Avalanche airbags and avalanche transceivers
After last year, when many manufacturers focused on the booming market for avalanche airbags and many presented their own airbag systems, things remained a little quieter this time. However, there are still some improvements and new products worth mentioning.
The North Face:
One of the biggest innovations in the avalanche emergency equipment segment was probably presented by The North Face with its airbag system from the company ABS, which it claims is compatible with 95% of all backpacks. This system can be attached to the backpack with just a few hand movements. The release handle can be freely adjusted in height and angle and can be attached to the right or left side of the straps.
Pieps:
With the Jetforce Rider 10, Pieps is expanding its Jetforce airbag backpack range, which was introduced last year and will be sold to end customers for the first time in winter 2014/15. The Rider 10 is a small airbag backpack with a capacity of 10 liters. The Jetforce Tour Rider 24 L and Tour Pro 34 L backpacks will also be available in two different back lengths (S/M and M/L). Previously, only size S/M was available.
The little brother of the Pieps DSP Pro avalanche transceiver, the Pieps Sport, will receive a firmware update that will also enable an auto-switch function in the future. This was previously only possible with the Pieps DSP Pro.
Black Diamond:
Black Diamond is also expanding its range of Jet Force airbag backpacks. With the Pilot 11, as with Pieps, there will be a smaller airbag backpack from the coming season.