Alpinestars Tech-Air 3 V2 review | Canvas motorcycle airbag tested

Date reviewed: July 2025 | Tested by: John Milbank | Price: £579.99 | gb.alpinestars.com

The Alpinestars Tech-Air 3 V2 Canvas on review here is an evolution of the previous Tech-Air 3 I reviewed in 2024. The Canvas is – at its heart – the same as the new ‘standard’ Tech-Air 3 V2 but with a distinctive stretch nylon canvas outer (available in black or tan) instead of the lighter-weight ripstop used in the ‘standard’ V2. The key difference between the V2 and the older model is that the inflator can now be replaced by the user. I’ve been using it for several months on a BMW R1250GS, Zontes ZT350-T, 1999 Kawasaki ZX-6R and a 2001 Honda VFR800 to find out how convenient, practical and comfortable it really is…

To properly understand the certification standards used, and to choose the most protective, please visit our guide to the best motorcycle airbags here.

Pros & Cons

Protection at a glance

Understanding the protection offered by any airbag is important, but can be confusing with two different safety standards. The full article explains the test methods and protection in more detail, but this is what you need to know first:

• Product: Alpinestars Tech-Air 3 V2 and V2 Canvas and V2 Leather

• Trigger method: Electronic

• Suitable for use over other kit: Yes

• Suitable for use under other kit: Yes

• Certified to EN1621-4: Yes | Chest: Level 2 | Back: Level 2

• Certified to CRITT: No

Features

The Alpinestars Tech-Air 3 V2 is available in three variants, all in sizes XS-4XL:

All the Tech-Air 3 V2s have concertina panels at the sides that allow them stretch easily over your other kit, and my usual size L fits me fine, despite at the time of writing nudging towards an XL in some of my gear.

All three models can also be worn under as well as over your existing bike kit, though do make sure there’s enough expansion space in your jacket and don’t use it under leathers or zipped-together gear unless it’s specifically designed for it; Alpinestars says that there must be at least 4cm of extra circumference around the upper body, and that if the material isn’t stretchy, there must be panels that will expand to allow the airbag to inflate.

Needless to say, always check sizing for yourself, but you might find you’ll want to go down a size if you’re borderline and intend to only wear the Tech-Air 3 under your other gear. I’d also suggest the lighter-weight ‘standard’ Tech-Air 3 V2 with its rip-stop nylon outer if you’re doing that.

The Tech-Air 3 V2 Canvas can be packed away quite small and tucked in your luggage

While I haven’t been able to weigh the new standard V2, I don’t expect it to be much different to the previous model, which weighs 1.82kg. The Tech-Air 3 V2 Canvas on review here weighs a little bit more at 2.04kg, but that’s still not heavy and certainly isn’t uncomfortable; it’s just worth being aware that the canvas construction adds some bulk.

The way the V2 Canvas and Leather airbags are put together mean that they can be embroidered or have patches sewn on, which may be a selling point to some riders.

All the variants can be packed away easily for storage, and have thoughtful design touches like a cover over the bottom of the zip to prevent your tank getting scratched.

Most importantly, the Alpinestars Tech-Air 3 V2 is properly sealed, so you can safely ride with it in the rain outside your other kit.

A strap with a magnetic fastener is included inside the Canvas that holds the chest bladder out of the way, making it look more like a normal bodywarmer when worn open and off the bike.

Alpinestars has also given you the option of fitting a full-sized back protector in the outside rear – I got a Level 2 D3O Viper in there no problem. This could add some peace-of-mind if you’re worried about the airbag not deploying, and will also spread any impact over the bladder even more. Being certified to EN1621-4 means the Tech-Air 3 V2 can protect against narrow object impacts far better than those that are ONLY certified to the CRITT standard (which tend to have a passive protector to assist the bladder), but the option is there if you want it.

Can you wear the Alpinestars Tech-Air 3 V2 with a rucksack?

