Survival clothing for a dangerous life from Nihon Uni and Dainese
By Susan Wilson
Imagine a T shirt that saves you from knife attacks and a motorcycle jacket that will deploy airbags during a wreck. Imagine the outrageous cost of insurance for living and participating in such a high stress life.
Sadly, the T-shirt, created by Nihon Uni, was developed specifically for children and adults that are increasingly victims of knife attacks in Japan. The T-shirt is made of material that is 3 times as thick as cotton and is an “ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene fiber,…equal to that of aramid fiber used in body armor.” The T-shirts can be bought in short sleeve and long sleeve versions but with price tags of $190-522 for the short sleeved version and $220-590 for the long sleeved version, children and convenience store night clerks will not be able to buy them. This new T-shirt might be more affordable for say your local armed forces or local police department (presuming a bulk rate discount) but the average person living in a high risk neighborhood is not going to be wearing one of these babys anytime soon.
Another item that you won’t see coming to a store near you, is the Dainese D-Tech motorcycle racing outfit. The suit comes not only with airbags, but also with accelerometers, GPS, and turn meters. Not exactly your every day suit for taking a ride on the old bike. However for motorcycle racing, this suit will provide a lot of data and safety for the racer. The airbags are detachable so that if a racer wipes out, the racer will be able to survive the wreck, detach the deployed airbags, and continue the race. Below is a list of all of the technical features of the D-Tech suit.
TECHNICAL FEATURES (from downloadable PDF)
• The system is fully independent and connected neither physically or via radio
to the motorcycle;
• Instrumentation complete with 3 accelerometers, 3 turn meters, and a GPS
system, all completely built into the aerodynamic appendage;
• Capacity to acquire up to 10 hours of data on rider dynamics during the race (in
development platform configuration);
• Self-powered electronics with Lithium-polymer (Li-Po) batteries with approx. 4
hour working autonomy;
• Pyrotechnic-Inert gas Hybrid-type gas generator;
• The protective sack that covers the shoulders and neck with a total volume of
37 liters of air inflates in less than 40ms;
• The system enclosed in the special aerodynamic hump can be quickly removed
after a spill in order to get back into the race fast.
Both the knife resistant T-shirt and the airbag racing suit are not likely to be found in your local Wal-Mart. The racing suit probably never will be found in local stores. But should the T-shirt be used by law enforcement and the military, the chances of the prices coming down is likely. The T-shirt could actually become affordable for the children and night clerks for whom it was originally designed.
Related posts: