Travel w/ Avalanche Airbag outside US

Can anyone share any experience with traveling with a Mammut Snowpulse system?

I can see how Europe would be easy but not so much Japan where I'm headed to first.

Anyone had any luck shipping a canister to Japan? Anybody know if there are any adapters that make filling at a Scuba shop possible?

Am I better off selling my gear and buying a Jetforce? Anyone traveled w/a Jetforce?

Scuba tanks, pressurized
Pressurized scuba tanks/cylinders containing air or other nonflammable, nontoxic gases are regulated as hazardous materials once they reach a pressure of 200 kPa (29 psig/43.8 psia) at 20ºC/68ºF.
Empty scuba tanks or scuba tanks pressurized at less than 200 kPa are not restricted as hazardous materials. However, airlines and airport screening officials may require valves to be opened all the way for inspection. See www.tsa.gov for TSA’s security screening requirements for scuba tanks.

www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/hazmat_saf...more_info/?hazmat=49

scuba air tank
Check Only
Sports equipment that can be used as a bludgeon (such as bats and clubs) is prohibited in the cabin of the plane and must be transported in your checked baggage.
For sporting goods that are not prohibited, you should check with the airline to ensure that sports equipment will fit in the overhead bin or underneath the seat of the airplane.

Even if an item is generally permitted, it may be subject to additional screening or not allowed through the checkpoint if it triggers an alarm during the screening process, appears to have been tampered with, or poses other security concerns. The final decision rests with TSA on whether to allow any items on the plane.

apps.tsa.dhs.gov/mytsa/cib_results.aspx?src=tsawebsite

Seems like if you depressurize the canister you should be able to place it in your checked baggage -- then you just need to find a dive shop to refill it (and explain in the local lingo what this thing is and what pressure (and whatr units!) too which you want it filled. The BCA pack I had was refillable at at most all dive shops according to the BCA folks -- it uses a standard fitting.

I'm not sure the JetForce would save you that much interaction with the TSA or equivalent on the way back.   Is a new type of electronic gizmo that they've never seen before -- so that might cause them to want to take a close look.

For snowpulse it looks like they sell two modes of canister -- one refillable and one single use

EXCHANGE / SELF FILLING
Non-Refillable Cartridge 300 bar Steel:
Cheap obtain the new cartridge after dispensing of the old cartridge from your dealer.
Cartridge Refillable 207 bar Alu:
Can be refilled by the dealer or yourself. Each dive shop or Paintball Shop / Paintball farm in America or Canada, this also refilled. Instructions for refilling, see the user ..

www.snowpulse.com/rubrique/conseils-faq/maintenance-2/

Yeah I know 207 bar is pretty much a bomb... Which has me thinking what happens when this hits a rock in a fall? (I'm trying to make it back to La Grave)

I may have to ship a Jetforce or just not bother to bring this. I'm headed to Japan first then Europe after that. Getting it filled in Europe isn't as hard to do. I have 3 trips outside the US under my belt, w/o an airbag at this point.

... Which has me thinking what happens when this hits a rock in a fall? ...

I think if you fall and hit a rock hard enough to burst the canister -- the canister bursting will be the least of your worries.

It depends where and when a person hits a rock I figure. La Grave took lots of people out that I could never be compared to. I've hit many a rock above tree line on glaciers. I think some of the ones that have given me the most grief are after the start of a powder frenzy on a glacier on hiting a shark at speed. Many rocks hiding beneath foliage have broken my bones while Mtn biking. I've only had a pressure vessle strapped to my back for snowboarding 1 time. I know that MSA SCBA's while firefighting should never be dropped on end. The more I think about it the more a Jetforce makes sense.

Mythbusters wrote: Exploding Scuba Tank Original air date: July 17, 2005
Myth statement: If a pressurized scuba tank is shot, it will explode.
Status: Busted
Notes: When the tank was punctured by a bullet, it simply decompressed quickly, causing it to fly around like a compressed-air rocket. The team was only able to make the tank explode in the end by using explosives.