The instructions for the Tech-Air 3 V2 do not mention use with a rucksack, despite the previous model being claimed to be safe for loads up to 6kg as long as there space in the straps for expansion and there’s no chest fastenings (ruling out Kriega packs and the new Oxford Atlas).

Given that the airbag is basically the same, I’d feel confident wearing a lightweight, loose backpack with the V2 Canvas, but that’s a purely personal decision.

Alpinestars Tech-Air 3 V2 inflation test

Watch the new airbag being fired

Trigger method

The Alpinestars Tech-Air 3 V2 is an electronically-deployed system that uses an ECU mounted in the upper back, which contains a three-axis accelerometer and three axis gyroscope to detect high-sides, low-sides, direct crashes into other things and being hit by another vehicle while stationary.

The system powers up automatically when you zip it closed, then arms when you’ve been riding for more than 10 seconds. It stays armed until you unzip it.

Alpinestars says the algorithm has been “refined with millions of kilometres of real-world data.”

Of course, nothing can fully guarantee your safety, but over the past few years the leading electronic airbag systems from Alpinestars, Dainese and In&Motion have been constantly refined to provide extremely reliable triggering.

A direct impact is arguably the hardest to protect against as the time it takes the body to reach the thing you hit will be very small. However, Alpinestars is quite open about this, and states that, thanks to its fast trigger and inflation time, based on testing the system will be fully effective before the rider hits the object they collided with at speeds of up to 39 mph.

That might sound slow, but consider that you sit about one meter from the front of your bike (and hence the object it’s hit), and at 39mph it’ll take your body just under six hundredths of a second to cover that distance. Your airbag needs to detect that crash and fully inflate to protect you in time.

For the rider to directly hit the object they collide with is a worst-case scenario, but by the time you’ve braked your speed could well be low enough. Obviously hitting the front of a truck at 60mph is pretty much game-over whatever you wear, but an airbag can significantly help to protect you in lower-speed direct impacts, as well as secondary impacts from much high speeds, for instance crashing into a car bonnet and being launched into the other side of the car’s roof. Or a fence. Or another car. Or a signpost. Or the road.

Direct crashes are said to be unlikely to be detected at below 15mph, and low-sides will not always trigger the system, though this is the same case with others. There’s a fine line to tread between accidental deployments and intentional ones. To better understand the protection an airbag can provide, check out the full guide to the best motorcycle airbag here, which is kept constantly updated with the latest data and testing.

The Alpinestars Tech-Air 3 V2 can be used for very light off-road riding – the kind of green lanes and byways that I tend to venture on – but it’s not suitable for ‘proper’ off-road or motorcross use. Alpinestars states it’s fine for unpaved / gravel roads as long as they have a minimum width of 4m, no gradients greater than plus or minus 30%, and no ruts, steps or holes greater than 50cm deep.

When deployed, the chest and back are protected by a very firm, energy-absorbing bladder

Can you accidentally trigger the Alpinestars Tech-Air 3 V2?

A few years ago, my original Tech-Air 3 deployed as I took it off, scaring the hell out of our dog. Since then the firmware has been updated and the system disarms as soon as it’s unzipped. It was a delay after unzipping that caused it to think me twisting it off my body and dropping it onto the sofa was a crash.

It is possible for any electronic system to potentially suffer an unintentional firing, and I wouldn’t suggest literally jumping off your bike when you pull up. But there has to be a compromise in order for it to detect being hit by a car while you’re sat at a junction. In all the time I’ve been using the Tech-Air 3 V2 (and the V1 since the firmware update), I haven’t had any accidental deployments. I haven’t been delicately moving around or anything, so just use some common sense and don’t jump off the bike and spin around at the same time as you pull up! I’ve also deliberately ridden some insanely bumpy roads at high speeds, and thrown myself up and down in the saddle. But no system has let me down yet.

