Snowpulse Packs - anyone bought one?

So there are lots of opinions on Avy Airbags out there, which I dont want to jump into here.

But I want to know:
Has anyone actually bought and skiied with one of the Snowpulse bags? Are the packs decently constructed for other functions besides the airbag? Any buyers remorse or areas that it lacks in? Did you try a test deployement? Any comments on ease of refill?

The 30l looks like the best size to me for single day tours.
http://www.snowpulse.ch/v5/product/p...fe-bag-30l/en/

promo video
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KENr_9gK5f0"]YouTube- www.snowpulse.com[/ame]

Thanks.

Ordered mine just yesterday, with both a 30L and 45L cover. Nice feature new this year is the interchangeable covers.

I'll be traveling alone quite a bit for work, and felt this was worth the investment even though the price is steep.

Once I get some time with it, I'll post more info.

sweet, look forward to hearing what you think.

yeah, its alot of cash, but for all the other gear/shit i justify buying, i figure if its a well made product and functions as intended, its a worthwhile tool to have in the the kit for years to come. (and of course the most important tool being a functioning brain to not need shovel/probe/beacon/bag in the first place.)

anyone else put any hours on one of these?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by travis

Ordered mine just yesterday, with both a 30L and 45L cover. Nice feature new this year is the interchangeable covers.

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do you mean like the ABS packs with interchangeable base systems (with the airbag) with larger packs? i'm surprised to hear this because i bought a new snowpulse a couple weeks ago and the zipper for the interchange was sewed shut. i asked about this (thought it was just another compartment) and the store guy said that snowpulse got sued by ABS and had to discontinue that feature, and sew it shut on the already produced packs.


i do like my snowpulse 30L so far (bought 2 weeks ago). pricey but i figured it's time to drop some $$$ on some safety. i'll post up a review once i get some time with it.

Yes, the interchangeable covers. Same frame and airbag system can switch between 30 and 45 liters pretty easily.

Mine finally arrived last night. Zipper for interchange is intact and functional.

I'll post opinions after a few weeks of use.

Tmoney,
I bought the Snowpulse 15L version from an outfit out of Alaska last year. It is made in Switzerland and is quality stuff. Handmade. Has probe and shovel pockets in the bag. Perfect for day trips/heliskiing. I bought mine for heliskiing and now I am selling mine because my heliskiing dreams are done. If you need an avalanche airbag pack, this is the brand to get.

Hows the ski carry?

In the tram line at Andermatt a woman triggered her pack by mistake. It sounded like a rifle shot! I turned to see a big puff of powder surrounding the freaked out old lady wearing an inflated airbag.
Silly Euros!

The ski carry is diagonal mainly, although it looks as if you could do an A-frame as well.

Ive played with one breifly. I noticed that the elastice pulls on the zipper were a pain when trying to close the pack and that the Avy gear paocket seemed a little small. Other than that look pretty good.

My brother and I now also have a Snowpulse though we bought them last year and the so the zipper is still open.

Haven't deployed it yet.

We just received 12 units for our Cat ski operation. They will be available for hire to clients, so we had an evening briefing on use, recharging and repacking. They seem pretty straight forward and as an earlier poster mentioned, I like the fact you can zip off and replace the different shell sizes! Nice and light. I'm however not keen on the crutch strap.

How do those of you with these units find the crutch strap..... is it intrusive, uncomfortable when skiiing??

We have been selling Snowpulse packs since last year when they first became available in North America. Happy to answer any questions for you all.

How do those of you with these units find the crutch strap..... is it intrusive, uncomfortable when skiing??

We have never heard complaints about discomfort from the leg loop, nor have I personally been bothered by the loop while skiing. I can understand the concern . . . it does look like a wedgie-maker.

CD

Loving mine. Very functional ski pack. I'm comming from a BD covert pack and there are no sacrafices, other than not having an insulated drinking sleve. I riged an isulated nalgene holder that works well, though.
Ski carry works well both ways. Avi compartment holds my large shovel with no problem. We've blown them off about 6 times now in the shop I work at. Very simple to re-pack and charge up. Most dealers should be able to do this. We charge $10 to re-fill them.
Never a substitute for smart decision making, but its a nice feeling having it on your back while droping into a suspect slope

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ripzalot

i bought a new snowpulse a couple weeks ago and the zipper for the interchange was sewed shut. i asked about this (thought it was just another compartment) and the store guy said that snowpulse got sued by ABS and had to discontinue that feature, and sew it shut on the already produced packs.

