Do you wear an Avalanche Air Bag in the Mountains

[Highfly]

I'm rocking the new Black Diamond Jet Force its operated by rechargeable battery and good for a few pulls a trip if needed. Cost a little more to purchase but then there is no charge to test or use. Brought the wife shopping and she could not understand why I would purchase a 1 time use per trip vs this one thats multiple use per charge.....tried to explain if I am in a situation that I need to pull I'd be heading home to change my base layer ha ha.

Nice!!

When I first saw that set up I thought that would be a very nice way to go. Then I found out Welcome to the WARY Site was closing up shop and smoking deals were to be had. Set me and my daughter up with bags, an extra cylinder and 30 years worth of rebuild kits for the price of one bag.

I almost needed to change my base layer this weekend. I was trying to get my backpack off with my helmet and goggles on, limited visibility and inadvertently pulled the cord. Didn't have a clue what was going on and was ready to stop drop and roll. It sounded like whatever was happening was behind me but everywhere I looked people in the parking lot were looking my way. Then I figured out what I did..... My first "Pull" LOL.

 

[GT31]

I can't imagine riding without an airbag. Sledding is not a cheap sport and I'm always amazed when I see tricked out sleds and riders with no airbag. You don't need more horsepower when you are buried in a slide - skip the pipe and aftermarket parts until you can afford a bag.

 

[bingo1010]

an airbag is one thing, basic tools is another that i still see peeps without. at clemina last monday spotted a group of 4 and 3 of them never had a backpack or tunnel bag....so i would have to assume no shovels or probes....let alone food, water, spare clothes or survival supplies. guys will spend hundreds of dollars on fuel driving many hrs to get to the hills but wont spend money on equipment to save their lives or the lives of their friends. humans are a funny breed, there are those that that dont give a chit, those that are prepared for the end of the world and everything in between. all i can say is....you cant fix stupid.

 

[DooDoo]

I can't imagine riding without an airbag. Sledding is not a cheap sport and I'm always amazed when I see tricked out sleds and riders with no airbag. You don't need more horsepower when you are buried in a slide - skip the pipe and aftermarket parts until you can afford a bag.

Airbags do not always save your life. They are just another tool to help increase your odds of survival. But yes I agree everyone should have one.

 

[suicidal]

Snow pulse vest saved my life yesterday

 

[Joholio]

Snow pulse vest saved my life yesterday

Glad to hear that suicidal. Great to hear you're stickin around!

 

[bingo1010]

Snow pulse vest saved my life yesterday

do you care to share the story?

 

[Mike270412]

an airbag is one thing, basic tools is another that i still see peeps without. at clemina last monday spotted a group of 4 and 3 of them never had a backpack or tunnel bag....so i would have to assume no shovels or probes....let alone food, water, spare clothes or survival supplies. guys will spend hundreds of dollars on fuel driving many hrs to get to the hills but wont spend money on equipment to save their lives or the lives of their friends. humans are a funny breed, there are those that that dont give a chit, those that are prepared for the end of the world and everything in between. all i can say is....you cant fix stupid.

Some don't give a chit but a lot are just plain uneducated. I've talked to a few people that looked really unprepared and some of them are downright scared when you explain to them the hazards they are subjecting themselves to. The sad part is usually at least one in the group knows what's what and really should help educate the group instead of just letting them blindly ride around.

 

[Mike270412]

And no, I don't wear an avy pack.

 

[Bogger]

I've never worn one, never been one to adventure too far off the beaten path, I like meadows and low slope treed areas never been a real "highmark" type, the decent scares the chit out of me.

That said I've seen video and witnessed the aftermath of small slides which could catch me even when I think I'm safe so for that reason I've made a deal on an ABS escape 30, just because if god forbid I ever get bowled over I don't want my last thought to be "I shoulda bought a bag"
Having a bag will not change the way I ride or cause me to take risks just give me a little piece of mind.

 

[aocbiz]

Ya I agree Bogger...... I'd hate to be stuck under that snow knowing that you have the $$$ in the bank to have bought a pack but it's too late it can't help you now. A budy once said "Better to be looking at it than looking for it".

 

[plio7]

Bought a float 22 at the sled show this year. I wasn't really going to, hummed and hawed about it and the gf told me to go buy it for her piece of mind.

 

[youngpolarisguy]

I picked up a bca float befor my first trip this year finally said enough is enough and I am better off with a $600 backpack then dead buried in the snow.

