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I was under the impression that the vest supposed to go over, not under your existing gear.
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Nov 15, 2021 06:45
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You can put on a big race back protector and it will be similar enough. The tech air suits have panels that expand in key places when the bag goes off, but I found you can't wear the vest if the suit is already tight on you. Nitrox posted:I was under the impression that the vest supposed to go over, not under your existing gear. At least for the A* tech air race it's a vest with built-in back protector that goes under your suit. *edit* I can take pics and measurements of the tech air race vest next to a back protector if that's helpful.
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Nov 15, 2021 07:02
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MomJeans420 posted:You can put on a big race back protector and it will be similar enough. The tech air suits have panels that expand in key places when the bag goes off, but I found you can't wear the vest if the suit is already tight on you. I think you've answered my question-- that I should go up to the size 44 to fit the Tech Air. How does your suit fit without the Tech Air? Is it noticeably looser?
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Nov 15, 2021 08:29
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MetaJew posted:I finally got around to taking my 2014 A* Atem leathers to cycle gear to see if the Tech Air 5 would fit under them. While the leathers have a little bit of room in them, with the airbag vest they felt really drat tight. So, I don't think I can safely run the vest with my existing suit. This is my own opinion, not necessarily something I read somewhere "official": if it's a suit Alpinestars designates as "tech air compatible" then it should be tight fitting. How tight is too tight is something you'll sort of have to figure out. As mentioned, the compatible suits have built-in expansion areas. Check out this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nOwDAel38g At :22, his vest goes off. If you go to :55, you can see his suit is fairly form fitting. Yes, I know that Marquez has a tailored suit, but the principal is the same, and the airbags are the same, believe it or not! If you're buying a new suit to accommodate an airbag, I wouldn't discount the Tech-Air 5 entirely. The only real benefit of the Race vest is it has two charges, which is good for a race weekend, but probably less important for track days. It also costs twice as much. Also, as I mentioned, Alpinestars appears to be moving away from the Race vest set up. In fact, I am not sure their new suits even work with the old vests. Definitely confirm with Alpinestars. Here's my suit, and here's the updated replacement. You'll see in the description the V2 is compatible with Tech-Air 5 only. The 5 also looks way more comfortable, probably easier to use from a software perspective (if you want to change the firmware between race and street), and has an iPhone/Android app that will let you see some telemetry from your ride, which is a fun lil bonus. If you think getting your suit off and on is hard now, it's way harder with that Race vest in it.
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Nov 15, 2021 18:36
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MetaJew posted:I think you've answered my question-- that I should go up to the size 44 to fit the Tech Air. My suit is new race suit tight without the tech air and almost impossible to remove with the tech air installed (same thing with my nucleon back protector). I read the Sportbike TrackGear before I bought my suit and they said the tech air race compatible suits seemed to be a size bigger than usual, so they'd wear one size smaller without the airbag and their usual size with the airbag, but YMMV. I also have weird sizing, it actually got easier to fit into A* gear after I lost a bunch of muscle and gained some fat in 2020. I think your best bet is to just order from someone that has easy returns and maybe just try two different sizes on all at once so you can compare. But putting on something like a Nucleon back protector will get you to where you need if you want to do it in person at Cycle Gear. Toe Rag posted:Here's my suit, and here's the updated replacement. You'll see in the description the V2 is compatible with Tech-Air 5 only. I thought the same thing but I think it's compatible with both systems when I looked into it before (check the protection tab). It's not always clear and I also think they're going to be pushing Tech-Air 5 only in the future, but maybe someone else who knows more can correct me and they're planning on keeping both systems. If I were buying a system right now I'm pretty sure I'd get the Tech-Air 5. Toe Rag posted:If you think getting your suit off and on is hard now, it's way harder with that Race vest in it. Toe Rag is not joking on this, I have issues getting a regular suit off by myself, I can't do it at all wearing the airbag vest.
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Nov 15, 2021 19:15
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I need to do some more reading, but before I forget this thread, how do you got the tech air 5 with your race leathers? Do you stuff it into the suit and put it all on at once or do you put the vest on and pull the leathers over it? I couldn't figure out how you get the sleeves to go into the leathers when wearing the vest first.
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Nov 15, 2021 20:26
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Check out this video around 8:30 in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btHQvOmlCO4 It sounds like a bit of a pain compared to the tech air race, but then again the 5 is usable in random jackets too. Actually the whole video is pretty good for showing how the size differences, sounds like his suit is noticeably looser wearing the 5 vs the race.
