Backcountry Access Sales Representative Steve Christi demonstrates (in real time)
the Float 30 Avalanche Airbag at the 2009 Winter Outdoor Retailer.
Though not the first ones to introduce an ABS (airbag system) in a backpack to the backcountry skiing community, Backcountry Access hopes to make them easily available and user friendly in fall 2009 with the Float 30 Avalanche Airbag. While not a replacement to an avalanche transceiver, ABS packs use the “marble effect” (the theory that if you shake a bowl of marbles, the largest ones will rise to the top) to keep a skier caught in an avalanche at the surface. And since evacuation time can be one of the biggest reasons people die in avalanches, this could be something fantastic for the backcountry community.
Yes, ABS packs have been available to skiers and snowboarders for a few years now, but in the US, there is a limited supply of them and often hard to find due to limited distribution. This can be troublesome, but the biggest hindrance to buying an ABS pack in the past has been figuring out a way to refill the compressed air cylinder after it has been deployed. The Float 30 differs in that it needs much less pressure to fill the 150L airbag and uses an extremely efficient “venturi effect” to do so. Since it needs much less pressure to inflate the airbag, it can do it with a smaller air cylinder, which means less weight as well, and fully inflated in approximately 4 seconds during the demonstration…though I think they are shooting for about 2 seconds for the finished product. Coming in at about 6lbs, and with a retail price of $499, the BCA Float 30 Avalanche Airbag will be refillable at paintball and SCUBA shops…or wherever compressed air is available.
I’m stoked that these could possibly be widely available next year. I did see that the snowmobile apparel compnay Klim was selling them this year, as far as availability, i don’t know if they’re hard to get or not…
Anyway. Had 2 questions/comments that hopefully someone could clarify…I heard that in tests with OTHER airbag systems (that are SIMILAR) that all or many of the “dummy victims” that they used in the test were found face down. I also heard that these things carry you further down the avalanche path…so perhaps you’ll be on top, but perhaps you’ll be dinged up and face down…
on the plus side I heard that the “dummy victims” have ALWAYS been found on top and only in a handful of secondary avalanche senerios has anyone ever been buried while wearing one of these things…
I guess there is no silver bullet. these should prove to be a really useful tool and at the end of the day, I WANT ONE! I saw another design that had a bag that kind of wrapped around your head that looked better than the above b/c it looked like it protected your entire head from trauma…can anyone clear these questions up? these airbag systems have been lurking just out of reach for some time now…
Yup that is the snowpulse avalanche bag, much better system than bca. The snowpulse protects against trama a lot better!
I like the concept of airbags better than the Avalung for a couple of reasons. It is better to stay at or near the top of the snow, and the airbags have been tested and shown to do that. The stats show if you are buried deeper than 6 feet, your chances of survival are close to zero. One study I found online compared various brands of airbags, and there may be some advantages to one brand or another, but the bottom line was ALL the airbag victims were visible on the surface of the test slide. I like the look of the snowpulse system… but it is >$1000 US dollars and not readily available in the US. If Backcountry sells a similar system for $499 I’m guessing they will sell a ton, and hopefully save some lives. The nice thing about the airbags is once deployed, you don’t have to do anything else to make it work.
I’m less confident about the avalung. The problem is… you have to get the mouthpiece in your mouth, keep it in your mouth, and then pray you aren’t buried too deep for fast rescue. After the fatality in Jackson this year I’ve seen dozens of avalung mouthpieces in the tram line that were filled with snow, and one guy who had even covered his with plastic wrap and a rubber band to keep the snow out!! Black Diamond posts self-reported “success stories” on their website avalung.com, but there is potential danger in this kind of “case report” (which is why we avoid them in medical research). We don’t know how many of those people would have survived WITHOUT the avalung, and we don’t know how many people with an avalung died anyway. Many of these avalung “survivors” are buried at shallow depths, and most have very rapid rescue times. One reported “save” was found uncounscious with the avalung mouthpiece OUT of his mouth, but still claimed the avalung “saved” him. More likely he survived because he was not deeply buried and had a <15 minute rescue. I suspect many of the “saves” would have survived without the avalung, although there are probably some people who the avalung helped.
My preference if stuck in an avalanche would be to be on or near the top, with rapid rescue. An avalung would be a distant second for me.
Any more info on the pack itself? Features? Does it look like something you would want to carry for teton day tours?
The pack has all typical features of a ski pack and can carry skis or a snowboard. Also has in insulated hydration sleeve in the shoulder strap. I’d carry one…if it was free. 😉
how bout an air bag with an avalung? face down wouldnt be much of a problem then
This looks very promising at $500. $1000 for a pack (and still really need a tranceiver) is simply too much for the the skin & climb crowd. Only heli types can drop a grand on a backpack, methinks.
