anyone considering buying an airbag pack?

A bigger question is: why haven't good, releasable tele- or snowboard bindings evolved and on the market?  Being AT, I'm good. If I was tele or snowboard, I'd be jumping up & down demanding a Dynafit-like solution. I think your chances of trauma are hugely heightened if your feet are essentially anchors pulling you down. Gerry

There is, 7TM's and Rottefella NTN's. Polar opposites in performance yet both are releasable. I have them both and have released from both, which is nice to know they work! My feeling is that most tele people don't upgrade their binding set up very often, hence the newer types of releasable bindings aren't obvious or highly marketed. That for me is a reason to jump up and down, if we don't support the newer technology it won't develop around our needs. Teler's will always be resigned to a duct tape/hybrid type of gear choice, some enjoy that...., some jump up and down.

I think the other issue with releasable tele is that 7TM had a really bad performance reputation after their first generation and, overall, was always less powerful than Hammerheads or O2s. Plus, heavy and expensive.

7TM, Voile CRB, NTN and TTS are all releasable tele bindings. I've skied all of them but the CRB and I had the NTN come of my feet in the Phantom slide last spring, with not a hint of injury as a result. Lots of luck in that factor, certainly.

On topic, I expect Anastasia and I will be getting airbag packs sometime this season. The Mammut RAS 30 seems really well designed and has some options for use with larger packs, which is a perk. I'm still waiting to hear what BD has planned, if anything, as an airbag/avalung combo would be ideal.

I think the other issue with releasable tele is that 7TM had a really bad performance reputation after their first generation and, overall, was always less powerful than Hammerheads or O2s.  Plus, heavy and expensive.

7TM, Voile CRB, NTN and TTS are all releasable tele bindings.  I've skied all of them but the CRB and I had the NTN come of my feet in the Phantom slide last spring, with not a hint of injury as a result.  Lots of luck in that factor, certainly.

On topic, I expect Anastasia and I will be getting airbag packs sometime this season.  The Mammut RAS 30 seems really well designed and has some options for use with larger packs, which is a perk.  I'm still waiting to hear what BD has planned, if anything, as an airbag/avalung combo would be ideal.

^^ you could always just zip-tie an avalung to the opposite shoulder strap. Lou Dawson had an interesting point about the added complication of an avalung/airbag though... at what point is it too bulky and complicated and what do you want your panic response to be?

^^ you could always just zip-tie an avalung to the opposite shoulder strap. Lou Dawson had an interesting point about the added complication of an avalung/airbag though... at what point is it too bulky and complicated and what do you want your panic response to be?

Yeah, if we get the Mammut I may go that route.  Dawson's point is well taken, for sure.  For me, the clearness-of-thought while I had the Avalung in my mouth was vastly better than when it got knocked out (and promptly replaced with a packed snowball).  I think it might be key in suppressing the air panic enough to pull the airbag in the first place...

The whole idea is a bit like deciding which pair of pants to wear while the Titanic is sinking, I guess, but both tools seem pretty high-value.

on a lighter note, it appears that remote controls for airbag packs are in the works....

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100108114723.htm

could add all sorts of evil prankstering and shenaniganny fun to backcountry skiing... see your friend struggling past some tight trees or crouching under a fallen log and you want them to get really stuck...or see another party a few minutes ahead of you getting ready to poach your line and you want to slow them down.... hit the 'remote deploy' button and watch the hilarity ensue.

I have a Float 30. Found it on TAY for $400. It's near 8# (i think), and I use it sled skiing (all the time), and on considerable avy danger touring days. It isn't as stable on my back as my favorite pack, the DaKine Poacher, but it fits my torso length well. It seems that the stability complaint was addressed on the new Float 36, with a change in the "center of gravity". Also, the Float 30 is not as easy to access the big compartment. The shovel blade compartment doesn't fit my blade fully, so a bit sticks up and gets in the way of zipper travel.