ABS Powder Backpack - Review

[BirdieO]

One of the top comments I hear time and time again from people looking at avy packs and talking about avy packs is not knowing how they are going to fit, if they are lightweight and how much stuff they can fit in them...

Well...let me tell ya was Saturday the best day ever for me...strictly from a backpack perspective! I usually ride with the ABS Vario 15L, and as much as I love it, it was suggested to me by a good friend and ABS expert that I give the Powder a try because of my size and build. I'm 5'5" and average weight (as if I'm telling you all how much I weigh! LOL).

I tried it...and wrote a review for all to see and share with their female shredding buddies as well as guys with a slighter build

Check it out...I hope it helps!!
A Girl And Her Avy Pack | HRT OFFROAD

 

[Chump]

Good review!! I personally went with a snowpulse bag. But I do find myself trying to lighten it up as much as possible while keeping all the essentials. People need to get out there and try the diff brands before deciding. There are lots of choices out there!

 

[BirdieO]

Thanks! Glad you think so!
I agree, trying out a pack is definitely ideal...even if you can try one on that is loaded up so you get a good feel for it on can make the world of difference.
At about 1 lb lighter...my neck/back/shoulders are pretty happy with the Powder Crazy how we don't ever think about those kind of weight differences in any other piece of gear...lol

Good review!! I personally went with a snowpulse bag. But I do find myself trying to lighten it up as much as possible while keeping all the essentials. People need to get out there and try the diff brands before deciding. There are lots of choices out there!

 

[SLEDBUNNYRACING]

What really matters is that you were wearing "something" to protect you in silvermines...and as a bonus, it looks cute on you.


Sent from my phone ---- is anyone listening ?

 

[BirdieO]

Glad you think so Curtis! LOL
Honestly I think body armour would have been more effective in SM on Saturday anyway!!

What really matters is that you were wearing "something" to protect you in silvermines...and as a bonus, it looks cute on you.


Sent from my phone ---- is anyone listening ?

 

[SLEDBUNNYRACING]

Glad you think so Curtis! LOL
Honestly I think body armour would have been more effective in SM on Saturday anyway!!

A good knee brace would have been handy....lol


Sent from my phone ---- is anyone listening ?

 

[Newmanater90]

Nice review. I notice the ABS packs only inflate on the sides where as the snowpulse inflate around your neck and head. In your opinion do you think theres an advantage to the snowpulse bag cradling you head or no?

 

[BirdieO]

Nice review. I notice the ABS packs only inflate on the sides where as the snowpulse inflate around your neck and head. In your opinion do you think theres an advantage to the snowpulse bag cradling you head or no?

Thanks

The Twin Bag system that ABS uses definitely has it's advantages over a mono-bag system, like the Snowpulse or other manufacturers as well...

The idea behind ABS' bags is that the two bags on the backside actually help to keep your body flat on the snow rather than vertical...getting too vertical with snow pushing you will turn your body into more of an anchor in which case, the moving snow is now moving past you and in front of you more, causing burial. With bags that are closer to your head, the risk of this effect is increased...according to ABS research.
Having 2 bags will also increase your chances of staying on top of the snow if one is damaged...what is going to happen if your mono bag tears while you are being swept down a mountain in an avalanche? The other major advantage to the twin bags on your back is that they enhance your body's stability during the turbulence of an avalanche...

That's all info that ABS provides...but my opinion definitely sides with their ideologies and research...when has 2 never been better than 1? When the price point is as similar as they are...my $$$ will always go to lighter, better technology, higher quality materials and years of research over anything else. Not to mention, having a dealer that uses/understands and fully supports a product

 

[Newmanater90]

Alright im sold! You should be their saleswomen lol Speaking of which where do you recommend i buy one? I have an older Snowpulse about 3 years old that id like to sell used.

 

[OOC ZigZag]

Thanks

The Twin Bag system that ABS uses definitely has it's advantages over a mono-bag system, like the Snowpulse or other manufacturers as well...