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great to hear some first hand accounts of using this pack. sounds like a quality product. maybe its time to pull the trigger on that big price tag.

AvSafety- since you sell these, what can you tell us about ABS suing snowpulse over the zipper interchange thing? that for real? would be too bad, but i could probably settle for/only afford one size cover for now anyhow...

Cheers..

Note to anyone buying a Snowpulse in the States:

Since the air canister comes empty, you'll need to fill it somewhere. But according to the North American distributor's website, none of the dealers in the States serve as refilling stations. Even if this is wrong, and some dealers are refilling bottles, you may not live near a refilling station.

The air canister is filled via a paintball fitting. But your local paintball shop may not be able to fill 3,000psi of compressed air (3,000 may be the max that they can fill, but only when their tanks are at capacity). Your local scuba shop can fill to 3,000psi, but only if they have the paintball fitting - which they probably don't.

So, when you order your pack (also order the refill kit - just o-rings, grease and tape), make sure you also get an HPA scuba/paintball refill adapter.

This way when your pack arrives you'll only need to take one trip to your local scuba shop to get accurately filled to 3,000psi.

Industry standard for compressed air tanks on paintball guns is 4500 PSI. Most reputable shops/fields either have a compressor capable of filling to 4500 or a booster system to reach it.

I wish that was the case around here - within 50 miles of me 3,000psi was the rare max. 2,700 to 2,800 seemed the norm.

I was told the difference is that local paintball shops fill a bunch of scuba tanks to 3,000psi at the scuba shop and then cascade them together. So they quickly drop below 3,000. Better shops with more volume run their own compressor. I found one shop that ran their own compressor, but only when they need to. After driving an hour, I was told to come back in a few days when they'd fire up the compressor and be back to 3,000psi. No paintball shop I called claimed to have 4,500psi capability.

I also tried the local gas shop - oxygen, welding gasses, etc. They tried to send me over 100 miles away to the nearest "plant" where they get their gasses.

Getting the air filled turned out to be much more of a headache than I expected. I'm neither a paintballer nor a diver, so I wasn't really familiar with any of this when I ordered the Snowpulse. It took several days of phone calls and lots of driving around before I finally found the solution. Now that I have my own scuba/paintball adapter ($20) I don't foresee this being an issue in the future.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ripzalot

do you mean like the ABS packs with interchangeable base systems (with the airbag) with larger packs? i'm surprised to hear this because i bought a new snowpulse a couple weeks ago and the zipper for the interchange was sewed shut. i asked about this (thought it was just another compartment) and the store guy said that snowpulse got sued by ABS and had to discontinue that feature, and sew it shut on the already produced packs.


i do like my snowpulse 30L so far (bought 2 weeks ago). pricey but i figured it's time to drop some $$$ on some safety. i'll post up a review once i get some time with it.

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I accept with information:the interchangeable covers. Same frame and airbag system can switch between 30 and 45 liters pretty easily. Mine finally arrived last night. Zipper for interchange is intact and functional.

I am now buying a Snowpulse in the US, my parents already have 2 Euro models. Does anyone have a recommendation on where to buy in the US?

Where'd you get yours in Europe? Interested in locations in Graubünden or Zürich in particular, or Österreich, Deutschland, usw. if they'll ship.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TMoney

AvSafety- since you sell these, what can you tell us about ABS suing snowpulse over the zipper interchange thing? that for real? would be too bad, but i could probably settle for/only afford one size cover for now anyhow...

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TMoney, we have not been informed of any lawsuits between ABS and Snowpulse.

We just got in a sweet little 20L Snowpulse called the ProRider 20. If I could convince myself to carry less stuff, this would be my bag of choice. Very slick. Has anyone had a look at these packs yet?

Franz, we offer free shipping to the states.

I just typed-up a long review but decided against submitting it.