I agree that having an avylung combo with this might be a good idea, too. Just because you are buried near the top, doesn’t mean you still aren’t buried and immobile. Seems a great 1-2 punch…
I have two questions: Is this air bag allowed on commercial airliners, and is there any trauma protection involved with the BCA pack.
Bogie
I don’t know about the airline thing…but I don’t think it has any trauma protection.
randosteve
All the airbags that I know of are not allowed on commercial airlines – and they do check. That makes for a problem if you intend to travel. It would be nice if this one were different.
Bogie
how many liters?
30?
is it big enough for planed or un-planed evening(s)?
Bogie – The SnowPulse is allowed on all commercial airlines since you can fly with an empty canister, then fill it when you land at any shop that can compress air (scuba, paintball, fire dept). The ABS packs are also legal for flight in the US, but you need prior written approval from the airline to flying with the canister.
Hey Guys,
The Snowpulse can travel on airlines, even with charged canisters providing they are in the hold.
I just flew to Germany with 4 fully charged canisters in my luggage and then the backpack without the canisters as my hand luggage.
I then flew back with 3 emptys in my hold luggage and one empty in my hand luggage as a test and the security guys said it was fine because it was empty.
So empty can go as hand luaggae and charged can go as hold luggage.
This is all certified by snowpusle too, so it may be worth chucking the certificates in your hold bag incase it gets searched!
JC
Thanks for the info James! I hope it wasn’t an anomaly.
just received my 30 l snowpulse airbag pack. It’s well designed, roomy enough for a day trip( shovel, lunch, down, gloves, hat, helmet, shell, emergency bivy, goggles, maybe a pair of verts, phone).
got it in canada, on sale.
It has a plastic sheet to stiffent the back and transfer the load to the hips, which I might modify to add a couple of aluminum stays, for the times when I put skis and boots on my pack for long approaches.
pretty cool to see these airbag pack getting more popular and easier to get. from what i know, only one shop sells them here in jackson…and it’s a snowmobile shop.
Hey guys,
I have worked with or been around a bunch of people that have used these. A few -pretty random- reactions to some stuff above:
– of all the avy airbag systems I’m aware of right now, all canisters (filled or unfilled) are designed to fit within airline regulations on pressure canisters. In short, you’re allowed to bring them on. The long story, some airlines might hassle you since they simply don’t understand what it is. A friend of mine brought one to Kashmir with all the documentation (which helped a LOT!) and only on the flight back someone started to make a fuss, but let us fly in the end.
– when air decompresses it cools off. I know that this is why ABS (the oldest manufacturer of these packs) uses something other than simply compressed air, fearing that it might freeze the valves once you deploy it. Not saying the BCA pack or Snowpulse don’t work, just saying that this is why they choose to take the route with the not-so-customer-friendly refilling.
– They are currently two trains of thought about the protective nature of the wrap-around design of Snowpulse. Yes, it might help save head trauma, but the other side of the argument is that due to the placement of the airbag up high twisting forces (the ones that could break you back) are led into the torso much higher, creating a longer leverage arm with a theoretically higher chance of back or neck injury.
Thanks for the info Bas. Good to know some of the finer points of traveling and refilling the canisters. Rumor has it Ortovox is working on some sort of avalanche airbag, but so far, I don’t have any specifics. Looking forward to seeing it though.
Very cool but, a bit pricey – and I already have a backcountry pack. This is basically a bag and a big CO2. There needs to be a $50 modular add on for existing packs. Great product. Save lives by making it affordable for gen Y.
I am glad to see pregression in this technology. I feel that it is something that everybody in avalanche terrain should use. Everybody should ask them selves; ‘How much $ is my life worth?’. If your risking your life skiing and don’t want to die, why not take advantage of any technology out there? I like to think that my life is worth at least $1000.
Mine is too…can I barrow a $1000? 🙂
Self inflating life jackets ARE allowed on aircraft. Key is to isolate the compressed air source. Many airlines or Security staff might argue but the BA saftey manual clearly states they are allowed and these products are no different. best to isolate the gas and pack in your hold luggage.
All life jackets on-board aircraft, under yaur seats, are of the self inflating variety, allbeit a manual trigger.
Hmm, underseat lifejackets. . .potential beta for the dirtbag ABS crowd.
I can see it now, news at 11pm: “Local airlines were flummoxed and apalled at last night’s mobbing and subsequent under-seat vandalism of 3 jetliners by a horde of backcountry skiing enthusiasts.
One mother of two teens was taken into custody, saying “My Trevor and Samantha NEED those bags! How will they survive building their bc kickers on 42 degrees?!? They’ll never get their trucker grabs dialed!”