Those of you who read Driving’s motorcycle coverage know I love airbag clothing.

I love airbags for the protection they offer. I love airbags for the ingenuity of building a supplemental restraint system into something you can wear. Most of all, however,I love airbags for the confidence they give me to go out and play with the sharks—that would be all the car drivers that motorcyclists assume are trying to kill them.

I love them enough, in fact, to let former editor-in-chief Neil Vorano beat me upside my back with a baseball bat to prove that nothing, but nothing, a motorcyclist can wear offers anywhere near the protection an inflatable safety device woven into the fabric of a jacket or leather suit can.

But, if you know that, you also know how heavy and sweaty said airbags have made the clothing they’re built into.

Build anything robust enough to hold high-pressure gas into clothing, it seems, and it destroys anything resembling ventilation. Wearing any of the jackets I have tested – and there have been about five so far – on a sunny day is akin to wearing your winter thermal gear in the heat of summer.

You’ll be getting plenty sweaty. So humid, in fact, you probably won’t bother donning said airbag, essentially negating all its vaunted safety benefits.

Dainese may just solved the problem.

It’s called Smart Jacket, and it solves that ventilation problem by folding the airbag over on itself – rather than lining the entire garment with wind-blocking fabric – so there’s less airbag preventing air from circulating around your core. If this is true, we motorcyclists may finally have an airbag garment that won’t turn into your own private sweat lodge every time the mercury touches 25 C.

The Smart Jacket is also very versatile. Unlike previous Dainese airbag vests that were tailored for one specific jacket, the new Smart Jacket is completely independent and can be worn under any jacket, Dainese or otherwise. All its complex sensors – there are seven in all – and the computer that controls them are built-in.

And the Smart Jacket is effective; Dainese claims its rapid-fire inflation offers the same degree of protection as seven traditional back protectors!

Finally, one last bonus. Although Canadian pricing has not been set, in the USA the Smart Jacket is set to retail for $699, a significant cost savings compared with previous Dainese airbag systems. And, of course, you can wear it under your existing outwear.

I really can’t wait to test this one!