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EVERYONE - ALERT!! Please READ !!

I

Idaho Slim

Free Member
I own a BCA Float 30 avalanche backpack. This weekend was my last ride of the season so I pulled the rip cord at home after riding to test it and discharge the pack for refilling.

THE CORD RIPPED OUT OF THE PACK, BROKE, AND DID NOT DISCHARGE !!!

Please, PLEASE if you have this brand/model of avalanche pack (or any other brand model) Give it a test and pull your cord; your life depends upon it.

Makes me sick to think about it and Jodie got pale when she watched it.
p://www.backcountryaccess.com/eng...ts/Float30.php
SLIM
 
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wow

hope BCA makes it right for you and that it was a fluke not an issue with products.
 
Idaho Slim said:
I own a BCA Float 30 avalanche backpack. This weekend was my last ride of the season so I pulled the rip cord at home after riding to test it and discharge the pack for refilling.

THE CORD RIPPED OUT OF THE PACK, BROKE, AND DID NOT DISCHARGE !!!

Please, PLEASE if you have this brand/model of avalanche pack (or any other brand model) Give it a test and pull your cord; your life depends upon it.

Makes me sick to think about it and Jodie got pale when she watched it.
p://www.backcountryaccess.com/eng...ts/Float30.php
SLIM
Click to expand...
By all means, PLEASE contact BCA and let all of us know what they tell you!
 
Better yet, test fire it when you buy it BEFORE you ride. These packs are very cheap to refill, no reason you wouldn't test fire it before riding. I think the it cost me $3.50 to refill. No offense to BCA, I personally didn't like the feel/fit of the pack and went and purchased a ABS.

Very happy to hear this did not happen to you on the hill!!!
 
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Glad it did not happen to you on the hill! We highly recommend a test-fire of the pack before wearing it into the back country.

I'm curious as to what happened with the cord? Did the cord break? Did the canister have a full-charge of air? There are two fittings that attach directly from the rip-cord to the canister (and an additional quick-coupler that connects from the canister to the venturi system); were they both connected to the canister?
 
That is crazy! Think of how terrible that could of been...Definatly something to think about when I go to buy an avalanche inflatable pack for next season...However I speak well for BCA's customer service. I had a BCA Tracker beacon that the battery screw broke, leaving the threads stuck down in the hole. Sent it in to BCA and 2 weeks later had a brand new beacon sitting on my doorstep.
 
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907to406 said:
That is crazy! Think of how terrible that could of been...Definatly something to think about when I go to buy an avalanche inflatable pack for next season...
Click to expand...

Just get Adam to buy you one when pays off your sled.
 
Every pack is deployed and tested before leaving BCA.
I have found that less than 10% of the people who try to deploy the pack have a problem. Here is what they do wrong: 1.pull out with the handle, instead of down(in line with the cable) or 2. stop pulling once they meet resistance (and say it doesn't work) and 3. I've had one person not attach the cable and just put the protective housing over a detached cable. It has all been operator error. Many will not admit it. I have had people say it doesn't work, I put the pack on and it works fine. With every brand of avalanche airbag pack that I have seen fail, it has been operator error.

In one instance, I have seen a prototype pack (that had been deployed hundreds of times) where the cable came apart. The problem was solved before production. I was using a frayed cable on an extremely well used prototype and it worked every time. I have personally been present with about 100 Float 30 deploys this season with no problems. I have packs by Snowpulse, BCA and ABS. I have been using the Float 30 for 5 months and it works great. BCA Float 30 packs will come with a refill kit this year. You can deploy it and then take it to a BCA refill station.
I would suggest deploying the pack as soon as you get it so that you can get a feel for what it takes to pull the handle. Keep pulling once you feel resistance. Check to make sure the cable and protective housing are attached to the canister. Pull straight down not out at 90 degrees to the shoulder strap. Do not put anything in the zippered compartment that houses the canister. Check the pressure on the gauge every time you ride. Read the directions. Refill at a BCA designated refill location. Hope this helps. Mike Duffy

www.avalanche1.com
 
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^^^^

I know your trying to help but how does the cord ripping out of the pack have anything to do with that?
 
Mike

No offense here but the last thing I would want to be concerned with if in an Avy is how to pull the damn rip cord. I only want to be able to reach it, grab it and pull it and for it to work PERIOD. Pulling it at 90 or 50 or whatever could make it pull out from the pack strap but it should not break and not dicharge the canister.

Additionally I would not assume this case is user error until it's looked at.

Not trying to start anything here, love your work and attend your classes annually.
 
