Alpinestar Tech Air

Heavy when you pick it up but strangely don’t notice it being any different than any other chest pro while riding. Repack isn’t hard, but canisters aren’t cheap. Definitely little to no airflow. Cleaning is a pain. Wouldn’t have helped your ribs most likely as there is no protection there. Only front and back. Overall we do like them. I haven’t had to crash test it yet. My son has though. Did its job. They will refine it in future generations of it I’m sure. 

If you broke them around back there’s a solid chance it would’ve helped.

Personally I love mine. Definitely hot, and replacing cartridges after a deployment definitely hurts the wallet a bit. However, the cost of the unit and replacement cartridges definitely beats ER costs and missing work from a get off

Agree mostly. I think if you land perfectly wrong there's not much lateral protection but I would say most crashes are angular to some degree.

 I've deployed mine once. Went over the bars in a weird mud pocket. Landed on my back and didn't feel a thing. I heard it deploy, didn't feel it. Tipped over in a race, didn't deploy...hallelujah. There are a few modes that help with sensitivity in those scenarios. 

Repacking is cake, it's really just the shoulders. $120 ish for new canister does suck but as mentioned above, beats a potential ER bill. 

With ribs and the tech air it’s all about where the hit is. Both times I’ve broken ribs it’s been right on my sides. There’s no help there with the tech air unfortunately. On a side note broken ribs absolutely suck! Heal up!