Avy backpack caution

[deepdiver]

While at the Snow Show a friend of mine was interested in purchasing an Avalanche Backpack/vest type from a reputible company. While at the AVI booth the rep wanted him to test it, so he knew how to operate it in a controled condition. I thought this was very smart and responsible of this company Rep.. The AVI Rep. hooked up a fresh canister of gas and had him(Big Bob) stand back and "let her rip". Unfortunatly it failed to inflate completely. It was very slow inflating and only filled to about 1/2 of the way.

If I only had a photo of the face of the Vendor rep..it was a Kodak moment. He looked totally perplexed. He was "speechless".
None the less Big Bob walked away from the product and the sale. As did the folks that were watching at the time. Hopefully they are not having their valves made in China as that is an accident waiting to happen if they are.

The moral of the story is that they are only a tool in your tool box. They may not always be the tool that you should be using, sometimes you need the tool between the ears.

Dont get a false sense of security because you are wearing a high dollar backpack. No different than seatbelts and airbags in your car, you still have to think.
It may be the day when when your Avy pack is nothing more than an overpriced backpack and fails to inflate properly. http://www.avivest.com/index.php

Ride smart and stay safe!

 

[whitefish]

If it was $400, I know which one it wasn't.

 

[Ex-Member]

Yes, products can fail.

Ideally one should never have to use the pack to begin with, much like the airbags in the car.

 

[newmy1]

I don't know of any that are "currently selling" for $400?????

 

[GUNFTR]

If you're referring to the snow show in Puyallup my buddies and I were also standing there when he inflated the bag. We too were amazed when it only inflated halfway. It appeared as if the Rep put too small of air canister on it. I don't know alot about the system but it started out loud and then seemed to fizzle out quickly.

 

[batgirl]

SO, why would you not state that this was the snowpulse pack instead of letting everyone wonder which one it was?

If people are spending $1000+ I think they deserve to know which one has a problem.

Two of them failed in Denver as well if that's not the show you're talking about.

Anyone who PLANS to use an avy pack, well, they deserve for it not to open because they are likely endangering others as well. I just find the cryptic "one of the backpacks" type message bothersome.

My husband has an ABS pack, and I plan to pick up an avy pack as well this year, I hope we never use them.

 

[akstormin]

Thank you for putting an actual product to this story. The internet is a great source of info, but also a giant rumor mill sometimes so facts are really important....so did someone here actually SEE two of the snowpulse packs fail during the Denver show or did we just 'hear' about it. Not saying it didn't happen, just looking for facts. Which means the next question is did the rep do something wrong for the demo (improper canister charge or installation for example) or is there a flaw with the design. If I'm dropping $1000 on a piece of safety equipment I most certainly expect it to work as advertised.

Also I don't think anyone 'plans' on using their avy pack, at least I hope not. Just like pilots don't 'plan' to use their ejection seat or parachute when they fly but they certainly expect them to work if things start going to hell. An avy pack isn't a guaranteed 'get out of jail free card' its a last ditch effort to save your butt when your planning and/or decision-making have failed to keep you out of trouble.

And I agree with Batgirl, if you are going to post on here about a failure of a safety product, don't be cryptic, give us facts.

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

I would add that everyone that has a pack should test them at the start of every season..with my ABS pack I am replacing the trigger and cylinder at the start of each season..for those with a locally rechargable cylinder I would take your pack with you when you get the cylinder recharged and test fire it on the spot to insure that who ever fills it knows what they are doing.then have them recharge it again.....cheap price to pay to make sure it works when you do need it....and I agree..a avy pack is a last ditch effort in case of a mistake....

 

[giddyup]

pack

i know with the snowpulse there is more involved in changing the cyl that on an abs (o-rings etc) i agree we should test them sad to see this is not good advertising for them or any pack that failed to inflate. i made the purchase before anyother manufature was out there and i still belive abs makes a great reliable poduct. i hope someone can account for the reason for failure to inflate. keep us updated on this

giddyup

 

[AvalancheSafetyDude]

Airbags can fail to inflate if they're not setup properly. There is no design flaw with the packs, ABS or SnowPulse, they have been tested over and over and over again. The flaw is when the pack is not setup properly. The canister needs to be installed the right way, the pack needs to be folded the right way, the cylinder needs to be filled to the right pressure, etc. When you pay $1000 for a piece of equipment that can possibly save your life, make sure you buy from someone who has experience on the product so they can show you exactly how the pack works. Just like skydiving, you don't want someone packing your parachute who doesn't have any experience with it. Avalanche airbags are also life-saving devices, you want to be sure it's setup the right way. PM or call with any questions about any of the airbags.

