Avalanche Safety Jacket to Help Extend Survival Time

Worried about suffocating after being hit by an avalanche? Thanks to the AvaJacket safety system you won't have to worry anymore. The Avajacket features airbags that restrain the head from being twisted into potentially dangerous positions, and an air-cleaning breathing system. I look forward to the release of the Moltencoat early next year. Finally, I'll be able to explore a volcano with peace of mind.

Comments

and the idleness is ??

[RockDoctor]

OK, it looks a bit funny-peculiar, and the advert has obviously been translated into English (?) by a famous Taiwanese firm of technical translators (who only employ native speakers of Qetchua and !Kung for their Chinese-English translations). But other than that, what's funny? Lifejacket technology (well, I recognise it as a lifejacket) for inflating the airbag has been re-shaped to protect head and neck from impact and bending forces. I'm a bit dubious about the efficacy of the breathing tube arrangement, but I'm also pretty dubious about the efficacy of the "Airpocket" which I have to wear travelling to and from my work. I'm more dubious about this being successfully deployed (or maintained) by amateur skiers who only slide around on planks for a week or so per year.
Then again, I'd suspect that it's not aimed at amateur plankers, but at professional skiers - both those who shepherd the amateur plankers and those who have to ski to get to their work locations for a significant part of the year. Rescue workers would also be an obvious target market - no small number of people searching for avalanche victims have been hit by further avalanches from the same feeder slopes.
Nope, sorry, I don't see anything funny about this. Should I make the traditional rude comparisons between SlashDot's "editors" and a pair of fetid dingo's kidneys?

Re:and the idleness is ??

[theReal-Hp_Sauce]

The mouthpiece idea has been around for a while in the form of the Avalung http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/shop/ski/avalung/avalung-ii.

The idea is sound, but I think putting it into action would be a bit dicey.
a) Getting it into your mouth before being swept away/while being swept away.
b) Keeping it in your mouth while being swept away.

Avalanches tend to thrash you around a bit, and they also tend to be a bit stronger than you. Probably if you got a good bite on it before things really got carried away you'd be fine? Perhaps in the case of the AvaJacket the air cousin would help shield your mouthpiece from blows?

As for the airbag system. It looks neat, but also cumbersome. I'd use it if it didn't interfere more than a regular jacket collar does, and also provided it didn't go off at random times.

Helmets protect your head also, and I already wear one of those, so that just leaves the neck thing I guess.

I certainly agree that, aside from the translation, it's not really that funny or entertaining in an idle sort of way.

As an after thought, I'm not sure how I feel about the compressed air canister. It would probably have to be metal or hard plastic. I often carry a metal flask of rum with me when I'm snowboarding. Last year I fell on it while it was in my breast pocket and I can assure you, it was NOT a comfortable thing to land on! If the above video, the canister is shown to be in a very similar rib-smashing position.

-hps

Re:and the idleness is ??

[RockDoctor]

As an after thought, I'm not sure how I feel about the compressed air canister. It would probably have to be metal or hard plastic. [...] it was NOT a comfortable thing to land on! If the above video, the canister is shown to be in a very similar rib-smashing position.

If it's not designed from the start using lifejacket equipment, it'll end up being manufactured using lifejacket parts if it ever gets beyond the prototype stage. It's an economy-of-scale thing - there are a lot of lifejackets made (and serviced) each year, many of them incorporating an inflation cylinder. One per seat for every commercial aviation seat, for a start.
Every couple of years I have to do the "dump into the water, turn the aircraft upside-down, and climb out through the window" thing. Trust me, you don't notice the lifejacket's airbottle. I think I'll be onto my tenth or dozen-th repeat of the drill ... and my ticket should be due in the next few months. Oh, joy!
Other joy : about a quarter or a third of lifejacket airbottles don't go off when you call on them. Live with it, and pay attention to the bit in the pre-flight video about how to inflate your lifejacket if the bottle fails.

Re:and the idleness is ??

[MichaelSmith]

There was this guy in New Zealand a couple of days ago. Once buried by the Avalanche he cleared space around his mouth by sticking his tongue out. Air will diffuse through snow so the surface are of the cavity around your head makes a lot of difference. Something which gives you more space around your head could be a lifesaver.

first post(e)

[RockDoctor]

Oh, and this being an avalanche-related topic, perhaps I should have remembered to claim "frost pist(e)"?

Re:first post(e)

[Anonymous Coward]

If only there was a jacket to prevent me from your posting.

Moltencoat exists already

[Anonymous Coward]

No need to wait for the moltencoat. Yesterday I was in the Natural Science Museum in London where a volcanologist's coat able to withstand up to 900 C is displayed.

Haven't I seen that before?

[roc97007]

Didn't I see that in a James Bond film a few years ago?

LOLcatz

[Weedhopper]

Seriously who translated this?

different route

[Anonymous Coward]

I use this, it saved one of my buddies lives last year. (snowmobilers, not skiiers)