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Nov 15, 2021 21:46
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MomJeans420 posted:If I were buying a system right now I'm pretty sure I'd get the Tech-Air 5.  I bought my jacket ~18 months ago with the intention of getting the airbag. Then once I finally got an airbag, I thought the fitment was way too tight, so a perfect excuse to buy a 1-piece suit. Then ~6 weeks later all the new suits came out 
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Nov 16, 2021 06:19
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ITT tell me what suits to buy? Mandatory requirement is that it comes in a good color (high viz yellow, bright orange/infra red).
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Nov 16, 2021 07:54
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MetaJew posted:ITT tell me what suits to buy? Mandatory requirement is that it comes in a good color (high viz yellow, bright orange/infra red). Textile? Hit eBay / ADVRider and find a used 'stich
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Nov 16, 2021 18:09
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A* has plenty of high viz colors if you're looking for one piece leathers (or two piece) Toe Rag posted:
It wasn't the best purchase for me because I never wear it because it's too tight, but I'm working out again and eating healthy so maybe I'll find it more comfortable in a few months. I've joked about wearing it to supermoto to test it out when I inevitably crash in the dirt, but I'm worried it may go off in the air or when landing a jump and make me crash by surprising me.
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Nov 16, 2021 18:27
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Jazzzzz posted:Textile? Hit eBay / ADVRider and find a used 'stich One piece leathers. MomJeans420 posted:A* has plenty of high viz colors if you're looking for one piece leathers (or two piece) This guy gets it
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Nov 16, 2021 18:31
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Finally got to test out that first gear oversuit today. Was riding around in 45ish weather and it was very warm. I had to take my balaclava off and open the vent on my helmet to stay comfortable. Looks dorky as hell but drat if it ain’t warm and surprisingly comfy with my normal gear in underneath it.
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Nov 20, 2021 19:10
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Ordered a set of Alpinestars Missile V2 Ignition leathers, GP Pro R3 gloves, and picked up the Tech Air 5 today from cycle gear. I ordered the leathers and gloves from Riders discount that gave a slightly lower price than MSRP. The gloves shipped almost immediately but not sure if I'll get the leathers in before next Saturday. Edit: Vest might be defective. I charged it and did a firmware update and the led indicators are unresponsive now. Initially it would sit with solid yellow and green LEDs which indicates it is in system check mode (manual states this should last 10-60s). I tried power cycling with the Velcro strap once or twice but it still stalled in green-yellow. I tried plugging in the charger for a few more minutes, then unplugged it and put it on again and now all three LEDs are on no matter if I have the Velcro strap connected or not, or if I plug it into the charger (or not). Gonna have to call Cycle Gear tomorrow and ask them to order me a replacement I guess? Second Edit: Left it at Cycle Gear for them to figure out. My understanding is they're probably going to ship me a new one-- hopefully I get it this week. MetaJew fucked around with this message at 23:45 on Nov 21, 2021 |
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Nov 21, 2021 03:52
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Got a Gerbing heated vest as part of black Friday sales. Been trying it out commuting in some low 30's weather. It's...fine. My extremities were still freezing but I never got the shakes so it was doing something. I'd be disappointed if I'd paid retail though.
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Dec 2, 2021 14:58
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MetaJew posted:Edit: Vest might be defective. I charged it and did a firmware update and the led indicators are unresponsive now. That's always confidence inspiring. I finally got my new gloves, it turns out the handroids look even better in white/black than just black:  They feel stiffer than I remember my last pair feeling when I first put them on, and they got rid of the velcro wrist strap and replaced it with a boa strap and it's definitely NOT an improvement. Harder to get them on and off, but maybe I'll get used to it and grow to prefer it, who knows.
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Dec 3, 2021 02:04
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MomJeans420 posted:That's always confidence inspiring. Just picked up the replacement from Cycle Gear. I need to charge it and connect to the app and see if this one behaves as described in the manual. One thing I don't like about running the vest in my leathers is that I basically have to trust that it arms itself in "Track Mode" as it does not arm until it detects you traveling ~100 kph/62 MPH. By the time I reach that speed I will have my leathers fully zipped up and the LED panel will be entirely out of view. I guess I just need to go WOT out of the pits so that it's armed by T1. I also purchased a pair of the A* GP Pro R3 gloves in size L. The tag says "European Large". Not sure how that varies from what a "US Large" would be but these gloves are tight as hell. They're going to need to be broken in. I primarily bought them because of the CE 2 rating, but I didn't wind up wearing them at my last track day since it was rainy and cold. I borrowed a pair of winter gloves with thinsulate instead that kept my hands a lot warmer. MetaJew fucked around with this message at 02:55 on Dec 3, 2021 |
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Dec 3, 2021 02:53
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Springfield Fatts posted:Got a Gerbing heated vest as part of black Friday sales. Been trying it out commuting in some low 30's weather. It's...fine. My extremities were still freezing but I never got the shakes so it was doing something. I'd be disappointed if I'd paid retail though. I've used the Amazon Rental Service™ to use this vest the past three years but just got mosko's new heated jacket and it made a world of difference. heated gloves are still the best thing you can do though (or hippo hands but those look lame)
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Dec 3, 2021 03:39
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Alpinestars gloves are pretty snug, my pairs are XL and I'd normally get a L or size 9. Great gloves though.