It's extremely unlikely that the Tech-Air 3 V2 will fire accidentally, but at least if it does, you can replace the inflator yourself. The data of any deployment is stored in the ECU, so if it was a genuine fault of the system an authorised repair centre (BKS Made-to-Measure in the UK) would be able to access that if there was a potential warranty claim.

This label shows Level 2 airbag protection across the Full Back, certified at +40°C and -10°C, as well as Level 2 across the Chest, certified at +40°C and -10°C

Protection and Certification

Put simply, there are two different safety standards used to certify airbags as protective. There’s the European EN1621-4 standard that Alpinestars, Dainese, MotoAirbag and Hit-Air use, and the French CRITT, which In&Motion and Helite uses. EN1621-4 includes tests against narrow-object impacts like the edges of a car, a roof-rack, fence, signpost etc, whereas CRITT only tests for flat impacts such as landing flat on the road.

The guide to motorcycle airbags goes into a lot more detail, but it’s my opinion – based on months of research, independent lab testing and speaking to medical professionals – that airbags certified to EN1621-4’s impact requirements have the potential to offer the greater levels of protection.

The Alpinestars Tech-Air 3 V2 is certified to the highest Level 2 of EN1621-4’s impact requirements at the chest and back, meaning it transfers less than or equal to 2.5 kN during testing. For comparison, a Level 2 passive back protector transfers ≤9 kN in testing, so it’s easy to see just how effective an airbag like this can be.

Due to the way testing is carried out, that means that the Tech-Air 3 V2 has the potential to reduce the impact energy of a crash by 97.5% or more of what it could have been without protection.

As it can be worn outside your other kit, the Tech-Air 3 V2 is also certified for EN17092’s abrasion resistance, seam strength and tear-resistance. The label shows ‘C’ and ‘O’, which means it’s an armour carrier that can be worn over other kit. The abrasion requirements of this test are low, being only the equivalent of the key impact areas of Level A, so if you slide and abrade through the airbag then hit something you could be in trouble if the system is worn on the outside. However, the worst impacts are likely to occur before sliding far.

In my deployment testing, the Tech-Air 3 V2 did appear to offer some protection against hyper extension of the neck.

From April 21 2018, all new motorcycle clothing is deemed to be Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). To meet this legislation, it must be tested to a recognised standard. For more information on the new laws, click here.

Comfort on and off the bike

The Alpinestars Tech-Air 3 V2 Canvas has a ripstop lining, which is a change from the fine mesh of the previous model Tech-Air 3. This will of course sit over your jacket (or baselayer / tee-shirt if worn underneath) so won’t touch the skin, but it seems surprising to have not stuck with a mesh that could let a little more air move around.

Needless to say, no airbag bladder is breathable but the outer shell can allow air to pass between the layers and potentially keep you a little cooler. Still, adding a 3D mesh would of course make the vest more bulky.

Worn over a mesh jacket in hot weather (like the Adventure Spec Supershirt 2.0 shown in the pics), you’ll still get a lot of air moving across your arms, and a fair bit around your chest, so while airflow will be compromised to some extent, that has to be expected with any airbag.

Perhaps the best for allowing air to move around is the MotoAirBag V4 with its mesh construction and thick 3D mesh lining (the MotoAirBag M1 also has this), but these are far more of a ‘practical’ style than the Alpinestars on review here.

On my R1250GS, which has a thick-stepped pillion seat that can be pulled forward to act as a back stop, the inflator carrier on the Tech-Air 3 can get in the way. It soon pushes up over the seat, but I just found this a bit annoying at first... It hasn’t stopped me using the vest though.

Convenience

If you wear any airbag over your existing kit you’ll lose access to the pockets, but fortunately there are two good-sized zipped pockets on the waist of the Tech-Air 3 Canvas. They’re not waterproof though, so watch out in a rainstorm, and of course be careful not to put anything in that could damage the bladder.