Synopsis: I'm happy with the purchase and would recommend the pack to others, but my one major gripe is that the pack is overbuilt. Like a DaKine with an airbag system. Some of the decision making that went into the design of the pack itself doesn't make much sense to me - not the airbag system - but why they did it (straps, buckles, etc) the way they did. An elegant, minimalist version (but still full sized) would be great!

edit to clarify: the 30L is much simpler than the 45L, but some of the odd things I've noticed apply to the base frame itself.

fyi, i sent snowpulse and email about the interchange system and got the following response:

“I purchased a Snowpulse 30L pack from Yosemite in Lausanne about one month ago. On the pack, there is a large zipper that is sewed closed. I asked the saleman about this and he said that ABS sued Snowpulse over the interchange design (change the airbag base with different sized packs) and was forced to sew shut this zipper. I am wondering if this is true. I have read on a ski forum that the USA version is still being produced with the interchange zipper. I checked your website and I don’t find anything mentioned about this interchange feature. “

What Yosemite said to you is totally true..the interchange feature is only for sale in CANADA.

Got a few buddies with each pack (I have an ABS escape 15) and have paid for a bca pack for my wife (we'll see if I ever get it????)

The abs seems a bit more comfy as the pack goes, but the trigger tends to sit a bit high, bothers some folks. The escape pack carries board/skis well, but I wish it had side straps like a heli pro does. Abs is more likely to float MORE of your body up higher in the slide, but the snowpulse protects the head. I like the two bags with the abs just in case.

Don't see anybody being too unhappy with either of them. Or you could wait a few years, hoping you're not caught in the meantime, for the bca pack. Not terribly happy with bca this year, worst snowpack in years & they're fiddle fucking around with the packs in boulder.:confused:

Just got my Snowpulse Lifebag Frame + 30L cover from UK today. It was the very last one one could find in size Large in Europe. I ordered it and spare cylinder (one for US/Canada/Europe) from http://www.Snowsafe.co.uk

I've also ordered showels and probes from Snowsafe. Fast delivery and extremely good service indeed.

I wanted to have also the 45L cover - and only place I could find one was http://www.avalanchesafety.ca

I got both packages on the very same day (today actually). Now I've been playing with it. It sure does look and feel 100x better than ABS one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by travis

I wish that was the case around here - within 50 miles of me 3,000psi was the rare max. 2,700 to 2,800 seemed the norm.

I was told the difference is that local paintball shops fill a bunch of scuba tanks to 3,000psi at the scuba shop and then cascade them together. So they quickly drop below 3,000. Better shops with more volume run their own compressor. I found one shop that ran their own compressor, but only when they need to. After driving an hour, I was told to come back in a few days when they'd fire up the compressor and be back to 3,000psi. No paintball shop I called claimed to have 4,500psi capability.

I also tried the local gas shop - oxygen, welding gasses, etc. They tried to send me over 100 miles away to the nearest "plant" where they get their gasses.

Getting the air filled turned out to be much more of a headache than I expected. I'm neither a paintballer nor a diver, so I wasn't really familiar with any of this when I ordered the Snowpulse. It took several days of phone calls and lots of driving around before I finally found the solution. Now that I have my own scuba/paintball adapter ($20) I don't foresee this being an issue in the future.

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Damn those shops you called must really suck.

I played nppl for a bit, and all my air was 4.5k. I had my own practice field and decided to get my own fill setup. after you have the 3k bulk tanks and everything else, you just use a BOOSTER to jack the pressure up to 4.5k.

Boosters are cheap. Its essentially a air driven compressor whereby one bulk tank used to fill the tank, and another is used to drive the cylinder in the booster to increase the pressure in the tank you are filling. boosters can cost as low as $1000 bucks. not that expensive....all the shops that i have pretty much ever gone to that service tournament paintball have 4.5k fill availability.

Another reason why your tank usually only is filled to 2700 is because the tank warms when you fill it. Substantially enough to increase the pressure by 5-10%. After you fill to 3k, let it cool and top it off...

I'm not sure how many people are located in Utah, but if you are ever in the area you can stop in our shop in Mt. Pleasant and we will refill your SnowPulse or BCA canister for free.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Red Peekay

How do those of you with these units find the crutch strap..... is it intrusive, uncomfortable when skiiing??

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Maybe this is old news, but the crotch strap is designed to keep you from getting choked by the chest strap if the bag is inflated and pulling you up towards the top of some slide debris you're caught in.

fyi (if anyone didn't alreay know this) the US and Euro versions can use either cannister, so if you have a US pack, you can fly to Europe without the cannister and rent a Euro one for the week and vice versa. Saves the need to blow your cannister and open it up before flying, refill at destination, then blow it again for the flight back.

sweet, look forward to hearing what you think.

What are the thoughts on the ProRider packs? I don't tour so I don't really need lots of space. I prefer to have something light and less restrictive.