Why can't saving lives be affordable???

[tgoodwin]

I'm pretty sure nobody with any pull will ever see this, but who knows. Why would companies make such a great product like the avalanche airbags and make it so only a few can afford to have them. I understand there must be some cost involved in their production, but come on $800-$1000, give me a break. I would be willing to wage the production cost in these couldn't be more than a few hundred dollars, if that. I would love to ride with an ABS pack, but it's really not feasible. I'd be willing to pay even $500 for the security, but damn, if I bought a little backpack it would be more than my month payments for my house and truck. It's just frustrating. Any inventors out there want to start making their own and selling for a fraction of the cost?

 

[Oregongirl]

Some simple analysis might prove they would sell more at a lower price point, thereby actually increasing their profit margin.

 

[sky7051]

If you really think about it and look at it I think this not only pertains to the packs but also to beacons. Just once I'd love to be able to see cost sheets on different items to see what the real pocket lining is of these companies. Snowmobiling is already expensive enough without forking out a couple grand just to be safe every time you go out.

 

[adrenaline junkey]

I agree with you but until there are more than a few companies out there making them they will continue to rise in price. start putting a few dollars aside now then the cost wont be so bad and hope ya don't need it before ya buy it. I see the same thing with with bullet proof vests for the thinnest most protection can cost upwards of a grand and only has a service life of 3 to 5 years. so the avalanche backpack seems like a bargain when ya get many years of protection from it.

 

[dragon12]

What's your life worth? My guess is they think $1k is cheap vs. your life. While im playing devil's advocate here, if we all could buy them at Wal Mart would you trust the quality? You get what you pay for.

 

[sled.man]

what does it cost to restuff an airbag in a vehicle after it has been deployed. they make millions of the airbags, and still not cheap just to repair.

 

[Summertime Blues]

I think if you can afford an $8000 sled countless aftermarket parts, truck to pull it all and a trailer. Safety gear should not be an issue.


Expensive yes but cheaper than a funeral

 

[sky7051]

Yes if I rode an $8000 dollar sled or had a nice truck/trailer set up it'd be a different story, but unfortunately I don't. Personally I use ebay, snowest, and fab work to do anything I want to my sled (my $2000 sled). I'm just trying to say, make these things affordable to the average joe/jane so everyone can live to ride another day. Hell you can almost buy an entire functioning laptop for the same price as a beacon, and you can't tell me there is near the cost to build a beacon as a laptop.

 

[xrated]

i kinda agree. though my life is worth more then a grand.

Haven't really looked at them, but don't the ABS bags work just like a dive vest for snorklers, in that you jerk the cord and CO2 shoots air into the bladders?

Granted the ABS is a bigger scale, but isn't that the idea behind it. Not seeing a grand being a small profit on that idea.

 

[BowSheet]

A profit motive must exist to bring these products to market.Think about this for a second, would you spend a great deal of time designing, building testing and marketing a great new life saving product and lose your financial keister in the process? (and if your answer is yes, then why haven't you?) Gots to get that money...

 

[tgoodwin]

No doubt that I feel my life is worth more than $1000, but when you have to spend most of your money to support your family, and have a little left over to enjoy the finer things (sledding) it makes it hard to justify going further in debt. I would love to add the final component to my arsenal of safety, but until it becomes more affordable I won't be able to. I would never argue that these things should be available for the rollback price of 79.99 at your local walmart, but I am saying make it feasible for the normal person to buy. $400-$600 doesn't seem impossible, and I'm sure the companies would still make plenty of money. Keep in mind, the majority of sledders don't drive a new duramax or ride $8000 sleds, they ride the ones they've had for 5-10 years, or the ones they can afford on their budget ($2000-$3000, or less).

 

[adrenaline junkey]

i kinda agree. though my life is worth more then a grand.

Haven't really looked at them, but don't the ABS bags work just like a dive vest for snorklers, in that you jerk the cord and CO2 shoots air into the bladders?

Granted the ABS is a bigger scale, but isn't that the idea behind it. Not seeing a grand being a small profit on that idea.

I don't know how the abs works but air bladders on buoyancy compensators work off the low pressure side of the first stage. small amounts of breathable air are put in or by exhaling air threw a mouth piece at your control to adjust balace. I would guess once the abs is activated it empties all the contents of the canister into the bladder

 

[xrated]

I don't know how the abs works but air bladders on buoyancy compensators work off the low pressure side of the first stage. small amounts of breathable air are put in or by exhaling air threw a mouth piece at your control to adjust balace. I would guess once the abs is activated it empties all the contents of the canister into the bladder

that's not the type I'm thinking of. I know they make vests, maybe not for snorkling that are for emergncy situations where you need to get up fast or maybe you can't get up under your own power. All it is a co2 canister that you pull a cord to open and it fills the vest. Also make life preservers for fishing/duck hunting, etc like this. It stays thin until you jerk the cord then it blows up.

