This new lighter-weight, low-profile Mase Airding Compact backpack could be the one that makes cycling airbag backpacks finally blow up (pun intended). It’s more 30% lighter than their previous generation. It’s 25% more affordable. And it still uniquely offers more reusable protection than any chest or back protector, plus face protection beyond even what a full-face helmet covers. A cycling airbag backpack could now make sense for commuters, ebike riders, off-road touring, or maybe even long-distance road & gravel riding, too. And the made-in-Germany cycling airbag is available now…

Mase Airding Compact cycling airbag backpack

(Photos/Cory Benson)

For several years, we’ve been kind of enamored by the possibilities of cycling-specific airbags to create a new level of safety for both bicycle commuters and even recreational bike riders of all disciplines. But their execution has always felt a bit bulky, clunky, or simply too heavy for more mainstream adoption. But Mase’s new approximately 850g Airding Compact cycling airbag could be the turning point.

It is both slimmer than pretty much any hydration pack out there, measuring 27cm long on your back, and certainly lighter than putting a liter or two of water on your back. And it provides an impressive level of upper body and face protection to add to your regular half-shell helmet.

New AirRide airbag inside

Beyond the new slimline pack that you wear high on your back and shoulders, what’s new inside the Airding Compact is an all-new AirRide airbag design. It now offers expanded protection that wraps all the way around your shoulders. The AirRide airbag now protects the rider’s upper chest, face, collar bones, shoulders, and upper cervical spine, in addition to simply supporting your head & neck in an impact.

It is Mase’s / Minerva’s lightest yet, and still folds down so small that Mase says it now makes airbag protection accessible to road and gravel bike riders, too.

Inflation tech

The core airbag tech is pretty the same as the big, almost one thousand euro EVOC Commute backpack we test-fired a couple years ago. That’s because Mase is the consumer-facing cycling brand of the airbag tech maker Minerva parent company, who developed and manufactures the airbag technology.

Once it is armed by closing the chest-strap buckle, a series of position & accelerometer sensors track the rider’s movements 300 times per second. And by blowing a tiny charge in its special CO2 cartridge, the Airding will inflate the airbag in just 150 milliseconds once a crash is detected, bursting out of the pack’s body.

The airbag itself can be reused many times, with Mase saying it is easy for the end-user to do at home following their online instructions. Once it deflates after a crash, the cyclist simply can refold the airbag and stow it back into the pack. You just have to buy a replacement cartridge for it to re-arm the inflator.

The whole thing is controlled by a USB-C rechargeable microcontroller, with active tracking for 30 hours of ride time.

Mase Airding airbag – Pricing, options & availability

Mase’s made in Erding, Germany Airding Compact airbag protection backpack sells for 600€ with the latest AirRide airbag & inflator inside. Order now for delivery starting in late August 2025. US distribution is slated to begin in early 2026.

More for mountain bikers, their ~1.5kg Fusion pack, with a viscoelastic back protector, some small internal storage & the ability to add a hydration bladder, is also now available with the new extra-protection AirRide airbag inside for 800€.

Replacement CO2 cartridges sell for either 50€ for a recycled, recharged one or 100€ for an all-new inflator. Mase also offers a 100€ inspection and repacking service for anyone who wants to double-check that everything is in perfect working order after a crash, including a replacement inflator. They even offer upgrades to bring their previously sold airbag backpacks up to date with their latest and most protective airbag designs.

Mase-safety.com

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