Snowpulse Airbag vs ABS????

[Dobir]

Does anyone know anything about the Snowpulse airbag. I saw one perform at Ghostrider in Fernie. Re-fillable bottles are a nice touch. Does anyone have any thoughts...I am assuming the dealer will be at the sled show...

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[NosRX1]

After checking it out I think I would go with the Snowpulse, Nice pack and I like the way it inflates.

[xtremegriz]

I like the way it inflates as well, but the rip cord is to large and exposed. Easy to catch on braches, handlebars..etc.

[Cartel]

Yeah I like the way they designed the inflation of the airbag too, the bottle is nice and small which is an added bonus because I am always short on space to begin with.

[Dobir]

The slick part is being able to refill at your local volunteer fire dept..vs a couple hundred for an abs canister...price sems about the same....

[winterulez]

Just checked the two out at the sled show here in P.G. i liked the snowpulse better for sure. Everything was better i thought. And for the handle i wouldn't worry about it, it's all good. They are very nice, will be buying a snowpulse one for sure.

[Summiteer]

Originally Posted by Dobir

The slick part is being able to refill at your local volunteer fire dept..vs a couple hundred for an abs canister...price sems about the same....

All you gas plant dudes can fill up at the cascade........"no,no, just checkin' the Scott packs" or just use nitrogen, it's dry.....

i'll chip in my 2 cents.check them out a bit more.heard some negs.air regular freeze,limited visability and head movement,as for the air versus nitrogen to breathe issue,whats air made up of?nitrogen at around 80%!also tree hugger owned!!!a bird told me this,so take it for what it worth,i'm strapping a abs to my azz this fall!

[Cartel]

Originally Posted by woodies

i'll chip in my 2 cents.check them out a bit more.heard some negs.air regular freeze,limited visability and head movement,as for the air versus nitrogen to breathe issue,whats air made up of?nitrogen at around 80%!also tree hugger owned!!!a bird told me this,so take it for what it worth,i'm strapping a abs to my azz this fall!

Good points woody expescially about the freeze up, but if you have a tank of nitrogen it will be 100% nitrogen would it not, so if thats the case I would want air in the tank instead.

[Summiteer]

Originally Posted by woodies

i'll chip in my 2 cents.check them out a bit more.heard some negs.air regular freeze,limited visability and head movement,as for the air versus nitrogen to breathe issue,whats air made up of?nitrogen at around 80%!also tree hugger owned!!!a bird told me this,so take it for what it worth,i'm strapping a abs to my azz this fall!

air regs only freeze if the air going through them contains moisture, the compressed air we used to fill the SCBA at the plant was dried, can't have scott packs freezing up in the cold either. I just said Nitrogen because there are usually dozens of tanks of compressed nitrogen on the tank docks at a gas plant and it is dry.

[Adrenaline Addiction]

Thinking about buying one of the Snowpulse, think its a good idea using breathing air to oxygenate the snow around you when deployed. They dont hold the pressure do they?

[avalanchesafety]

First off, i am the distributor of Snowpulse, having said that i will try to be unbiased. I wore and sold ABS packs for the previous last 3 years, so i have a very good understanding of both products. I also instruct avalanche courses for a living to sledders and skiers (if you call skiing treehugging then yes, sign me up) and am a professional member of the Canadian Avalanche Association. The main advantages i see in the Snowpulse (which is why i switched allegiances) are as follows: a refillable, cheap to fill cylinder (filled with compressed air), it is at least a pound lighter for the comparible model, and the shape of the airbag provides trauma protection (which is extremely important to me) and it is much more conducive to having me end up with my head up instead of face down with the bags folded behind me (which is what tends to happen with the ABS). I also prefer the backpack design itself. To see a side by side comparison (which i did as fairly as possible) you can visit Get Your Snowpulse Backpack From Avalanche Safety Solutions. At the bottom of the page is an explanation of each point.

In distributing Snowpulse I have approached several dealers who did sell ABS and all but one (who has personal ties to ABS) has switched to selling Snowpulse this year. I realize me being on the market has probably pissed off some ABS fans but overall i think the more manufacturers there are the better (to a point anyways) as it help legitimize airbags and gets more people using them. I am sure ABS sales will continue to do well.

In terms of freezing up, the Snowpulse must be filled with dry compressed air, such as is put in the Scott packs and Scuba tanks. There is absolutely no risk of it freezing if it is filled with dry air as there is no moisture in the air. It also must be filled with air, not nitrogen, CO2, or anything else. The reason for this is that the Snowpulse is designed to deflate slowly, providing 150L of AIR, should an avalanche victim be buried for whatever reason (no airbag is full proof).

Just got back from the first show up in PG and people were stoked on it. I will be attending all of the shows this fall.