The idea behind ABS' bags is that the two bags on the backside actually help to keep your body flat on the snow rather than vertical...getting too vertical with snow pushing you will turn your body into more of an anchor in which case, the moving snow is now moving past you and in front of you more, causing burial. With bags that are closer to your head, the risk of this effect is increased...according to ABS research.
Having 2 bags will also increase your chances of staying on top of the snow if one is damaged...what is going to happen if your mono bag tears while you are being swept down a mountain in an avalanche? The other major advantage to the twin bags on your back is that they enhance your body's stability during the turbulence of an avalanche...

That's all info that ABS provides...but my opinion definitely sides with their ideologies and research...when has 2 never been better than 1? When the price point is as similar as they are...my $$$ will always go to lighter, better technology, higher quality materials and years of research over anything else. Not to mention, having a dealer that uses/understands and fully supports a product

Yeah nah I'll take the mono bag SNOWPULSE that puts my head and neck in cspine and when deflated allows me to breath what has been released from the bag as opposed to breathing nitrogen.

 

[norona]

Yeah nah I'll take the mono bag SNOWPULSE that puts my head and neck in cspine and when deflated allows me to breath what has been released from the bag as opposed to breathing nitrogen.

I do a lot of research and testing with abs airbags and first off the way the bag inflates has nothing to do how you will end up in the snow, if you think your going to slide nice and comfy on your back because the bag is higher up or float on your front or flat if the bags come out of the side, you have no idea what and avalanche is like. If you have ever been surfing in 5-10 foot waves which can easily destroy a person then you only know 1/4 of what being in a slide feels like. The way you end up in the debris at the bottom is shear luck. Also the abs new bags are 3x the strength of any other bag on the market. They are high tensile river raft material with fully kevlar lining. We tried to pop one last season by driving a ford f350 over one and it did not pop, but just got severely distorted. Although their strength air bags are not designed to protect you from objects. There is not way a snow pulse wrapped around your shoulder is going to save your neck and spine, the only thing that will do that is a helmet and neck brace, sorry, just the facts. The other advantage of side airbags is that you have full visual while they are inflated and one bag in the abs system is enough to float you. If one gets destroyed by hitting a tree or sliding over rock then with a one bag system you have nothing, with abs you have two so if one is damaged the other is fully capable of floating a human. Also on the breathing aspect. Airbags only have to stay inflated for 3 minutes to do their job, however pretty much most bags will stay inflated for much longer and not sure how you are going to breath that air that is in the bag since if your buried you won't be able to move at all and if your not which, if your wearing a bag should help then you can breathe the open air, and if you can breathe the air we breathe is actually 78% nitrogen and 21% ([FONT=Georgia, serif]The most common gas in the air we breathe is Nitrogen gas. Nitrogen makes about 78% of air, oxygen makes about 21% whereas hydrogen gas makes up a very small percentage and is only found at trace levels in the atmosphere.)[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]This is a great post on the powder line above but wanted to correct a few things as there is a lot of facts that are put out there that are just not true. The most important thing is to buy something you trust, feels comfortable in. Cheers dave

[/FONT]

 

[BirdieO]

Alright im sold! You should be their saleswomen lol Speaking of which where do you recommend i buy one? I have an older Snowpulse about 3 years old that id like to sell used.

Excellent news!
We are an ABS dealer...HRT OFFROAD...give me a shout 403-933-5445 And yes...we are a supporting vendor as well!!

