Tech Air 5 Plasma vs Old Tech Air 5: Worth Upgrading?
Featured Creator
left for contents
I’ve been wearing the Tech-Air Off-Road for over a year now, and when I first saw the Plasma, I was immediately intrigued. It’s built for the adventure rider, but also works as a street base layer—which is awesome here in Texas, where it’s hot as balls.
Now, don’t get me wrong—the Off-Road is excellent, but it’s definitely overkill for the average rider. That’s why I picked up the original Tech-Air 5 last fall. I loved it… but it was a deeply flawed piece of kit.
This article is based on the video by Spite’s Corner.
If only someone could take the streetability of the original, combine it with the Off-Road’s best features, and slap a friendlier price tag on it. Poof—enter the Tech-Air 5 Plasma.
What sets this airbag apart is its coverage of the shoulder and ribs - critical areas often missed by motorcycle airbags. Must be worn under an abrasion-resistant motorcycle jacket, ideally a Tech Air -compatible jacket from Alpinestars.
- Rapid inflation (20–50 ms)
- User-replaceable canister (up to 6 uses)
- Three riding modes: Street, Race, Off-Road
- Adds bulk under tight jackets
- Limited airflow in hot weather
- Not compatible with heated gear
So, What Is the Tech-Air 5 Plasma?
No, it doesn’t run on your blood plasma—you can cancel the IV drip plans. The name actually comes from the new Plasma Nucleon back protector. But this isn’t just a 2025 color update. It’s a ground-up, soup-to-nuts redesign.
New chassis. New brain. New airbag. New buttons. New canister system. And it’s better in pretty much every way.
Disclosure Time: Am I a Paid Shill?
Let’s clear the air. This unit came from the fine folks at RevZilla. They’re not paying me to say anything nice. They didn’t even see this video before it went live. I told them “Hey, send me one. I’ll make a video.” And they said cool.
I’ve spent over a month in the Plasma and logged more than a thousand miles. I’m ready to say it: this is my new favorite airbag vest.
Big New Features
Let’s start with the headline: user-serviceable canisters. You get one deployment, and then you can swap it out yourself. Unsnap. Unscrew. Rescrew. Resnap. Done. Just make sure the airbag is folded properly.
Another big update? A button. Yep, a real button. No more app dependency. Hold it for two seconds and you can cycle between Street, Race, and Off-Road modes—each with a different algorithm for deployment.
Why I Prefer Wireless Airbags
People always ask me why I go with wireless, autonomous vests instead of tethered ones. Here’s the thing:
Most motorcycle crashes are lowsides. In those, you’re usually still attached to the bike when your shoulder hits the ground. Tethered systems won’t trigger until you separate. Too late. Collarbone’s already gone.
Autonomous systems like the Plasma detect the crash as it happens. They also auto-arm the second you zip up. Ever forgotten to strap your helmet or fasten your gloves before leaving? Yeah, same.
Plus, these systems detect rear-end collisions when you’re stopped. If you’re about to get Kia Sorrento’d from behind, this will deploy before you hit their hood.
Other Must-Have Safety: The Brake Free Light
If we’re talking safety, I gotta shout out the Brake Free helmet light. This thing senses when you start slowing down—even without using your brakes—and activates automatically. No one behind you? Now they know you’re decelerating.
There are three modes: Day (high contrast), Night (running light + brake), and what I call Rain Mode (full hazard-style flashing).
What If I Forget to Charge It?
Battery life? 30 hours. I’ve charged this maybe five times in the past month. One hour of charging gets you multiple hours of ride time. It’s fast.
Fitment: A Major Improvement
Here’s what drove me nuts about the old Tech-Air 5—the fit. It wasn’t movement-restricting, but around the shoulders and arms, it was tight enough to be annoying. No stretch mesh anywhere. Eat one burger too many and it feels like a breezy vest, not a safety device.
The Plasma fixes all of that. It’s got stretch mesh where it matters, and the fit is far more forgiving—as long as you’re within the size range. The airbag now covers more impact zones, especially ribs and upper arms. The back protector molds to your back instead of being a stiff slab.
