Comments on: Five Days of Black Diamond — Day 1 — Avalung http://www.wildsnow.com/1745/five-days-of-black-diamond-day-1-avalung/ Backcountry Skiing Snowboard Telemark Snowsports Information News Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:08:11 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: ffelix http://www.wildsnow.com/1745/five-days-of-black-diamond-day-1-avalung/comment-page-1/#comment-15831 ffelix Thu, 14 May 2009 22:28:10 +0000 http://www.wildsnow.com/?p=1745#comment-15831 The Avalung buys you time. That's all. It's not hard to bite it & those who have been buried so far had no trouble holding on to it. How often do your buddies practice with their beacons? Thought so. The built in pack Avalung is really a mess. BD completely screwed up an elegant design. Rather than just stitching the nifty Avalung II into a neat, tidy pack/chest strap so you don't have to fiddle with it all day, they inverted it, added about 9 feet of tubing, a bulky, sharp filter box right on your shoulder, an unnecessarily big outlet & yards of fabric & zipper tunnels inside the pack. Why, why, why? Just make it a simple pack/chest strap already & be done with it. The Avalung buys you time. That’s all. It’s not hard to bite it & those who have been buried so far had no trouble holding on to it. How often do your buddies practice with their beacons? Thought so.

The built in pack Avalung is really a mess. BD completely screwed up an elegant design. Rather than just stitching the nifty Avalung II into a neat, tidy pack/chest strap so you don’t have to fiddle with it all day, they inverted it, added about 9 feet of tubing, a bulky, sharp filter box right on your shoulder, an unnecessarily big outlet & yards of fabric & zipper tunnels inside the pack.

Why, why, why? Just make it a simple pack/chest strap already & be done with it.

]]> By: justin http://www.wildsnow.com/1745/five-days-of-black-diamond-day-1-avalung/comment-page-1/#comment-15018 justin Fri, 20 Mar 2009 04:47:04 +0000 http://www.wildsnow.com/?p=1745#comment-15018 Yeah, I was originally of that mindset as well, but never look a gift Avalung in the mouth right? Good point on the pack/beacon in the pack. I wonder how many of the 'beacon should never be in the pack' people fall in the 'praise the Avalung pack God' category? Yeah, I was originally of that mindset as well, but never look a gift Avalung in the mouth right?

Good point on the pack/beacon in the pack. I wonder how many of the ‘beacon should never be in the pack’ people fall in the ‘praise the Avalung pack God’ category?

]]> By: Lou http://www.wildsnow.com/1745/five-days-of-black-diamond-day-1-avalung/comment-page-1/#comment-14951 Lou Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:12:07 +0000 http://www.wildsnow.com/?p=1745#comment-14951 Justin, I never liked the standalone Avalung for those exact reasons, and was excited when they started building them into backpacks. Only secret I have is that I I frequently don no use a beacon harness, I just carry my beacon in the chest pocket of my lightweight softshell, which I wear almost all the time, though sometimes I carry the beacon and softshell in my pack. I know, that's against convention, but I figure if the Avalung is part of my pack, then I'm expecting it to stay with me in an avy, right? In that case, once in a while I'll take the risk of having my beacon in the backpack as well. Only thing missing is the Avalung pack really should have a crotch strap if one really expects it to stay located on your back in a bigger avalanche. Justin, I never liked the standalone Avalung for those exact reasons, and was excited when they started building them into backpacks. Only secret I have is that I I frequently don no use a beacon harness, I just carry my beacon in the chest pocket of my lightweight softshell, which I wear almost all the time, though sometimes I carry the beacon and softshell in my pack. I know, that’s against convention, but I figure if the Avalung is part of my pack, then I’m expecting it to stay with me in an avy, right? In that case, once in a while I’ll take the risk of having my beacon in the backpack as well. Only thing missing is the Avalung pack really should have a crotch strap if one really expects it to stay located on your back in a bigger avalanche.

]]> By: justin http://www.wildsnow.com/1745/five-days-of-black-diamond-day-1-avalung/comment-page-1/#comment-14948 justin Thu, 19 Mar 2009 05:39:35 +0000 http://www.wildsnow.com/?p=1745#comment-14948 Lou, your idea is interesting, but if you're going to have all that tech you might as well have some heat coils built in so it helps melt the snow around you to give you more wiggle room As far as the standalone, what's your secret to getting comfy with it on? Between my beacon, the avalung, and occasionally my camera harness I feel like there's a lot of overlap. Even just beacon + standalone I'm having issues finding a comfortable bit between the two plus having a pack on. Tips? Lou, your idea is interesting, but if you’re going to have all that tech you might as well have some heat coils built in so it helps melt the snow around you to give you more wiggle room

As far as the standalone, what’s your secret to getting comfy with it on? Between my beacon, the avalung, and occasionally my camera harness I feel like there’s a lot of overlap. Even just beacon + standalone I’m having issues finding a comfortable bit between the two plus having a pack on. Tips?

]]> By: Rob http://www.wildsnow.com/1745/five-days-of-black-diamond-day-1-avalung/comment-page-1/#comment-14932 Rob Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:44:22 +0000 http://www.wildsnow.com/?p=1745#comment-14932 When I saw the whistle (nice, cheap insurance) on the chest buckle of the BD Covert Avalung pack I briefly wondered if BD considered placing a whistle in the snorkel tube itself. That whistling sound would keep you company when buried, although it would probably suck if you had to listen to that during avy dog practice burials. When I saw the whistle (nice, cheap insurance) on the chest buckle of the BD Covert Avalung pack I briefly wondered if BD considered placing a whistle in the snorkel tube itself. That whistling sound would keep you company when buried, although it would probably suck if you had to listen to that during avy dog practice burials.

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