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Dec 3, 2021 09:21
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Good luck finding those droids you were looking for.
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Dec 3, 2021 09:32
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goddamnedtwisto posted:Good luck finding those droids you were looking for. Nothing safer than gear that makes it impossible for you to hit anything.
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Dec 3, 2021 16:38
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I have to return some Klim pants I got from Fortnine because they don't fit. Looking at the other possible in-stock options, I'm looking at either Rev'it Horizon 2 pants or Icon Raiden pant (2020+ version). The Horizon 2's look more the kind of style I'm used to (pretty much always had Dainese gear, currently have a Carve Master 2 jacket), but they don't look very practical and their venting kind of seems gimmicky. The Raidens look very practical, but they also look very baggy. Normally I just wear shorts or just gitch under my riding pants in the summer, and thermal underwear in the winter. The Raidens look like they're built to go over baggy jeans. I'm not sure what my other options are in the world of bonded (as opposed to removable liner) gore-tex or gore-tex equivalent in the ~$500-600 Canadian price range are. I'd look at some Carve Master 2/3 pants, if anyone had them in stock. Has anyone got any experience with the Horizon 2s or Raidens? Any other suggestions for all season gore-tex gear? (I live in Vancouver, it rains considerably all winter)
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Dec 7, 2021 06:47
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Finger Prince posted:I have to return some Klim pants I got from Fortnine because they don't fit. Looking at the other possible in-stock options, I'm looking at either Rev'it Horizon 2 pants or Icon Raiden pant (2020+ version). The Horizon 2's look more the kind of style I'm used to (pretty much always had Dainese gear, currently have a Carve Master 2 jacket), but they don't look very practical and their venting kind of seems gimmicky. The Raidens look very practical, but they also look very baggy. Normally I just wear shorts or just gitch under my riding pants in the summer, and thermal underwear in the winter. The Raidens look like they're built to go over baggy jeans. I'm not sure what my other options are in the world of bonded (as opposed to removable liner) gore-tex or gore-tex equivalent in the ~$500-600 Canadian price range are. I'd look at some Carve Master 2/3 pants, if anyone had them in stock. Has anyone got any experience with the Horizon 2s or Raidens? Any other suggestions for all season gore-tex gear? (I live in Vancouver, it rains considerably all winter) not specifically the horizon 2, but rev’it stuff sizes a tiny bit looser than dainese gear in my experience. definitely not an kansas cut like klim does but also not cut for a 5’4” sexual harasser like astars. fits me perfectly in my experience, although klim does offer short and tall inseam lengths which is nice for weirdos like me with a long torso (6’0”, 30” inseam lol) for gear though I highly recommend layering over buying goretex armored motorcycle gear. you’ll spend less and get far better stuff. most gore tex tops start around like $500+ for stuff using a liner vs layering where you can have a layer to remove that keeps everything under dry, plus you can just toss it in a backpack when you don’t need it with some WP gloves. I personally run mosko’s deluge jacket and pants (think like an arc’teryx beta or similar) but they’re currently doing a revision rn, so if I were you I’d get their rak gear (top & pants) since it’s designed to wear over gear you already own. mosko rules, they’re in white salmon and make excellent stuff. they’ll do partial refunds and fixes for crashes. I’ve had nothing but good experience using their WP gear and luggage in OR / PNW / TN downpours. highly recommended. can also check advrider flea market for used deluge gear.