The previous version of the standard Tech-Air 3 had an elasticated strap tucked away in the rear left of the vest, which helped to neatly bundle the it up, but it’s not on this model. Fortunately, it’s still easy to fold the Tech-Air 3 V2 Canvas up and carry it in a rucksack or pop it in your bike’s luggage if you don’t want to wear it while walking about.

Alpinestars has long had a very good app that shows the status of your vest (including battery life and usage time) and that can run firmware updates over the air. It can track your ride too if you want, though you do have to start it recording each time.

Accessing the app only takes a few seconds, but it’s not really convenient to check every time you ride. Fortunately the LED on the front of the vest (which is tucked out of the way under the left pocket, so needs pulling open to see), will warn you when battery life is down to four to eight hours by turning orange as it boots up. If there’s less than four hours left it’ll go red.

Charging is easy with the port behind the LED panel on the inside

The battery on the Alpinestars Tech-Air 3 (which is replaceable by an authorised service centre) has a class-leading life of up to 40 hours of riding time, so I’ve never found myself yet in a situation where it’s too low to go out.

I hang the vest near a power point where I have a long USB-C cable plugged into a charger that I use every week or so to keep it topped up. Occasionally I’ll open the app for a look at the battery level, but I’m usually surprised at how little it’s used.

A full charge takes four hours when using a 1A USB-C charger, and a one-hour charge will give around 10 hours of riding time.

The charging port is easily accessed from inside the vest with just a single Velcro flap covering it up, so it’s no hassle to juice it up, and a clever feature of the Tech-Air 3 is that if you leave it hanging up and it’s turned on, it will shut itself down, then only restarting when it’s been unzipped then zipped up again. If you pop it on and wear it, it will stay throned on as long as it senses your movement (if you sit really still for a while it will turn off, then need opening, pause a few seconds, then close again).

A strap on the left of the waist is said to be for attaching riding gloves to, though I must admit I’m not sure how – perhaps attaching the wrist straps together? Anyway, the two waist pockets offer plenty of room and the chest has two more pockets for sliding odd bits in, as well as a section to tuck the arm of a pair of glasses in.

With the strap that’s tucked under the right arm to hold the chest bladder out of the way, the Tech-Air 3 V2 Canvas really does double as a casual-style body warmer off the bike.

There’s also a strangely padded pair of pockets inside the left of the vest, one of which has an elasticate strap and does a good job of keeping my large Google Pixel 7 Pro in place. I’ve no idea what I’d put in the other.

Build quality

As you’d expect, the build quality of the Tech-Air 3 V2 is excellent, with accurate stitching throughout and a neat touches like the stretch collar.

Washing

The Alpinestars Tech-Air 3 V2 canvas can be hand-washed at 30°C once you’ve removed the airbag bladder and the electronics. The instructions tell you how to do this, but it is a drawn-out process so not something you’ll want to do too frequently. You can always wipe it down with a damp cloth every-so-often, and if you’re riding all-year-round in all weathers with it on top of your other kit, it might be worth considering the ‘standard’ ripstop Tech-Air 3 V2, which is perhaps less likely to get dirt pushed into its outer fibres than the Canvas.

Costs

No airbags currently on the market demand a subscription payment, though it is an option on some if you want it. None of them restrict updates to the existing hardware, regardless of how you pay.

The Alpinestars Tech-Air 3 V2 does not offer a subscription model, though there are servicing costs:

An adaptor is supplied with the Tech-Air 3 V2 that allows you to test the bladder before fitting a new inflator

The service can be carried out by BKS Made-to-Measure in Devon (not to be confused with the BKS sold by J&S), and includes:

• All components removed from the system and the vest cleaned

• Diagnostics of the electronic unit are checked (and firmware upgraded, if applicable)

• Expiration date of inflator checked and replaced if necessary

• Airbag inspected for any sign of wear and/or damage.

• System reassembled into the vest and checked for functionality

BKS Made-to-Measure can carry out pretty-much any work necessary, including replacing batteries that are showing signs of wear, so servicing is a lot less hassle than returning it to Italy.