Yes, it does. BCA just spoke to him and the cable was not attached to the canister. In that situation, when you are pulling on the cable, all the force is put on the cable end (which is threaded so that it can attach to the canister). The force exerted by pulling on an unattached cable end is far greater than the force required to deploy the pack. In this case he broke the cable. BCA has tested this pack thoroughly which has much to do with the delayed release this winter.
Here is a video of ongoing testing that BCA sent me. Done with a 175 pound test dummy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik5PFBsbJ4c
 
Makes perfect sense Mike. Unfortunately in that case you can expect others to pull too hard and for this to happen to them, HOPEFULLY not on the hill. We all know that people (men in particular) don't read the directions and just go about using what they buy. I personally had no doubt the pack works great when deployed properly, but this would scare the crap out of me if I was using one. Who know how the heck I would pull the handle when in an Avy.

Perhaps this is why ABS does not use a cable? Don't know what the other competitors use, cable or something other


snowww1 said:
Yes, it does. BCA just spoke to him and the cable was not attached to the canister. In that situation, when you are pulling on the cable, all the force is put on the cable end (which is threaded so that it can attach to the canister). The force exerted by pulling on an unattached cable end is far greater than the force required to deploy the pack. In this case he broke the cable. BCA has tested this pack thoroughly which has much to do with the delayed release this winter.
Here is a video of ongoing testing that BCA sent me. Done with a 175 pound test dummy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik5PFBsbJ4c
Click to expand...
 
I agree with Mike on this. Airbag failures are more often due to user-error. Airbags are not like a helmet that you can just strap on and go. They require a lot of precise steps to be followed to ensure the packs function properly. This is the same, regardless if you have an ABS, BCA, or SnowPulse pack.


newmy1 said:
Makes perfect sense Mike. Unfortunately in that case you can expect others to pull too hard and for this to happen to them, HOPEFULLY not on the hill. We all know that people (men in particular) don't read the directions and just go about using what they buy. I personally had no doubt the pack works great when deployed properly, but this would scare the crap out of me if I was using one. Who know how the heck I would pull the handle when in an Avy.

Perhaps this is why ABS does not use a cable? Don't know what the other competitors use, cable or something other
Click to expand...


ABS uses an explosive mechanism to fire the pack. This makes reduces the draw on the cord that is required to trigger the airbag shorter.

SnowPulse uses a system very similar to BCA.
 
Newmy,
Good point. Problem I have seen is that people stop pulling once they meet resistance on the cable. Don't be afraid to pull on the handle. You can pull the cable at any angle and it will deploy. Some people pull it up and away from the shoulder strap which isn't as smooth as pulling down. All avalanche airbag packs are designed to be pulled down.
About 5% of the people caught in avalanches that have an avalanche pack on will not have the composure to pull the handle. Practice deploying your pack. Practice reaching for the handle. You don't look for the ripcord location after jumping out of the airplane, figure out where it is ahead of time.
I will have avalanche packs in classes again this year and will be at Hay Days so people can practice. Mike
 
His cable failed due to it not being attached to the canister. He did not install it correctly.
I have never seen a cable fail on a production model that was attached to the canister. I have had prototypes with the original cable that have been deployed hundreds of times. I had a prototype where the cable was cutting through metal on the protective housing and it still worked fine. The cable and system are extremely strong, but it must be attached or the pack will not deploy.
All avalanche airbag packs need to have the canister installed correctly and also have the cable (Snowpulse, BCA) or handle (ABS) installed correctly to work properly. If you are unsure or have any questions contact the manufacturer, your dealer or shoot me an email. Mike
 
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Response From BCA

All,

I work for BCA and this thread was forwarded to me this morning. I am a brand new forum user at Snowest so greetings.

Here's the scoop: I emailed Slim this morning to get more details on why his cable pulled out. After talking to our main engineer, we suspect that the trigger cable was either not connected properly or not connected at all. This piece requires two nuts to be screwed on to the stem to work properly. It's important to practice connecting the cylinder to the hardware, and as mentioned above, deploying the pack so you know what type of motion it requires to deploy. That being said, until I talk further with Slim I can't actually assess the situation 100% accurately.

In the meantime, for those of you who own the Float 30, or those of you who are interested, this link provides demo videos as well as a link to the Owner's Manual (required reading for owners!):

http://www.backcountryaccess.com/english/products/Float30.php

To be honest it's a bit difficult to take the time to watch these forums but I will do my best. If anyone needs to contact me directly via email that can be done using my first name, the @ sign, and then spell out the company I work for and add .com at the end (I'm writing this out because someone told me to never put your email address in a forum, I don't know why). Or you can just call BCA at 303-417-1345.
Thanks, Steve
 
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