 

[BirdieO]

I do a lot of research and testing with abs airbags and first off the way the bag inflates has nothing to do how you will end up in the snow, if you think your going to slide nice and comfy on your back because the bag is higher up or float on your front or flat if the bags come out of the side, you have no idea what and avalanche is like. If you have ever been surfing in 5-10 foot waves which can easily destroy a person then you only know 1/4 of what being in a slide feels like. The way you end up in the debris at the bottom is shear luck. Also the abs new bags are 3x the strength of any other bag on the market. They are high tensile river raft material with fully kevlar lining. We tried to pop one last season by driving a ford f350 over one and it did not pop, but just got severely distorted. Although their strength air bags are not designed to protect you from objects. There is not way a snow pulse wrapped around your shoulder is going to save your neck and spine, the only thing that will do that is a helmet and neck brace, sorry, just the facts. The other advantage of side airbags is that you have full visual while they are inflated and one bag in the abs system is enough to float you. If one gets destroyed by hitting a tree or sliding over rock then with a one bag system you have nothing, with abs you have two so if one is damaged the other is fully capable of floating a human. Also on the breathing aspect. Airbags only have to stay inflated for 3 minutes to do their job, however pretty much most bags will stay inflated for much longer and not sure how you are going to breath that air that is in the bag since if your buried you won't be able to move at all and if your not which, if your wearing a bag should help then you can breathe the open air, and if you can breathe the air we breathe is actually 78% nitrogen and 21% (The most common gas in the air we breathe is Nitrogen gas. Nitrogen makes about 78% of air, oxygen makes about 21% whereas hydrogen gas makes up a very small percentage and is only found at trace levels in the atmosphere.)

This is a great post on the powder line above but wanted to correct a few things as there is a lot of facts that are put out there that are just not true. The most important thing is to buy something you trust, feels comfortable in. Cheers dave

Thanks for all the additional info Dave! I took all the info I had posted about the advantages of the twin bags from the ABS site but may have paraphrased it to sound...off?
Don't suppose you guys took video of this F350 experiment? That is insane!

 

[Weirboondocking]

ABS is what we use and trust. Thanks for the info.

 

[HRT Offroad]

Yeah nah I'll take the mono bag SNOWPULSE that puts my head and neck in cspine and when deflated allows me to breath what has been released from the bag as opposed to breathing nitrogen.

Thanks for your insight, Jay, but before making a purchase - please take the time to do the proper research so that you can make an educated buying decision. Hype is one thing, but 'the facts' are another. ABS is, and always has been a leader in the industry. They use a dual bag system and a Nitrogen charge system for a reason and it isn't based on hype, but real world results.

 

[Caper11]

I do a lot of research and testing with abs airbags and first off the way the bag inflates has nothing to do how you will end up in the snow, if you think your going to slide nice and comfy on your back because the bag is higher up or float on your front or flat if the bags come out of the side, you have no idea what and avalanche is like. If you have ever been surfing in 5-10 foot waves which can easily destroy a person then you only know 1/4 of what being in a slide feels like. The way you end up in the debris at the bottom is shear luck. Also the abs new bags are 3x the strength of any other bag on the market. They are high tensile river raft material with fully kevlar lining. We tried to pop one last season by driving a ford f350 over one and it did not pop, but just got severely distorted. Although their strength air bags are not designed to protect you from objects. There is not way a snow pulse wrapped around your shoulder is going to save your neck and spine, the only thing that will do that is a helmet and neck brace, sorry, just the facts. The other advantage of side airbags is that you have full visual while they are inflated and one bag in the abs system is enough to float you. If one gets destroyed by hitting a tree or sliding over rock then with a one bag system you have nothing, with abs you have two so if one is damaged the other is fully capable of floating a human. Also on the breathing aspect. Airbags only have to stay inflated for 3 minutes to do their job, however pretty much most bags will stay inflated for much longer and not sure how you are going to breath that air that is in the bag since if your buried you won't be able to move at all and if your not which, if your wearing a bag should help then you can breathe the open air, and if you can breathe the air we breathe is actually 78% nitrogen and 21% ([FONT=Georgia, serif]The most common gas in the air we breathe is Nitrogen gas. Nitrogen makes about 78% of air, oxygen makes about 21% whereas hydrogen gas makes up a very small percentage and is only found at trace levels in the atmosphere.)[/FONT]

[FONT=Georgia, serif]This is a great post on the powder line above but wanted to correct a few things as there is a lot of facts that are put out there that are just not true. The most important thing is to buy something you trust, feels comfortable in. Cheers dave

[/FONT]

Yep that's correct, and when the bag is triggered, air is drawn into the bags as well through the Venturi systems mounted on each bag mixing with the nitrogen, so I was told anyway when I was at the sled show from abs.

