BEST AIR BAG AND BEACON?

Get a digital beacon, one with 3 antennas. They are the most accurate. I like Pieps, but Mammut Pulse and Tracker 2 are great too. With airbags, you get what you pay for. I have ABS and I love it. No worries with moisture in the canister cuz it's nitrogen, not compressed air. And ABS has the most packs to choose from so you can get the most comfortable one. Snowbigdeal has cheap refills too.

Pieps DSP is what I would say is the best beacon on the market. The tracker 2 is easy to use but I've found the antenna strength to be weak and not have a large of a range as the Pieps. If you do get a pieps (as with any beacon), ITS ONLY AS GOOD AS YOU ARE AT USING IT. Simply having it on your person isn't going to do much if you don't know how to use it.

As far as airbags go, I'd say either an ABS Vario or Snowpulse Highmark are the best bet. They are excellent quality packs and large enough to store the essential gear any sledder should be carrying on their back in case they get separated from their sled, including a shovel/probe and survival gear. Like Goat said, there are other avy packs on the market but you definitely get what you pay for! Shop around and get familiar with the options on each bag so that you can make an informed decision rather than just rely on what every Shmoe on snowest says

I spend a lot of time trying different beacons and letting students try beacons in class. A list of gear I recommend can be found at www.avalanche1.com on the gear page. It's interesting to see what beacons work best for students and what problems people run into with certain beacons in rescue scenarios.
One note on avalanche airbag packs. Higher price does not necessarily mean it's higher quality. Place of manufacture and exchange rates have much to do with cost and retail prices.

I recently wrote reviews of avalanche airbag packs for www.snowavigear.com Some quick beacon reviews are also on this site. Here are the airbag pack reviews that will appear on their site soon. All the gear on their site is gear I recommend in class, have tried and found to be the most effective.

Avalanche Airbag Pack Page:
Intro: You never want to get caught in an avalanche. An avalanche airbag pack is your best chance for surviving an avalanche. You cannot be 100% accurate in predicting avalanches and that is why I wear an avalanche airbag pack. It is used in conjunction with a beacon, shovel, probe and avalanche education.
All avalanche airbag pack designs have pluses and minuses. I personally have ABS, BCA and Snowpulse packs. The packs listed here are the ones that work best for snowmobiling. You definitely want a pack instead of the vest design. The vest design that is on the market is a step below the packs featured here.

ABS Packs review: “These are the most proven design of all avalanche airbag packs. ABS invented the airbag pack. Very high quality and durable packs. Has a dual airbag system that opens behind you. If you rip one bag, you still have another. Easiest trigger to pull. Cylinder does not have a gauge on it, must be weighed to check if completely full. Must send back canisters to be refilled. Canister is filled with nitrogen and air. Bags open behind you so as not to interfere with vision or the operation of the snowmobile. ABS has a 98% survival rate when deployed and 90% are uninjured in actual avalanche accidents. These bags have a great track record. “ Mike Duffy

Snowpulse Highmark 30 review: “Main selling point on this pack is that when deployed it offers the most protection for the head and neck. The bag inflates around the head and neck and encourages a face up position in an avalanche. The deployed airbag greatly restricts movement of the head and neck which may interfere with operation of a snowmobile, but offers more protection. Highmark 30 is a snowmobile specific pack. Cylinder is filled with compressed air, has a gauge, is cable activated and can be easily refilled. Pack has plenty of storage and fits very well.” Mike Duffy

BCA Float 30 review: “This is the lowest priced full feature avalanche airbag pack on the market. BCA has done a great job of making the technology available to more riders. They did not back off on quality. How do they keep the price low? Many components are made overseas to the strictest standards and then the pack is assembled in Colorado. Each pack is tested before being shipped. The bag opens behind you and the trigger handle is on the right shoulder strap so you can deploy with the left hand while on the throttle. I spent a lot of time riding with a Float 30 last year and I was extremely happy with it. The fit is the best of any pack for snowmobiling. The compression straps keep the pack contents from bouncing around and the pack feels like an extension of your body. Fits up to a 52” waist. Very durable design. Cylinder has a gauge, is cable activated, filled with compressed air and is the easiest pack to refill. BCA has refill locations across the US and Canada. The pack comes with everything to do a refill.” Mike Duffy

Bottom line is this: Any avalanche airbag pack is better than no airbag pack. Get a good three antenna digital beacon and practice with it. Want more opinions, go to www.beaconreviews.com (You'll see that not all 3 antenna beacons are the same in performance). When picking a beacon think of what state of mind you are in during an actual rescue. This is not the time to try to figure out how your beacon works. Practice with your beacon.
Take an on the snow rescue class and learn how to use your beacon effectively and perform an efficient rescue. It entails much more than looking at a beacon.

Mike Duffy
www.avalanche1.com

I have a Pieps DSP mostly because I was trained on Pieps in the 70s for ski patrol. History, track record and technology played big in my decision.

I bought a Float 30 last year and have been happy with it. I was waiting for a right side handle as I can't reach the left side handles. I have a fused right shoulder from an old motorcycle injury. It works great for me, fits great and is easy to refill with the newly available o-rings.

All Digital Beacons work well but for cost and simple to use perspective the BCA Tracker or tracker 2 are the winners in the category but as stated above you are only as good as your training...

ABS Air Bags due to the number of features, comfort and ease of use and double bag...air bags will not protect your head and neck, a helmet is the only thing that can do that...the nitrogen canisters are more consistent in filling the bags and they can easily be exchanged at dealers...

Hit up a store and try them all on to see what works for you....

The BEST airbag is the one that you will wear consistently. If you have an airbag that isn't comfortable or you don't like the way it rides, then the day you leave it at home is the day you wish you had it on. The physics of an avalanche and an airbag will work the same regardless of which airbag you have on your back. The larger volume will keep you on top (some keep you on top differently and offer other benefits). Therefore, your body type and size are a bigger factor in determining which airbag fits the best. Different size people like different airbags. Also, a factor to consider is how much stuff do you ride with in your backpack vs. on the sled.

In my opinion: The Tracker II is the easiest 3-antennae beacon to use for single burials and the Pieps DSP is the easiest to use for multiple burials.

Check out www.snowbigdeal.com for all options on Airbags (ABS, SnowPulse, BCA, and Avi-Vest). If you give us a call, we can tell you our opinion on the pack you are looking at.

I run the avi-vest i love it distributes the wieght awsome and works well

FYI, some/all ABS bags can be triggered with left or right hand, you can configure it either way.

Snow Pulse 30L Rocks

I have the Snow Pulse 30L and love it. I do not have the highmark model.

I have the marmut top of the line as well and think it is super easy to use.