Tucano Urbano Airscud Airbag Jacket

Have to say this is an extremely well made and thought out lightweight airbag jacket, that easily turns into a vest by removing the arms. Well thought out design and product including how well it deals with rain also considering. Great protection , discreet pockets even on the outside and a square window on the back which you can clearly see when the airbag is on but also allows you to be able to turn on and off even though you can do this on the app it's still very nicely thought-out. Great service from sportsbikeshop but also a great jacket / vest with airbag tech and a great price for that also. Quality product 5*

PROS:
1) INCREDIBLE VALUE FOR MONEY
2) USE AS VEST OR LIGHTWEIGHT ARMOURED JACKET
3) MOST VERSATILE OF ALL AIRBAG SYSTEMS
4) STYLISH
5) IN&MOTION = BEST VALUE AIRBAG SYSTEM
6) RELATIVELY LIGHTWEIGHT
7) UNOBTRUSIVE WHEN WEARING
8) CAN WEAR A BACK PACK UP TO 8KG
9) £12 A MONTH IS AN INFINTESSIMALLY SMALL PRICE ON MY LIFE.
10) TURNS ON AND OFF THROUGH TRANSPARENT WINDOW

CONS:
1) MAYBE TOO WARM TO WEAR AS (UNDER) VEST DEPENDING ON AMBIENT TEMPERATURES
2) CAN'T BE USED IF ZIPPING/JOINING JACKET TO TROUSERS
3) LEAVES LOWER BACK PARTIALLY EXPOSED

I bought this to replace probably the worst jacket I have ever owned: an RST Paragon 6 Airbag jacket. The RST leaked twice on the chest and sleeves (nothing to do with vent zips…in a totally different area). The poor quality of the RST made me go back to using my old BMW kit.

Unfortunately, there is no BMW airbag vest, so I looked at the various vests available which used the In&Motion system. I've been paying £12 a month now for 16 months and I think that's a fair price considering we're talking about potentially life saving attributes of the product.

The Tucano Urbano Airscud was/is on clearance with SBS, at an incredible price of only £263.99. I was looking at the Furygan Fury vest, and was about to purchase when I saw this bargain. It's a bargain because it can be used as a standalone jacket with shoulder armour and elbow armour in the (detachable) sleeves. Thus means it can also be worn under a fashion jacket or coat and give you full upper body protection.

My son, who's a fashion victim said to me "that's a great looking jacket…" That probably means it isn't, but I actually agree. It's understated and a charcoal black colour.

If you are going to wear it under a jacket, you have to ensure there is deployment space. There's a simple way of assessing this (read the spec for full info on this). Basically there needs to be 13cm difference between the parametric measurements of physical size and over jacket.

I have been using it under an old (but still excellent) BMW Streetguard 2 laminated Goretex jacket. Along with a base layer, an icebreaker 250 merino wool mid layer and the BMW thermal liner, travelling 130 miles on the M1, 3 days a week in -1 degC, and 5 degC, the Airscud has helped keep me warm. I am on a fully faired BMW RT so that helps massively too.

It's comfortable to wear as a vest under the Streetguard 2 and also fits under my BMW Atlantis 4 waterproof nubuck suit. My main concern is the summer, since I believe that the Airscud is not air permeable. I overheat very easily and suffer from severe, incapacitating cramps. Thus, the jury is out on this, but I will probably wear the Airscud as a jacket in the summer.

There is a version with mesh, but no one seems to sell it anywhere, not even on the Tucano website!

Overall, I am extremely pleased with this jacket. Don't be put off by the £12 subs to In&Motion. You can suspend the subs during the off season. I ride all year round, so I don't need to suspend. Additionally, they have a referral offer where you get 3 months free for the new subscriber and the referrer when using a code. Mine is: PRVLXAT. You'll get 3 months free if you use it and so will I.

If you are unfortunate to need your Airscud, you can reset it yourself at a cost of around £90 for a replacement inflator. You can re-set it yourself 3 times before having to send it back. Rival airbag systems are considerably more expensive (even than the Furygan and Held versions) and need to be re-set either by the factory or by an authorised dealer. That reset cost is between £250-£300 per inflation. Considering that the initial purchase of an In&Motion system is half the price if a rival, add in £250 that's around 4 - 5 years of full annual subs on In&Motion. If you get referrals and suspensions, the In&Motion becomes far more attractive. Buy this Tucano Urbano Airscud before they've all gone!