Word of Arc’teryx’s patent for an avalanche “Vaporbag” backpack leaked out last summer, but is getting new attention with the Outdoor Retailer trade show coming up. The bag deploys automatically, no rip cord required, and wouldn’t need the bulk of a canister to fire. The patent describes how the unit can deploy 50 times between battery charges and could weigh a lot less than present avalanche airbag tech. How’s it work, exactly? Via battery-operated fan. That would eliminate many issues with current bags, in particular traveling with them. But patents are no guarantee of production — intriguing as it is, this might never come to retail. Via Wildsnow.com.

Read more stories like this at Adventure Journal.

Tags: backcountry, Skiing, Snowboarding

This entry was posted on Friday, January 11th, 2013 at 7:00 pm and is filed under Gear. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.