing works. Or better yet, maybe get a friend to do it while I record it. That sounds much better.

It's not the first time this concept of motorcycles and parachutes have been floated. The Launch Jacket was in development back in 2017. It looks like that concept hasn't gone much beyond the idea/patent stage as only $113 was raised on Kickstarter of a goal of $250,000.

Would you like to wear a parachute or a pair of chutes as part of your riding gear? Or you do think this is taking the ATGATT concept a bit too far?

 Learn more about the company and check out all their airbag products here Mo'cycle.