The Tech-Air 3 V2’s airbag bladder is certified for up to six inflations, and an adaptor is supplied with the vest to check it holds pressure with a standard pump. After six inflations, or if the bladder is damaged, a replacement with inflator costs £199.99 at BKS Made-to-Measure.

The instructions state that “The internal high pressure Gas Inflator has a limited duration, and must be changed approximately every 4 years. Before the use and during the periodic inspection service, the expiration date must be verified and in case the inflator is over 4 years old, it must be substituted.”

It would appear then that the inflator that came with my vest would actually be good until September 2030, and while my contact at Alpinestars in Italy was unable to confirm an additional time put on the conservative expiry date supplied by the canister manufacturer, the two companies are currently working on an official solution. I’ll update this review when I hear more.

I’ll update this review as soon as I have more information, as I hope Alpinestars will be able to provide clarity for buyers, but the instructions do state that “The internal high pressure Gas Inflator has a limited duration, and must be changed approximately every 4 years. Before the use and during the periodic inspection service, the expiration date must be verified and in case the inflator is over 4 years old, it must be substituted.” My take on that is that the inflator that came with my vest would actually be good until September 2030, which is much more acceptable.

Three alternatives to the Alpinestars Tech-Air 3 V2

It’s fantastic that motorcycle airbag technology is moving on so rapidly, and that there are so many choices. Before investing in one, I strongly urge you to read the guide to motorcycle airbags in order to better understand the protection on offer by the various products, but if you’re considering the Tech-Air 3 V2, here are some others you might also be wondering about…

• Dainese Smart Air, £599 | The successor to the Smart Jacket, this offers the same coverage in a more compact shell, and now with Level 2 protection at the chest and the back. Updates are wireless and the inflator is user-replaceable up to three times. The battery life isn't very good compared to the Tech-Air 3 V2, and it shouldn't be worn outside your existing kit in heavy rain. Servicing is free though when the vest is returned to the UK importer, Nevis. Read the full review of the Dainese Smart Air here.

• MotoAirBag M1, £438 | This mechanically-triggered airbag offers incredible coverage and full Level 2 protection under EN1621-4 thanks to two inflators. The tether is also a genius inertial reel design that’s potentially much faster and more effective than the elastic straps found on other mechanical airbags. It’s not as stylish as the Tech-Air 3 V2 Canvas, but it is our top-rated system. Read the full review of the MotoAirBag M1 here.

• Alpinestars Tech-Air 3 V1, £415.99 | At the time of writing there are still some of the older V1 Tech-Air 3s available, with BKS Made-to-Measure having them at £415.99 for instance, but deals seem to be drying up quickly. It’s still a superb piece of kit, but the inflator has to be replaced by a specialist at a cost of £149.99 including a service, though that’s the same price as it’d cost to have the V2 serviced and to buy a new inflator. Read the full review of the original Tech-Air 3 here.

These are just three of many alternatives – you can find all the airbags we’ve tested here, and be sure to check out our complete guide to motorcycle airbags here.

Alpinestars Tech-Air 3 V2 review: Verdict

Having put many months of research into motorcycle airbags, my opinion is that those meeting the highest levels of the EN1621-4 impact requirements – like this one – offer the best protection.

Of the electronic systems on the market, I think that the Alpinestars Tech-Air 3 V2 is the best thanks to its long battery life, excellent coverage and its ability to be safely used in all weathers.

Any airbag will be a compromise to wear in some way, but the best ones – like this – are a lot easier to get on with (and better looking) than they used to be. Once you start finding out about the protection they can offer, airbags soon become very tempting, and I’ve no hesitation in recommending the Tech-Air 3 V2 – whether you choose it in standard rip-stop, the canvas on review here or leather – as a superb option.

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The unbiased guide to the best motorcycle airbag

This video shows the initial research, but be sure to check out the written guide to the best airbags too