Tucano Urbano Airscud Airbag Jacket

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!