Always deploy your airbag in an avalanche?

If you're skiing trees or open meadows, I'm wonder if you should always deploy your airbag when caught in an avalanche. Some benefits I'm theorizing of might be: you aren't going to travel much faster if you're on top compared to swimming in it? Most avalanches move so fast so quickly, if you're caught you'll be moving with them just as quickly. You will probably end up closer to the far end of the deposition zone though (travel farther)?

You might get a chance to breath while sliding?

You will have your momentum to stop if you hit anything but you won't be crushed into it by the force of being buried in snow?

If your bag doesn't snag, you'll end up closer to the surface or perhaps be closer to the surface when it does snag? Say like if you sideswiped a tree half way down the slide path, at least at that point you're on top.

I just read what I've written, apologies for the frank descriptions and disturbing subject matter. I'm looking to learn more...

It seems cut and dry to me---if you can, you deploy it whether you are in trees or not, but I know opinions differ.

Benefits
1. Much more likely to end up on surface once slide stops
2. Less likely to impact bed surface during the washing machine cycle
3. Airbag may protect from impact to trees (seem unlikely, but if you are going to hit one anyway, what is the downside?)

Cons?

Con would be that the bag won't be available for the second avalanche you kick off that day.

Con would be that the bag won't be available for the second avalanche you kick off that day.

Agreed. Usually by the third or forth avalanche ride of the day I'm pretty exhausted from all of the swimming and ready for an innertube ride.

Punk, breaking a femur on a tree is way more painful if you are on the surface, since being down in the slide acts like a "cold pack" to reduce the swelling.

On another thread it was posited that you might move faster downslope once the bag is deployed. If true, then you might hit trees much harder with the bag deployed. On the other hand, you may not have as much force from snow pushing you into the tree if you are on top of the flow. I do not know enough about the dynamics in play to have a strong take either way on this notion, but given that I mostly ski trees in mid-winter, it at least got me pondering...

Agreed.  Usually by the third or forth avalanche ride of the day I'm pretty exhausted from all of the swimming and ready for an innertube ride.

Punk, breaking a femur on a tree is way more painful if you are on the surface, since being down in the slide acts like a "cold pack" to reduce the swelling.

some of this story is probably true