Interesting take on avalanche airbags with this new Kickstarter campaign by AVAGEARUSA who are crowd-funding the “next evolution of avalanche safety.”
The unique system has the look and fit of those inflatable life jackets worn by boaters who want to stay afloat in emergency situations but not have deal with bulky and cumbersome life vests and the new avalanche airbag works in much same way.
The system was put the test by Swiss Federal Institute for Avalanche and Snow Field who had this to say about it performance:
“The fact that the faces of the dummies with the Avagear rescue vest were always found in the proximity of the surface (of the Avalanche) appears to verify the hypothesis that the Avagear airbag…does indeed aid the lifting effect on the head and upper body.”
One thing that makes this system stand out is its universal compatibility with existing non-airbag backpacks. It also remains a viable avalanche safety device if you remove your backpack throughout the day which is not the case for backpacks with integrated inflation systems. Check out the promo video and if you are interested in crowdfunding campaign GO HERE.