Alpinestars Tech-Air 5 V2 Airbag - Dark Grey / Black

Read the many reviews of the non-V2 '5' as I don't believe there are any differences here. You're just allowed to re-charge the vest if you ever have a deployment. Unit is highly rated and I have no reason to disagree - well made and comfortable to wear, with sizing guide being accurate for my XXL frame.

The issue I have is that the V2 version's replacement process is clearly not as user-fiendly as the more recent vests Alpinestars have released, which appear to have a simple to remove 'flap' to get at the gas canister/s. The 5 V2 is not as freindly to work on, with the two gas canisters installed behind a 'shield' that is a bit awkward to remove. Some notes based on my own experience testing what would be the canister replacement process:

- Remove the magnetic USB charging adaptor from the inflator 'hump' BEFORE you try and remove the bolts and 'cap' cover. This doesn't appear to be mentioned in the otherwise good user guide included with the vest.
- Recharge kit needed is the 'Type IV Inflator' canister used for the Tech-Air MX, 10 V2 and this 5 V2. This is straight from Alpinestars support. The 5 Plasma IS NOT suitable as that's a single canister vest - the 5 V2 is a dual-canister system.
- There are two nylon bolt screws holding down the hump covering the electronics and gas canisters which are very easy to strip the heads off of. I've replaced mine with stainless M3.5 (3.5mm x 16mm) Pozi Pan Machine Screw (Bolt) as I can't see any reason for nylon screws - suspect they were an anti-tampering mechanism inherited from the non-V2 version of this vest.
- The 'cap' button cover was damaged when I removed it, but it doesn't appear to serve any real function so I've just glued it back on for appearences sake. You may have more luck getting it off, but if you damage yours I don't think it's a problem.
- There is a plastic tab at the bottom of the canister shield that is supposed to hook underneath the built-in back protector of the vest. I couldn't get this to hook back into the vest after working on it and just deleted the tab, as otherwise it stops the shield from sitting fully into the vest. The now metal securing bolts are doing the bulk of the work holding the cover onto the vest anyway so I can't see an issue here.

Other than that the app is useful, but if you don't want to use it you don't have to. My vest hasn't required any firmware updates yet, which given the non-V2 version of this vest has been out for a while now isn't a surprise. No subscription costs either, which is a major reason I went for this vest.

I'd go 5 stars if Alpinestars updated the canister maintenance process to make it easier to work on, but I'm still very happy with this purchase.