Now I have a question. When riding with the pack on do leave the handle out all day or put it away when in tight trees. I was putting thw handle back in the strap on tight trails and trees but my luck I would forget and be fawked. Has any one ever had it catch and go off?

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

 

[bingo1010]

I picked up a bca float befor my first trip this year finally said enough is enough and I am better off with a $600 backpack then dead buried in the snow.

Now I have a question. When riding with the pack on do leave the handle out all day or put it away when in tight trees. I was putting thw handle back in the strap on tight trails and trees but my luck I would forget and be fawked. Has any one ever had it catch and go off?

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The bca handle is small enough that i leave it out all the time, i have went down treewells with my handle out and it hasnt caught ...... Lucky maybe, but like you said better that than forgetting it zipped up

 

[ferniesnow]

As most of you know, I "take a friend snowmobiling". Mostly, it is a tour around the Rolling Hills or the Crossing Creek trail in Elkford. In Elkford, there are lots of areas where large avalanches can and do occur. Do I ride in danger areas? Yes, I do. Do I have a bag? Yes, I do.

The reason why I have a bag is not because of where or how I ride but mostly because of where and how "the friends" I tour around ride! By myself or with my wife, we do not ride in susceptible areas other than the well known avalanche paths on the trail up. My wife does not have a bag. Her choice, as she does not like the weight of them and cannot physically stand the pain after a day of riding due to the extra weight.

Getting back to my decision as to the why I wear a bag, the "friends" I ride with many times put me into precarious positions (stuck below an avalanche chute because they like the little bit of untracked, stuck on a ridge that may be prone to sliding (manageable sliding but sliding none the less), or they may be in an open area with a steeper slope that is dicey, or god forbid they may have set off a slide and are caught and someone has to react with the realistic scenario of hang fire and self rescue is the only way to save a person. In most cases, if sledders have to depend on SAR (no offence implied nor intended), it is a recovery situation and not a rescue situation. With a group of new riders to an area, there is always someone who gets into a place where they shouldn't be. I hope my bag is that other tool in the tool box.

I wear an ABS Vario Line bag and my buddy Norona is a great resource for maintenance and up-to-date zip ons. Different sizes and different configurations for how you carry your shovel/probe and personal survival gear. Last year I used an 18l and this year the 15l carries the same gear and is a little smaller on my back. I like it because of the flexibility of the zip-ons. I won't go into the pros and cons of the nitrogen vs air, as that is for you to decide for yourself. I have no trouble replacing my cartridges as I have a spare one on hand and getting another spare is not a problem even living in the boon docks.

There has been a great sales pitch on the necessity of having or requiring a bag. I am more of a believer in the educational aspect and not riding in those unmanageable situations. The more a person rides in the back-country, the higher the risk is of being where one should not have been on a particular day. I still ride 50-75 days a year and the risk is there and evident every day. I try to use the best tool available to us..............the brain. Some days, I am forgetful and......I'm hoping I never have to pull the trigger but if I do, I am confident the ABS bag will help me through a difficult time if I can remember to pull the handle in time.

 

[tex78]

The bca handle is small enough that i leave it out all the time, i have went down treewells with my handle out and it hasnt caught ...... Lucky maybe, but like you said better that than forgetting it zipped up

I have had a buddy catch his yes in the trees

His was a t handle and a y tree branch lol

 

[niner]

The guy in the McBride slide posted today that he and his dad both did not get there bags deployed and survived and two of the others did deploy there bags and didn't. I hope if I ever deploy mine I have better results.

 

[Bogger]

The guy in the McBride slide posted today that he and his dad both did not get there bags deployed and survived and two of the others did deploy there bags and didn't. I hope if I ever deploy mine I have better results.

I asked the same question and was told that because of the terrain trap at the bottom a bag would have been of little use.

I just picked mine up today, took it to Marin went through it, deployed it, re-packed it and installed a new canister - They deploy fast and stayed fully inflated until we released the valve.

One more tool in the chest.

 

[tex78]

I asked the same question and was told that because of the terrain trap at the bottom a bag would have been of little use.

I just picked mine up today, took it to Marin went through it, deployed it, re-packed it and installed a new canister - They deploy fast and stayed fully inflated until we released the valve.

One more tool in the chest.

One question I had at my avy refresher this weekend, is if in one and u have stopped moving, does the bag have enough balloon to give some extra room

Or does it collapse flat???

 

[Bnorth]

One question I had at my avy refresher this weekend, is if in one and u have stopped moving, does the bag have enough balloon to give some extra room

Or does it collapse flat???

What was the answer?