Avalanche Flotation Device tested in Invermere, British Columbia
- Thread starter WARY
- Start date
So what are the features that makes yours better than the competition?
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WARY
Well-known member
What we think makes our idea better is cost.
The trouble with integrating an avalanche flotation device into a backpack is twofold: First it puts the cost near to $1000, and secondly everybody already owns a backpack and they are reluctant to part with it. A $600 backpack/AFD combo is impossible to manufacture for less than $1000. Remember, the backpack must become a harness in the event of an avalanche, so it must be built well enough to withstand the 50g and 75g forces encountered within the slide. The raw materials inside the AFD (nylon, air cylinder, high pressure hose, webbing, venturi valve, cylinder head, etc) combined with the labor and overhead it requires to build it amount to hundreds of dollars, and a good backpack is expensive to build, making the combination of the two cost prohibitive for most people. As well, someone’s backpack is often their favorite piece of gear, and it’s been with them all over the world. That’s why we are working to build something that you can use in conjunction with your pack.
The snowpulse system that infaltes around your head is reportedly going to be sold for $1,100 and the ABS systems are about a grand as well. We are trying to come up with something that costs half that much.....
More pics to come. Video to be posted soon at www.warillc.com
The trouble with integrating an avalanche flotation device into a backpack is twofold: First it puts the cost near to $1000, and secondly everybody already owns a backpack and they are reluctant to part with it. A $600 backpack/AFD combo is impossible to manufacture for less than $1000. Remember, the backpack must become a harness in the event of an avalanche, so it must be built well enough to withstand the 50g and 75g forces encountered within the slide. The raw materials inside the AFD (nylon, air cylinder, high pressure hose, webbing, venturi valve, cylinder head, etc) combined with the labor and overhead it requires to build it amount to hundreds of dollars, and a good backpack is expensive to build, making the combination of the two cost prohibitive for most people. As well, someone’s backpack is often their favorite piece of gear, and it’s been with them all over the world. That’s why we are working to build something that you can use in conjunction with your pack.
The snowpulse system that infaltes around your head is reportedly going to be sold for $1,100 and the ABS systems are about a grand as well. We are trying to come up with something that costs half that much.....
More pics to come. Video to be posted soon at www.warillc.com
A way to get the cost down.
Most all of you ride in groups with pretty much the same guys each weekend.
$1000 split between 4 guys is not that much money.
Since there should only be one of you on a hill at a time, and since the others should be parked in a safe place, you can easily transfer the back pack among you and take turns wearing it while your high marking.
The next year each of you contribute $200 again and get another pack. It will teach you safe habits and help you get set up with your own backpack.
Im more than happy to let anyone wear mine if they want to make a run at the hill... it takes 2 minutes to put it on...
be smart people, 1st step to saving lives is abstinence from the danger zones... 2nd is knowledge... 3rd is having your beacons, probes, shovels, and packs...
Most all of you ride in groups with pretty much the same guys each weekend.
$1000 split between 4 guys is not that much money.
Since there should only be one of you on a hill at a time, and since the others should be parked in a safe place, you can easily transfer the back pack among you and take turns wearing it while your high marking.
The next year each of you contribute $200 again and get another pack. It will teach you safe habits and help you get set up with your own backpack.
Im more than happy to let anyone wear mine if they want to make a run at the hill... it takes 2 minutes to put it on...
be smart people, 1st step to saving lives is abstinence from the danger zones... 2nd is knowledge... 3rd is having your beacons, probes, shovels, and packs...
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WARY
Well-known member
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The test dummy slid out of view of the camera, but the dummy was found with the right hand completely exposed above the snow, with the face down 6 inches under the snow. In the last few frames of the pictures the avalanche is barely moving anymore, and this is where we believe a human being (who was not knocked out) would begin to extricate themselves or "swim clear".......
The test dummy slid out of view of the camera, but the dummy was found with the right hand completely exposed above the snow, with the face down 6 inches under the snow. In the last few frames of the pictures the avalanche is barely moving anymore, and this is where we believe a human being (who was not knocked out) would begin to extricate themselves or "swim clear".......
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R
RideGuy
Well-known member
I like the vest idea.... Keep up the great work!!!!!!!!!!!! More Competiton will make manditory riding gear accessible and affordable......... It is a shame that it is a high cost item now.... Alot of people put thier last dime into sledding even sell blood for Horse Power......
I'd make a guess that the Fist Sled Manufacturer that includes a free AFD is going to sell alot of Sleds......
AFD's and ABS Bags like Rockey Mountain Extreme (RMX) will not only improve the odd's of saving your own lives but that of your friends as well......(Thanks Eric)
Kudo's
I'd make a guess that the Fist Sled Manufacturer that includes a free AFD is going to sell alot of Sleds......
AFD's and ABS Bags like Rockey Mountain Extreme (RMX) will not only improve the odd's of saving your own lives but that of your friends as well......(Thanks Eric)
Kudo's
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RideGuy
Well-known member
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WARY
Well-known member
500 being manufactured, to be distributed next fall.
Email us at:
john_w@nebulusflotation.com
if you are interested........
Email us at:
john_w@nebulusflotation.com
if you are interested........
If cost are to high do what every other manufacture is doing, Make it overseas maybe china to the rescue??
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WARY
Well-known member
Conditions were deteriorating rapidly as this test avalanche approached. It was getting on in the day and we were trying to beat an approaching cloud bank from the west. So as you can imagine the pictures aren’t so great. The crash test dummy slid a few hundred yards in a class 1.5 to class 2 slide, depending on who you asked. Total linear avalanche length a little over 1000 feet. Here is the dummy being long-lined into place on the mountain and the subsequent bombing run. The doors are removed from the aircraft as the fuses are smoking and it also benefits filming. You’ve got your two Toby Creek guys dumping the bombs from the rear of the helicopter, and up front our smooth as silk bush pilot Chris and our Chief Science Officer and Test Coordinator Tom. The title was his idea……………….
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