Btw, here's a graphic from ABS about survival differential with & without.
Beacan vs Airbag
- Thread starter george3680
- Start date
That's a good figure BCIL. Keep in mind its ABS data (as far as I know): from Europe with fewer trauma deaths. Another thing to keep in mind is survival times in North America are statistically lower than Europe. I should have access to the original paper, but here's a link to a good read about survival times in different climates: http://www.earnyourturns.com/9079/avalanche-survival-time-reduced/ (just noticed the site is likely anti sled...sorry to send traffic their way but its a good paper to read).
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Im coming in a little late here but heres my .02
Beacon. Simple as that, I own both and ride with both AT ALL TIMES. I have friends that dont own beacons. I own an extra beacon that I will bring with me. I also have buddies who think, "oh we arent going in avalanche train we dont need to turn ON our beacons:, yes they have them but dont want to turn them on. That is, im sorry but absolutely retarded. Theres is 0 harm in turning it on.
Yes if you were riding by your self at all times I would say a bag, but come on who here ever rides by themselves? I have NEVER gone for a complete solo ride, I have gone for rides without other sledders but I still dont like that, no matter what though there is somebody else with me with the proper equipment.
Im not even sure where this post is going, but when I saw the title my jaw honestly dropped, I couldnt believe this was even being asked. Seriously guys, if you cant afford a beacon dont ride for one weekend, youll save the money in gas in that one weekend to be able to buy a beacon. Seriously people never seize to amaze me. Im a broke student, I just broke my sled and I wont be fixing it till I get paid next, at the very soonest, IM BROKE, but guess what, I still have all the proper equipment and know how to use it. Safety is always first, and if "Safety" might not be first in your mind at least think about the people who you are hurting if you die in an avalanche. Its not always about just you.
Beacon. Simple as that, I own both and ride with both AT ALL TIMES. I have friends that dont own beacons. I own an extra beacon that I will bring with me. I also have buddies who think, "oh we arent going in avalanche train we dont need to turn ON our beacons:, yes they have them but dont want to turn them on. That is, im sorry but absolutely retarded. Theres is 0 harm in turning it on.
Yes if you were riding by your self at all times I would say a bag, but come on who here ever rides by themselves? I have NEVER gone for a complete solo ride, I have gone for rides without other sledders but I still dont like that, no matter what though there is somebody else with me with the proper equipment.
Im not even sure where this post is going, but when I saw the title my jaw honestly dropped, I couldnt believe this was even being asked. Seriously guys, if you cant afford a beacon dont ride for one weekend, youll save the money in gas in that one weekend to be able to buy a beacon. Seriously people never seize to amaze me. Im a broke student, I just broke my sled and I wont be fixing it till I get paid next, at the very soonest, IM BROKE, but guess what, I still have all the proper equipment and know how to use it. Safety is always first, and if "Safety" might not be first in your mind at least think about the people who you are hurting if you die in an avalanche. Its not always about just you.
Agree with the majority here: Beacon, shovel and probe. It will be important for your group to agree on this because if you don't all have beacons, yours will be useless. Either they can't find you or you can't find them. Our group has had them since our first trip out west a long time ago and we will NOT ride with anyone who doesn't have a beacon. Many of us also ride with Avy bags as well. I carry 2 probes and 2 shovels, one set on my sled and one set in my avy bag.
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Get a beacon so that when you are dead they can find your body and take it home to your loved ones instead of them having to wait until spring to get your body back.
Caught in an avy, you are dead. Yup, you might cheat death, but if you screwed up and got caught in the first place then you just rolled the dice with your life.
sled_guy
Caught in an avy, you are dead. Yup, you might cheat death, but if you screwed up and got caught in the first place then you just rolled the dice with your life.
sled_guy
sled guy it's so not that cut and dried. I saw a pic of an avy where a guy was skiing in a gully about 20' deep about halfway down on one side. It broke and buried him in the bottom. Killed him dead as a popsicle. Other people can break stuff WAY above you on the other side of trees and by the time it hits you it's a mass of logs and ice going 90MPH. How is that a "screw up" that you could lay on a victim. Don't think you can ever figure every angle and possible way a slide can get you. And don't ride afraid. The odds of getting killed in any avy are a fraction of getting killed in your truck on the way to the mountains.
Priority one would be beacon, probe and shovel. IMO, you should have both. We spend thousands of dollars on our sleds, gear, go fast parts, trucks and trailers to make the one thing we love to do as enjoyable as possible. My point is, the avy safety equipment is just a small percentage of cost compared to the other items I listed. How can you put a value on your life or someone else's life. It would be a helpless feeling if your buddy was buried and slowly dying and there was nothing you could do because you had no means of locating them.
The group I ride with utilizes all the safety equipment. We have bags', beacons, probes and shovels on us and have a shovel and probe on our sleds also. If you don't have a beacon, you don't ride with me. I purchased all this stuff with hopes of never having to use any of it, but if the situation would arrive, then at least we are all prepared. At the end of the day, we all want to go home to our families standing upright and breathing.
The group I ride with utilizes all the safety equipment. We have bags', beacons, probes and shovels on us and have a shovel and probe on our sleds also. If you don't have a beacon, you don't ride with me. I purchased all this stuff with hopes of never having to use any of it, but if the situation would arrive, then at least we are all prepared. At the end of the day, we all want to go home to our families standing upright and breathing.
