ABS Bag trigger location

[007]

I certainly would pull the cord the second I had the chance, why waste time?

I like how people say that you shouldn't need one because you should always avoid area's or run out area's of slides!

If you tell me that you ride in the mountains and you are never in any danger of being in AVY teritory, you most likely never have left the parking lot or your just ignorant!

KJP

 

[slednutz]

theres been a couple instances of people being buried in runout zones. You never know the situation that you may be involved in so it is always nice to be prepared. Even with the bag I will not enter an area that would be unsafe.

 

[tundra twin track]

I certainly would pull the cord the second I had the chance, why waste time?

I like how people say that you shouldn't need one because you should always avoid area's or run out area's of slides!

If you tell me that you ride in the mountains and you are never in any danger of being in AVY teritory, you most likely never have left the parking lot or your just ignorant!

KJP

Great choice of words 007,when you are in your pickup heading to the hills and you see those signs on the highway that read AVALANCHE AREA DO NOT STOP you have just exposed yourself ,you are in AVALANCHE prone terrain!

Have a safe WINTER!

 

[Solby]

I think it would be best to deploy the bag the second you see that you broke an avy loose. A lot happens in a short amount of time and if you get tossed off your sled you might be knocked out/broken arm/injured. It would not be smart to have the pack on your back and not deploy it to save $60 bucks.

 

[skibreeze]

I think it would be best to deploy the bag the second you see that you broke an avy loose. A lot happens in a short amount of time and if you get tossed off your sled you might be knocked out/broken arm/injured. It would not be smart to have the pack on your back and not deploy it to save $60 bucks.

Run with your opinion, but the cartridge is $170 and the handle is $45 from snobigdeal.

 

[Wheeline]

Has anyone switched the handle to the right side??

 

[Solby]

I was wrong earlier when I said the price of setting off the pack. The core you get when you buy one is $60, so I figured that's what it would be. On Firstplaceparts.com you can get the deal for $150 (http://www.firstplaceparts.com/c/SN_42/ABS+AVALANCHE+Packs.html). But still what's another $150 when you can survive an avalanche, even if you just outrun it and didn't need to deploy your bags.

 

[skibreeze]

My point is that I have set off a number of slides over the years. (Younger and dumber, I'll admit) Everything from small sluffs that were only a few square feet to a monster that would have very easily been deadly if I had been in it. Just because snow starts to slide, that alone in my mind is not enough to panic and pull the trigger. I have only had one slide that knocked me off my sled and would have justified activating an ABS.(Too bad I didn't have one in '00) The ironic part about that slide is that it was on a very shallow slope that was not wind loaded.

 

[Blu Du]

my thinking is and i may be wrong but if you don't have an abs try to out run it. if you have abs i would want to be as high up on the avalanche as possible or try to cut to the side. if you cause an avy try to out run it get to the bottom and get hit by it well your bag isn't going to work as well as if you were caught up high

 

[skibreeze]

my thinking is and i may be wrong but if you don't have an abs try to out run it. if you have abs i would want to be as high up on the avalanche as possible or try to cut to the side. if you cause an avy try to out run it get to the bottom and get hit by it well your bag isn't going to work as well as if you were caught up high

Agreed, I set off a pretty large slide from up top. I had climbed the slope and turned around to head back down when it broke loose. I tried to go as slow as I could and still stay in control. It was like riding a jetski down some steep rapids, really wierd. I ended up about 1/3 down the slope and came to a fairly flat spot and the sled actually stopped with some snow still coming down behind me. I had snow pushing me towards the bars that was half way up my back. I wasn't buried at all, but the back end of my sled took at least 45 minutes to dig it out. I won't touch that hill anymore no matter what the conditions are.

 

[will]

ABS trigger location

Very intyeresting and constructive topic:

I've been wearing the ABS bag for 4 years and always thought I'd quickely pull the trigger and then grab the throttle again and ride where ever I thought best at the time, if able. I wasn't aware that switching the side for the trigger was possible.

Hate to addmit it but I've caused a few avalanches my self, one fairly wide slab avy that was about 1 foot deep, I shot across it and stopped, as it happen as I was turning out and it slid below me running about 300 feet, so I basically watched it from above. In this situation it just happen to work out that I was at the top and could see everything but, 3 years later, now I would pull and not study. The others were powder or fluffy sluff types.

This by no means makes me any kind of expert but from all the reading, videos and avy courses we've been to I personally think in a lot of cases we are fooling our selves if we think we have alot of choices in when or how we will grab, if you see something coming grab and pull. If one of these very large slides hits me I'll want my bag open, no doubt, other wise why have it on. Alot of videos and storeys we're hereing about large avys doesn't leave a lot of room for second guessing. I'd be surprised if I could get my hand on the handle once I was blown off the sled.

I will honestly say that on some very steep and scketchy climbs (not this year) I've done, that once I've turned out and was heading down I wasn't really going to be able monitor the situation if weather, I should or shouldn't, if I had a chance I'd pull, as i was to busy trying to work my way down the descent. On one occasion I'd turned out and was coming down a very step slope then I jumped or crested a 30' drop and wasn't even aware I'd caused a slide, as I stayed ahead of it and it wasn't huge. In these situations you don't get alot of wiggle room or time, I'd just pull.

This topic makes an interesting arguement for a Left throttle, no special skills required, just reach with a finger for conitued throttle while you're pulling the ABS trigger.

Will