Tag: airbag

Airbag for Olympics

Lindsay Vonn’s recent crash shows the dangerous of racing down the ski slopes. While riders are increasingly donning helmets some companies are looking at how airbags could help reduce injuries. These include French-based Helite, which offers a wearable airbag system that includes accelerometers and sensors to detect when a skier is falling and automatically inflates, covering the skiers in a protective vest.

Helite hopes to have the technology deployed in time that it could actually be deployed by racers at next year’s Olympic Games. Continue reading Airbag for Olympics

Holiday Gift Idea: Airbag for Skiers

Last year the North Face announced that head developed an avalanche airbag system, and for those thinking of making a ski holiday this Christmas season the new pack is ready to lift off. It is sort of the gift that you might hope your loved one will never need, but if they do you’ll be happy they had it. The North Face Patrol Avalanche Airbag Pack ($1179) is fully serviceable, includes internal pockets in the main compartment for organization and even a large tool pocket. It of course features an ABS airbag that can be engaged with the pull of a handle.

The North Face Patrol 24 ABS Avalanche Airbag Pack

Sweden Design Firm Comes up with the ‘Invisible’ Bike Helmet

Swedish design house Hövding has come up with an airbag-style bike helmet that puts an inflatable protective hood around the wearer’s head at the time of impact. The helmet is worn in a collar and only inflates when an impact occurs. Continue reading Sweden Design Firm Comes up with the ‘Invisible’ Bike Helmet

Airbags Come to Snow Sports

Airbags save lives. This is generally true in automobiles, but airbags could be making the way from the car to the slopes. Last winter we noted that Backcountry Access had developed an avalanche kit that included an airbag, and now North Face has a new Avalanche Airbag Safety System (ABS) as well.

According to reports somewhere between 20 and 30 people have lost their lives in avalanches every year since the early 1990s, and while this may seem a small number compared to other accidents, the ABS system could help further reduce those numbers.

The system includes two small inflatable bags, which will the pull of a string can expand with a little help from some nitrogen. The bags could help a hiker, skier or snowboarder stay close to the top of a snow pileup in an avalanche, and by minimizing the depth of a burial – or even avoiding – the chances of survival are increased.

With this system North Face is also introducing it with two new fabrics: Thermoball and Flashdry. Thermoball uses small balls of synthetic fiber to create a light weight warmth which can also repel water, while FlashDry uses micro-porous particles to wick away water and moisture.

The ABS pack is actually reusable as well, although we think that surviving an avalanche would be enough to keep someone from going out on the slopes again!

[Via Discovery News: Air Bags Could Make Alpine Sports Safer]