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Dec 8, 2021 01:56
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right arm posted:not specifically the horizon 2, but rev’it stuff sizes a tiny bit looser than dainese gear in my experience. definitely not an kansas cut like klim does but also not cut for a 5’4” sexual harasser like astars. fits me perfectly in my experience, although klim does offer short and tall inseam lengths which is nice for weirdos like me with a long torso (6’0”, 30” inseam lol) Thanks for the advice. I was also looking at the A* Andes v3 pants, and from the reviews, your description is spot on. Size up, then size up again. My preference is bonded gore-tex. The removable liner stuff is crap, because the outer layer just gets waterlogged, ends up weighing a ton, and never dries out properly if you ride frequently. A bonded gore-tex shell (like my snowboarding gear, except with armor and abrasion resistance) is the best combination of rain protection and convenience, imo. Having to put on and take off an outer shell depending on conditions, and always having to carry that shell with you because the conditions might be different one hour to the next, especially with pants that have to go over your boots, which are probably dirty and wet from puddles anyway, is a ball ache. That being said, if I can't find what I want because stock levels are low, I'll look into a shell that'll go over my Kevlar jeans. I mean, if I do that I guess I could probably just wear my snowboarding pants, they should be baggy enough to fit over the jeans.
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Dec 8, 2021 04:00
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Finger Prince posted:Thanks for the advice. I was also looking at the A* Andes v3 pants, and from the reviews, your description is spot on. Size up, then size up again. My preference is bonded gore-tex. The removable liner stuff is crap, because the outer layer just gets waterlogged, ends up weighing a ton, and never dries out properly if you ride frequently. A bonded gore-tex shell (like my snowboarding gear, except with armor and abrasion resistance) is the best combination of rain protection and convenience, imo. Having to put on and take off an outer shell depending on conditions, and always having to carry that shell with you because the conditions might be different one hour to the next, especially with pants that have to go over your boots, which are probably dirty and wet from puddles anyway, is a ball ache. That being said, if I can't find what I want because stock levels are low, I'll look into a shell that'll go over my Kevlar jeans. I mean, if I do that I guess I could probably just wear my snowboarding pants, they should be baggy enough to fit over the jeans. ya no worries; everyone has preferences. personally I use my mosko gear as ski gear if it’s going to be a snowy / rainy day in the backcountry, but again, I like layering as their stuff packs up super small and basically allows me to have dedicated summer and fall sets of gear that I can layer up for rain / cold as needed I had some astars valparasio gear that was their drystar liner stuff. worked fine; I stayed dry but of course the outer layer was soaked which sucks regardless. I wear a L in mosko / rev’it and like an XXL in astars lol
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Dec 8, 2021 06:14
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Thinking of asking Santa for the helite turtle 2 vest. I think there was someone here with one. Any goons tips, reviews etc?
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Dec 9, 2021 01:00
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All I know about the Turtle 2 is it uses a cord as the firing mechanism, which I'm sure has its advantages and disadvantages, but I KNOW for a fact I'd get off the the bike and set it off. The A* Tech-Air 5 is roughly the same price I think, it's probably something to consider but I can't really speak to which is better. No battery with the Turtle, but no cord with the Tech-Air 5.
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Dec 9, 2021 08:27
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Yeah with tether airbags I'd be concerned about unnecessary discharges, eg in a low speed low side, or simply forgetting to untether, or not inflating if you're not sufficiently thrown from the bike, or not inflating in time because of the nature of the crash. I suppose all of that is possible with an Alpinestars airbag (except the forgetting bit), but seems less likely to me for "reasons." Also I just suspect an over-to-top airbag getting shredded to pieces after one crash. I've also seen people recommend the Hit Air vest which is apparently an equestrian vest but seems to have popularity with motorcycles, despite the otherwise acrimonious relationship Get a load of this guy at the 8:55 mark https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtmV8DDfIP0&t=530s
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Dec 9, 2021 09:16
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MomJeans420 posted:All I know about the Turtle 2 is it uses a cord as the firing mechanism, which I'm sure has its advantages and disadvantages, but I KNOW for a fact I'd get off the the bike and set it off. The A* Tech-Air 5 is roughly the same price I think, it's probably something to consider but I can't really speak to which is better. No battery with the Turtle, but no cord with the Tech-Air 5. Fortnine did a video about it that was probably posted here at some point. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2jZryt607U You'd kind of have to fall down to set it off by accident.
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Dec 9, 2021 09:50
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MomJeans420 posted:All I know about the Turtle 2 is it uses a cord as the firing mechanism, which I'm sure has its advantages and disadvantages, but I KNOW for a fact I'd get off the the bike and set it off. The A* Tech-Air 5 is roughly the same price I think, it's probably something to consider but I can't really speak to which is better. No battery with the Turtle, but no cord with the Tech-Air 5. If I was buying a jacket and an airbag together I'd definitely consider the tech air 5, but as it is I doubt I can fit it under my current jacket. For me, the "low tech" approach of the Helite is a positive, plus the CO2 cans are cheap enough I could even do a test deployment to see how it feels when activated. Probably a fun/reassuring thing to do with your spouse.
