I ended up calling Hit Air and they said the vest does deflate on its own, but slowly.
In the end, we ended up with a Helite air vest and a Kanteq body protector. I really thought we’d end up with the Hit Air because of the outward inflation (less startling), the neck pillow and the trimmer look–no flapping around. She was deployed in both the Point Two and the Helite (which are very similar vests), but with the Hit Air, they pumped it up, but don’t deploy it. She did find the P2 and Helite deployment very “intense” and startling, but it does really hold your core and the overall airbags are just bigger. It also actually seemed to have better neck protection–it protected the back of the neck well, but also the sides. The Hit Air didn’t do anything for side-to-side.
I think either would have been fine. I did like the Helite better than the P2 for various reasons, but they’re basically shaped the same.
