Very good Avy airbag article.

utahavalanchecenter.org/blog-avalanche-a...mething-closer-truth

I agree, good article and you have to ditch the statistics. Anyone interested in airbags has undoubtably watched survival vids and read testamonials and can make their own assessment of how that would work for them. Makes a lot of sense if your objective hazard is low and you have a good chance of a run-out. I would certainly want one if (when) I get a chance to heli-ski some big mountain runs, but in that instance I would be checking to make sure the operator had packs.

How many people here tour with AABs?

I got the ABS Variant Series. It has the base kit with attachment packs in 15, 18, 25, and 40 liter sizes. Perfect for someone who might do a lightweight tour one day, a lightweight overnight tour, or a technical/multi-day tour.

They are expensive, for sure, but the added chance of increased survival in the unlikely event of an avalanche is worth it. Obviously good decision making and knowledge is the most powerful tool, the ABS pack is just another item that could possibly save your life.

Dave that seems like the way to go. I am finding that my pack is getting smaller and smaller. Also, I have heard good things about the build quality of ABS systems vs. BCA.

I have an old Snowpulse with the zipper attachment that allows me to go with a 32L or 45l pack. I like it and will use it when I am skiing open alpine terrain but only use it on very deep days here.  In a lot of the terrain I ski here, I'd probably die from trauma from the trees but I still prefer to have it on when conditions are ripe and personally don't subscribe to the theory that you'll travel faster on top. YMMV
Of course...decison making still paramount.etc., etc.
The ABS pack is great. MY regular BC buddy, PNWBrit( Banned) bought a WARI pack and really likes it. It's compact and the rear panel entry is great.

I've got a BCA Float32 and my wife Becky has a Mammut RAS.... I wanted the larger capacity to be able to carry an SLR or a rope inside, Becky opted for the Mammut cause it was a shorter torso length and fit her better.   

The Tunnel Creek accident was what convinced us to buy them....maybe its just coincidental how the lone airbag pack skier survived that incident, but that was enough for us to decide to buy them for this season.  Figure we tour just about every weekend during the winter and there's nothing wrong with adding another piece of safety gear to the kit even if its only a small statistical increase in our safety.

The Tunnel Creek accident was what convinced (me) to buy them....maybe its just coincidental how the lone airbag pack skier survived that incident, but that was enough for us to decide to buy them for this season.

Ditto on the above.

I bought a BCA FLoat 22 and went with the smaller pack because I mostly ski lift-serve and side country when it's powder season, plus all my ski touring gear for day trips easily fits in this pack.

Purchased from Pro Ski and Guiding in North Bend. They have the compressed air and will fill it there for free if you buy your pack and canister there. I've deployed mine twice to test it and it's convenient to go in there and get it refilled.

Thanks for posting this article. I picked up the Mammut from Pro Guiding at the beginning of this season. At first I cringed at the thought of spending $1,000 on the pack until I realized that I already spend $300/month on life insurance, so why wouldn't I buy the pack to increase my statistical odds? It seems like a small price to pay in the grand scale of things, to do what we love with an additonal margin of life protection. I agree with all of the comments regarding terrain selection first, and so forth. The very last thing I ever want to do is see if the bag actually works. My hope is that at the end of my ski career I look back and say, "well, that was a big waste of money because I never used it."

My hope is that at the end of my ski career I look back and say, "well, that was a big waste of money because I never used it."

Well said.

"Bottom Line:
Ignore the 97% number and the 3% number.  My best guess is that avalanche airbag packs will probably save a little more than half of those who would have otherwise have died in an avalanche."

Good enough for me.

Definitely a very good article, agreed for sure.
And his bottomline conclusion fit within the range of the more detailed data analysis I conducted (although the super-detailed Canadian data set wasn't available for me yet this past spring):
beaconreviews.com/transceivers/pdfs/Airb....Shefftz.TAR30.4.pdf

But I was disappointed by his qualitative references to automotive safety.
My quantitative segue into improvements in auto safety has many qualifications, but the bottomline is:
"Out of all 36,339 automobile deaths in 1965, the 2009 survival rate would have saved 28,171 lives."
We should be so unfortunate to see such a disappointing result in avy safety!