New Avalanche Airbags and Ski Helmets For Winter 2012-2013
What's new in the ski safety technology world
We've been getting excited about the chances of some powder action here at Skinets Towers and with snow falling on the high ground yesterday and more forecast, we thought we'd have a look at some of the new bits of kit available to keep you safe in the off piste this season. We took a pre-season stroll around Chamonix yesterday and our findings were as follows...
First up, we like the look of the new ABS system back pack from The North Face. ABS avalanche airbags have been around for several years but now there are more mainstream companies who are designing bags to incorporate the canisters and airbags. It's a mark of the way the ski industry seems to be moving lately with freeride becoming more popular and more mainstream.
The North Face bag has been designed and built with Freeride World Champion Xavier de le Rue. It features the ABS twin airbags and is made from light weight "Bombastic" fibre. Sounds tough, whatever it is. The bag is The North Face's top of the range back country bag - The Patrol - and can carry 24 litres of backcountry kit. As it uses the ABS system there is one new piece of tech that might be worth adding to this bag especially if you are leading groups off piste. ABS have created a wireless remote than can activate the airbags of everyone in your group with the press of one button.
The ABS bags are still expensive - expect to pay about £700 for a full set up - but the statistics that come with them certainly do make them an attractive piece of equipment. 97% of people involved in avalanche accidents who used an ABS pack survived the accident and 84% were uninjured.
There are alternatives to the ABS system: Snowpulse make an airbag system that can be used in a number of different bags. The airbags can also be removed from the backpack making it useful for summer time or even carrying home your shopping. Mammut, Smith and other manufacturers make packs that are Snowpulse compatible (R.A.S Removable Airbag System). You can buy the bags, which are about £200 cheaper than the ABS equivalent in shops like Intersport.
Another piece of kit that can help keep you safe is a helmet and Swedish company POC has recently won awards for it's latest line of protective head wear. The Fornix won a Product of the year award at the 2012 ISPO in Munich. The helmet is light, simple and offers excellent ventilation. It's available in a number of colours and is perfect for park-rats and day-to-day riding.
The top of the line POC helmet for off piste and freeride skiers and snowboarders, the Receptor Backcountry offers protection from oblique impacts. It's been specifically designed with a dual layer shell that moves to reduce the twisting effect that high speed falls create.
You can find these products in most good sports stores in your home resort. For more information on off-piste safety and avalanche awareness and avoidance have a look at our Avalanche Safety section and make sure that you hire a mountain guide when heading into the backcountry.
We'll have a look at more kit for this season soon. Keep safe 'til then.