Comfort in Texas Heat
Look, Texas is hot. Like “surface of Venus” hot. Most days are 85–95°F, and under a mesh jacket, the Plasma feels like a base layer. The old one? Like trying to shove a hockey jersey under your gear. This one’s slimmer, breathes better, and you don’t look like the Hunchback of Notre ADV.
Compatibility: Use Math, Not Hopes
You can’t just slap any jacket over this. Here’s how to check:
Step 1: Measure chest circumference (A)
Step 2: Measure jacket armpit-to-armpit width (B)
Your jacket is compatible if B > A ÷ 2 + 16cm (or 6.3 cheeseburgers)
You need space so the airbag can expand without turning your jacket into a toothpaste tube. I’ve tested this under race suits and lots of jackets. American cuts usually work better out of the gate.
Real Fit Examples (and Misuse Confession)
In the video, I’m wearing a Dainese Superleggera mesh jacket that’s not Tech-Air compatible. Don’t be like me.
The Chrome hoodie in 2X? Not compatible. The Alpinestars jacket that says it’s Tech-Air Ready? Doesn’t fit.
But the Tech-Air Andes Air in 3X? Works great. The NBT Bomber jacket in 2X? Works too, because American cut.
Pro tip: Remove shoulder and back armor from your jacket before wearing the vest. Leave the elbow armor in.
Can You Wash It?
Here’s the problem with the original Tech-Air 5—you couldn’t really clean it. You’d have to dab it carefully or do some sketchy maneuvering with water and hope for the best. Opening the zippers voids warranty. It’s like tearing the tag off a mattress.
The Plasma changes all that. You can remove the airbag and electronics, turning it into a washable base layer. They say don’t machine wash it—but I’ve done my Off-Road version on delicate and it came out fine.
Do not, however, machine-dry the airbag. Wipe the salt and slime with a cloth—no soap or chemicals.
What Still Needs Fixing
Okay, time for tough love.
First off, this needs a kidney belt. Same thing I said about the Off-Road. It would keep the airbag in place better. Sometimes around my gut (which is, let’s be honest, American-sized), the vest bunches up and gets uncomfortable.
Second, canisters are still hard to find. That’s temporary. Eventually, they’ll be at every Cycle Gear. But right now, you get one charge. I wish they included a second canister in the box.
Third, even though the canisters are cleared for travel, good luck flying out of LAX with them. I lost two at security despite having them in travel mode.
And finally, while the button is a great feature, it doubles as the charging port—and that’s a risk. On my Off-Road vest, the charging port broke off. I’m in talks with Alpinestars to fix it, but it’s a failure point. A magnetic charger like the original Tech-Air 5 would be a smarter design.
Should You Upgrade?
So… do you need to upgrade if you already own a Tech-Air 5?
Probably not. If you’re just doing street and maybe occasional track days, wear it until it deploys once—then upgrade.
But if you ride street, track, off-road, big adventures—get the Plasma. It brings all the best parts of the Off-Road without the $1,000 price tag.
That said, I honestly don’t care which airbag you buy. Just get one. Motorcycling is risky enough. This is one of the best ways to keep yourself safer on the road.
Final Thoughts
If you want to check out the Tech-Air 5 Plasma, there’s an affiliate link in the description. Whether you buy this, a new exhaust, or something else, you’ll help the channel out—and I appreciate that.
Big thanks to RevZilla for sending this out. And huge thanks to you for reading all the way through.
See you in the next one.
What sets this airbag apart is its coverage of the shoulder and ribs - critical areas often missed by motorcycle airbags. Must be worn under an abrasion-resistant motorcycle jacket, ideally a Tech Air -compatible jacket from Alpinestars.
- Rapid inflation (20–50 ms)
- User-replaceable canister (up to 6 uses)
- Three riding modes: Street, Race, Off-Road
- Adds bulk under tight jackets
- Limited airflow in hot weather
- Not compatible with heated gear