I don't trust breathing air in really cold temps, I've had breathing air regulators freeze up at -20. Too many different filling compressors out there that may put moisture in the canister. Nitrogen is a lot drier gas, and I'm confidant in the quality control that abs uses, and abs has been around for a long time. The abs refills are pretty cheap now, and I have a spare canister and trigger in my gear bag.

I didn't not like the mono bag system when I was looking into investing in a airbag pack, your head mobility is severely reduced, they deflate so it makes it alittle difficult to keep riding on a accidental deployment.




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[moyiesledhead]

Avalanche Video: SnowPulse in Action (HD) Verbier 2011 - YouTube

 

[HRT Offroad]

Thanks for sharing, Ken! They do all work...some just differently than others (similar principals, but different concepts). This wasn't intended to be a competition, but simply a review on a pack. But, this is typical S & M style If you are happy with your Snowpulse - that is awesome!! We are just happy that people are protecting themselves. Why don't you take the time to do a little research and write a good review on it. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

 

[moyiesledhead]

Why don't you take the time to do a little research and write a good review on it. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

Done it here before on the hundred or so avy bag threads we've already seen. I've used ABS, Snowpulse, and BCA. Between myself and my kids we own 4 bags from all 3 brands. These things aren't new for us. I don't get tangled up in the hype over who's been doing what...how...where...for longer. They all test their stuff, and they all use the same principle to try to keep you alive after you've made a huge mistake that probably could have been avoided in the first place by using your #1 piece of avalanche gear that resides between your ears. My vote goes to Snowpulse simply because I like the comfort of the vest over a pack, and I can fill the cylinder myself. I've been scuba diving for 45 years...many times beneath the ice. I have no trouble trusting dry air. Of course there's nothing wrong with nitrogen either, other than less convenient for me. My daughters BCA is probably the most comfortable as far as packs go and I can fill the cylinder myself. Not crazy about the right side trigger on it though. Feels wrong to be using my left hand to pull it, but that's personal preference. Some people want that because they think they can outrun an avalanche. Good luck with that! My first generation Snowpulse pack feels a little bulky the first time you wear it though it fits well over my Tekvest, (but I hate wearing a pack at the best of times, hence the Snowpulse vest), and I can fill the cylinder myself. My son's ABS was a PITA to get cylinder and trigger replacements for when he got it which turned me off from them right away, (I'm sure that's changed now) and I don't like the velcro that's wrapped around the trigger because he always forgets to remove it enough so he can actually pull the trigger if he needs to. Tried to tell me one day you don't need to. I said prove it....he tried....couldn't pull it....point made. He's wearing my old Snowpulse now. I also prefer having a gauge to read on the SP and BCA, rather than having to weigh the cylinder like the ABS. Ya, ya, ya....someone's gonna jump on this and say that little gauge isn't that accurate. Who cares? I'm reading 2 different gauges when I fill the cylinder, and a half full cylinder will still fill the bag anyway....I tried it!

Just one old man's experience, for what it's worth.

 

[OOC ZigZag]

Thanks for your insight, Jay, but before making a purchase - please take the time to do the proper research so that you can make an educated buying decision. Hype is one thing, but 'the facts' are another. ABS is, and always has been a leader in the industry. They use a dual bag system and a Nitrogen charge system for a reason and it isn't based on hype, but real world results.

If it works for you Kev great mine works for me. I looked into the 2 systems that were available when I bought mine and went with the one that I liked. Look at it this way. You ride a Poo and wear ABS I ride a Doo and wear Snowpulse and all is right in the universe. I dont really care what avy pack peeps r using just that they r being used. Keep up with the self rightousness Kev it suits u.