On Thursday, Lou Dawson at gave the first detailed look at new Jetforce Avalanche Airbag pack.
It’s the first airbag pack that inflates and deflates with a battery-powered fan instead of a cartridge or a canister of gas or air. Because of that, 聽this pack can be deployed multiple times in one ski day or trip if necessary鈥攏o recharging of batteries required.
Interest in the Jetforce was so great that it crashed Wild Snow鈥檚 server. The reason: Black Diamond鈥檚 Jetforce solves nearly all of the major issues with current avalanche airbag packs.
- Skiers, riders and others no longer have to think twice about deploying their pack. If you鈥檙e afraid, pull the trigger. It鈥檚 easy to deflate the bag and repack it, and it will instantly be armed again and ready to go. One battery charge inflates the pack multiple times.
- No longer do pack owners have to search for a place to refill a canister.
- There鈥檚 no need to haul multiple heavy and expensive canisters on a multi-day trip.
- You won鈥檛 be hassled by the airlines when you fly with the Jetforce.
- A switch turns the inflation mechanism on and off, so there鈥檚 no fussing to zip away handles when you鈥檙e loading the heli, and it鈥檚 unlikely you鈥檒l accidentally activate it. If you do鈥攏o problem. Deflate it, repack it, and you鈥檙e still protected.
- And for tree skiers, one further bonus: Once inflated, the fan keeps pulsing air. So even if the bag gets snagged and ripped鈥攗nlikely since the Jetforce鈥檚 airbag is slipperier and tougher than most others on the market鈥攊t鈥檒l still keep you afloat.
Rumor also has it that is working on a fan-inflated avalanche pack as well鈥攊f so, it hasn’t publicly released any details on its system save a聽.
The price and exact release date are still being determined. The Jetfoce 28 will retail for about the same price as other airbag packs, approximately $1,000, in 11-, 28-, and 40-liter sizes; 7 lbs., 4 oz. (28 liters). Black Diamond hopes to make the pack available for Fall 2014.