 

[Benchwarmer]

While I agree these are expensive I understand why. These guys have a ton of money into RnD, Patents, Marketing, Etc... And they are dealing with a very small market compared to just about any other market. They have to be making a big margin to cover there costs, turn a profit, and fund the reserch for the next product they come up with. There low volume also hurts us as anyone in manufacturing will tell you, its much cheaper per peice to make 1000 of somthing than it is to make 100, or 10.

Look back at the origional cell phones. They sold for a grand or more each for the first few years, but as they cought on sales volume goes up and now that 70% of people in North America have one you get them free with a renewed contract.

Unfortunatly this will never happen for us as growth of demand is limited. You will see the price come down a little over the next few years but not get cut in half.

At the end of the day these guys are in buisness to make money, and thank God for that or products like this woud just never come around.

 

[sky7051]

While I agree these are expensive I understand why. These guys have a ton of money into RnD, Patents, Marketing, Etc... And they are dealing with a very small market compared to just about any other market. They have to be making a big margin to cover there costs, turn a profit, and fund the reserch for the next product they come up with. There low volume also hurts us as anyone in manufacturing will tell you, its much cheaper per peice to make 1000 of somthing than it is to make 100, or 10.


Now I don't know how you would think of this as a small market, beacons and abs packs are purchases made by not only sledders but also skiers, snowboarders, mountaineering, nordic skiers, and any other type of adventurer who is so apt to make his winter enjoyment in the deep stuff. So now if you think about world wide numbers, cause most of the beacon makers are world wide, then this market becomes actually pretty large.

 

[Benchwarmer]

I understand that Avy gear is used by a number of groups, but it is limited to snowy mountain areas of the world, and to back country user groups. Compare the number of backcountry travelers in any given area at a time to the number of people at ski resorts. Where I live there are 7 good size ski resorts within a 3 hour radius of where I live. Each of those resorts have thousands of skiers on them every weekend, and there are maybe a few hundred backcountry user's out in that same range on any given weekend. And thats just another winter mountain sport.

The other problem is most avy gear is well made and if your lucky it never gets used exept in practice, so it lasts for years. Most people dont buy a new beacon every two to three years its more like every five to six, or as some new technology comes out.

I understand what your saying that world wide it looks like a big market, but compared to mainstream sports, its not even close. There are 5 sled dealers in my city, 20+ski shops not including big box sports stores, and 30 or more golf retailers. Maybe 3 or 4 of those ski shops sell Backcountry gear.

Now do yor compairison with world wide resort skiing, or golfing, and again we look like a very small market group.

I managed a Retail sporting goods store for about 3 years, we would sell more Mountain bikes on a sunny saturday than my sled dealer sells sleds all year.

And dont get me wrong I wish I could buy an ABS pack for 250bucks I'm just saying it aint going to happen.

 

[Comp 670]

I would bet that HALF of the cost of a avy backpack or a beacon is money set aside for when(not if) the maker of the pack gets sued by a family of someone who wore a pack or beacon in a avy and still did not survive...

I was AMAZED at what liability ins cost me when I had my company..Bottom line is the consumer pays for all the lawsuits one way or another..

When you build a new product nowadays you must figure in liability costs...

 

[Woof]

I own 2 beacons, 2 probes, 3 shovels, one ABS pack. I wear one one beacon and keep the extra beacon for the guy who shows up without one, same for the probes, one shovel on my sled under the hood, one shovel on my back. The ABS pack is new, hurt like he11 to pay for it, but I have it.

I have a bit more faith in surviving an avy. I really don't care that I have around $2000 in this equipment because I can afford it, and it is mine to keep and use for years.

I have a family and a responsibility to come home safe so this stuff is cheap. If you want to play you gotta pay.

 

[Benchwarmer]

Yeah I'm sure liability insurance is another contributing factor to the cost of this stuff.

I'm another guy who has two full kits just in case, and won't go out into the Backcountry with anyone that dosent at least have a beacon, shovel, and probe. Fortunatly I ride with a group that all feel the same so its never a problem, and lots of us have spare gear to loan out to people that want to give it a try.

 

[doors4u]

When my buddy owned his shop, he sold these products at 0 markup. He said he was not going to make money on something that would save someones life. It pisses me off when you go into some of these dealers and they charge 20% over list price for these items.