 

[SnowBigDeal]

Two of them failed in Denver as well if that's not the show you're talking about.

so did someone here actually SEE two of the snowpulse packs fail during the Denver show or did we just 'hear' about it. Not saying it didn't happen, just looking for facts.

We were at the Denver show selling both ABS and SnowPulse packs. The SnowPulse Distributor was also at Denver.

I personally did not see nor hear of any of the packs failing to operate at the Denver show.

 

[RaggedEdgePerformance]

I'm glad that somebody posted which bag it was that failed, admittedly maybe it was the rep who didn't know how to operate it, but I'm going to be purchasing a pack for my husband and it's a little concerning. Yes, I realize that it's a safety device such are seatbelts, I hope that he does not have to deploy it, but if needed I prefer a reputable company!

 

[avalanchesafety.ca]

Hello,

I distribute the Snowpulse and I have attended all of the snowmobile shows thus far (way to much travelling). I can assure you that there have been no false deployments of the Snowpulse that I have witnessed. The only other dealer has been Snowbigdeal in Denver and I am sure if they had any false deployments that I would of heard about it. And our pack is a little higher priced.

Cheers

 

[Impatientforsnow]

Hey!!

if you were the one who tested the pack and it didnt work properly let the people know which pack it was !!!! cause we may be jumping to conclusions here and for all we know you maybe the dealer that sells the other brand.. SO SPEAK UP!!!

the only $400+ pack out there is the new BCA pack comming out that I know of...

 

[akstormin]

So this is exactly how internet rumors get started. Someone relates a story while leaving out key details, then someone else jumps in, makes a few assumptions and 'fills' in some of the blanks and presto now you have a new rumor running around. Sometimes its even relatively entertaining to watch, however that is not the case here.
So is this whole thread just fabricated to get everyone fired up about not using an avy bag as a substitute for good judgement and proper training? Or was there really a malfunction of an as yet unnamed avy pack. I don't imagine that the snowpulse reps would come on here and lie, since there would surely be witnesses and those particular reps have a very solid reputation at stake on this site. So that leads us right back to the beginning. What, if anything, actually happened? Both GUNFTR and deepdiver said they actually SAW this happen with their own eyes. What did you see? Facts and details please.

 

[roughrider99]

i agree with the idea that the pack must of not been properly set up i've tested the snow pulse before and would like to try an abs pack to compare but at this point i would still prefer the snowpulse pack any day of the week.

 

[ripsass]

I would add that everyone that has a pack should test them at the start of every season..with my ABS pack I am replacing the trigger and cylinder at the start of each season..for those with a locally rechargable cylinder I would take your pack with you when you get the cylinder recharged and test fire it on the spot to insure that who ever fills it knows what they are doing.then have them recharge it again.....cheap price to pay to make sure it works when you do need it....and I agree..a avy pack is a last ditch effort in case of a mistake....

If you are replacing your cylinder/canister are you going to pop your old ones?

If not I'll buy them from you. I have a used ABS pack that doesn't have one and will be buying brand new ones for it. But I'd like to be able to pop it once too.

 

[2THTOP]

.

Weigh your canister!! You should always test the bag and be comfortable in folding it back up, it might take a couple times to get this down. Also if you bought a used bag, you might want to get educated on using it properly. There are steps involved with each that must be followed.

 

[minet]

soo

we have 2 members saying there was a partial deployment , and 2 ( of 2? ) dealers/ manu reps saying it never happened..

who is telling the truth here....

 

[The Goat]

If anyone actually saw this happen, let us know exactly which pack it was! All this talk about a pack not working but nobody can say which one it was. And if it was BCA's new pack, the only pack they have right now is still a prototype they put together just to show what the new pack may look like. So you can't say that you've seen their pack malfunction, nobody has even seen the real pack yet!