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Dec 9, 2021 16:14
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Y'all are reminding me I need to try my tech air 5 on under my street jacket and in my track leathers. The replacement vest didn't arrive until a week after I had wanted to use it and the next track day I could go to isn't until something like April, I think. Getting my new leathers on and off was an... Experience with a back protector. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to go about stuffing the Tech Air 5 into the leathers first while I have them on around my waist but that seems to be the way to go. Between that and my stupid Sidi Vortice boots that are a pain in the rear end to put on and take off I always have to start gearing up like 10-15 minutes before my session starts. If resoling the Vortices hadn't been substantially cheaper than a new pair of boots I would've bought the Alpinestars boots that have the built in inner bootie with the drawstring to tighten them. The Sidi style with 4 individual cables to fasten and tighten are a chore. Edit: whoever else owns the Tech Air 5 in here: do you leave the magnetic "male" end of the USB charger permanently plugged into the vest? It separates when I remove the cable and I have to use my fingernail to pry it out. Is this intentional to make charging easier? MetaJew fucked around with this message at 21:40 on Dec 9, 2021 |
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Dec 9, 2021 21:38
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MetaJew posted:Edit: whoever else owns the Tech Air 5 in here: do you leave the magnetic "male" end of the USB charger permanently plugged into the vest? It separates when I remove the cable and I have to use my fingernail to pry it out. Is this intentional to make charging easier? Yes
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Dec 11, 2021 07:46
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This year's Knox sale isn't nearly as good as it was last year. https://www.planet-knox.com/category/mens-sale/ Only 2 varieties of glove on sale.
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Dec 23, 2021 20:08
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I know y'all have discussed earplugs in the past. I generally use disposable foam plugs for track days, but I also just bought a Miata RF and the wind noise/pressure had my ears ringing after a 20ish miles on the freeway with the top down. Is there a reusable earplug y'all like? Something like these? https://www.nonoise-earplugs.com/nonoise-motorsport-en.html https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/pinlock-earplugs?sku_id=1211013
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Dec 27, 2021 21:56
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I have both of those. NoNoise sounds better but Pinlock is smaller and fits better when putting your helmet on (I have a hard time not breaking the seal with the NoNoise, often having to attempt 3-4 times). If you're in a Miata without a helmet then I guess that doesn't matter, and having the key-chain carrying case is nice.
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Dec 27, 2021 22:29
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Toe Rag posted:I have both of those. NoNoise sounds better but Pinlock is smaller and fits better when putting your helmet on (I have a hard time not breaking the seal with the NoNoise, often having to attempt 3-4 times). If you're in a Miata without a helmet then I guess that doesn't matter, and having the key-chain carrying case is nice. Fitting easily under a helmet would be a plus, and I'd consider using them with my motorcycle. But, I have a bad habit of losing disposable earplugs at track days so maybe I'll stick to foam ones when I'm wearing a helmet.
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Dec 27, 2021 23:28
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Is there a reason you don't want to just use disposables in the Miata as well? I have a set of reusable plugs that I found pretty comfortable and had no trouble with under my helmet, but I stopped using them because I found them impossible to keep clean with any regular use. I've switched to foamies full-time.
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Dec 27, 2021 23:40
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I would just throw NoNoise on the Miata keychain for when you want it and stick with foam for track days. That’s what I do since I don’t want to mess about with earplugs and I’m only wearing them for ~25 minutes so not long enough to become uncomfortable.
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Dec 28, 2021 06:42
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FBS posted:Is there a reason you don't want to just use disposables in the Miata as well? I think I will get NoNoises or similar for the Miata. Partly I don't think  my wife will care enough to get foam plugs in perfectly when she's riding with me, and while she claims "oh it's not loud/my ears aren't ringing" she will later admit that something was in fact loud enough to hurt her ears. Soooo making it easy to not get hearing damage seems like a good thing.
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Dec 28, 2021 08:38
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MetaJew posted:I think I will get NoNoises or similar for the Miata. Partly I don't think Probably best to go for those ones that look like three earbuds stacked on top of each other (etymonics? something like that, I'm sure that someone can post the proper name) with the little handle, as they're definitely easiest to get in and out. They normally come with a little carrying case so you can just chuck them in the glove compartment.
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Dec 28, 2021 12:01
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