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Swiss Firm Unveils New Avalanche-Proof Airbag

by Warren Riddle on March 17, 2009 at 08:01 AM

Even though the ski season is drawing to a close, before you go out to carve some sicky-gnar pow, there's a new device to add to your arsenal of beacon, shovel and probe. Snowpulse, a Swiss-based distributor of ski gear, has designed and released an avalanche "life-saver."

The 'Life Bag' consists of a large orange cushion, resembling a life preserver, that inflates out of an apparently normal backpack. To deploy the bag, the skier, or boarder, merely has to pull on a cable, inflating the safety device in three seconds, thanks to a compressed air container inside the pack. The airbag not only protects the head and neck from impact, but during the avalanche will also reportedly "float" the skier to the surface, while positioning their head upward at the same time.

Even though a spokesperson for Snowpulse, speaking to the UK Daily Mail, stated "Our products significantly increase survival chances in case of avalanches," don't think you can start unabashedly hucking yourself off cliffs, because the same spokesperson also offered up this warning: "You must not take more risks just because you have a Snowpulse airbag!" [From: Mail Online]

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Tags: avalanche, skiiers, skiing, snowboarding, sports, weird

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