I've been wearing one for the past couple of seasons, though haven't as yet had to chug dear air from it in the backcountry. I've all hopes to keep it that way, but I like it being strapped on should the need for it arise.<br><br>It's been a while since I bought it, but I did beforehand do a fair amount of research into the matter. At that point, there were a small handful of documented cases I could find where it was used in a full burial where someone was dug out. One in particular I recall was a deep burial where the guy had given up hope of being saved and, in thinking his friends had all been buried also, spit the tube out of his mouth after several minutes; his friends uncovered him unconscious after something like 25 minutes and revived him. He credited his being saved to the several minutes he was breathing through his Avalung prior to giving up hope (itself an instructive moral of the story). Armed with that and only a couple other favorable testimonies, I decided if there's something I can carry that will give me even a slightly better chance of survival in a full burial, then I should do it. <br><br>That said, it is a pain, especially considering I almost always ski with my SLR in a chest bag. Between those two items and my packstraps, it can be a challenge to get and stay situated, especially with the exersion of the uptrack. All in all, however, it's not that big of deal--even if it feels like it is some mornings. If I had to be entirely honest, the camera's the more annoying of the two if I had to choose.<br><br>The compromise I make is that I typically only carry the Avalung when and where there's an increased risk. If we're skiing in the trees or on hardpack & corn, I tend to leave it at home.<br>
