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| It's one of those things. I'm pretty sure that if I stuff another car or a bridge pier with my Golf and live, it will be 21st century FE programs (and powerful workstations) that have enabled incredibly crash-proof cars to be built plus airbags...that would probably save my life, whereas in a 1975 Golf I'd be toast.
I'd love to be able to test one of these things (AvyLung or the airbag backpacks, whatever they're called) with the option to get out of it if it didn't work.
Hmm, that dodn't sound that logical.. | |
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Sounds totally logical. You are saying what I am thinking. You'd like to be able to know for sure that it worked without having to take the risk of finding out!
I just found
this article which supports the fact that the Avalung might increase your survival time under the snow. However it does give the disclaimer that
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| Further study will be needed to determine whether the device improves survival during avalanche burial | |
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This article is similar to the previous one and to a certain extent supports the theory that an Avalung might increase survival time. But... the interesting thing is that it does not actually support the claim from Avalung that it takes air out of the snowpack. Taking these two articles together and in context it looks like if the avalung does work it probably does so by seperating the carbon dioxide from the area you are breathing in your oxygen rather then actually taking oxygen out of the snowpack.
This article mentions the Avalung too but says | Quote: | | |
| The artificial air pocket prolongs adequate respiration during snow burial and may improve survival by delaying asphyxiation | |
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while it says this about the ABS rucksack
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| The ABS, which forces the wearer to the surface of the avalanche debris by inverse segregation to help prevent burial, has been in use in Europe for the last 10 years with an impressive track record. | |
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Here is the patent information for the Avalung.
This stuff does seem to support an avalung being of some use in ideal conditions. In real life there are many other things to consider. I don't think the idea of putting it in your mouth in dangerous areas is 100% realistic, and I am not sure it would be the first thing I would think of doing if I felt the earth slide, but I am going to look into it a little more.
Having said that, I'd buy an ABS rucksack in a flash if they didn't cost 1000CHF. If I save enough I might try to get one for next season, can't afford it this year though.