For anyone that doesn’t know already, an ABS bag for skiing has airbags on the side inflated from a small cylinder in the rucksack and fired using a small pyrotechnic in a trigger on the rucksack. I’ve had one for a few years and it’s something I don’t use a lot but from time to time skiing alone in certain conditions it seems a good thing to carry.

Monday 10th March 2009

So it was back on the 10th March that I was skiing with the rucksack over in Grimentz on a stormy day with a lot of fresh snow. When I’d finished for the day I was sat at the bus stop and tried to remove the trigger from the sack and could tell immediately it was a little stuck, I didn’t want to pull it sharply off as that would inflate the airbags so I removed the gas cylinder to stop that happening. But, I still managed to fire the trigger which is a nuisance as you can only fire them once before needing them recharged. Still, I live in a ski station in the Valais, how hard could it be to get a new trigger?

First, I discover according to the manufacturer there’s basically no local dealer I can go to. I’d bought the bag in Neuchâtel so it was out of the question that I go there. At this point I’m still thinking, “how hard could it be to get a new trigger”?

The best route seems to be to send an email to the manufacturer, afterall, it’s after working hours but someone will see it first thing in the morning and get back to me, I’ll pick the mail up when I’m out skiing on my iPhone and we’ll sort out how to get the trigger fixed.

Friday 13th March 2009

Wrong! Three days later I get a response from the manufacturer telling me the bag needs checking and the importer needs to get it back. This is bit irritating, it shouldn’t take three days to reply to a customer support request for some safety gear and I only want a new trigger, really after three days I ought to have that by now.

So, I contact the importer by email copied to the manufacturer and the first reply I get is from the manufacturer telling me the importer’s not available until the next week. Obviously, this isn’t really good enough and I tell the manufacturer this, to which I get this bizzare response:

We understand that you need your pack but please keep in mind that it was you who pulled the trigger without cartridge inside.

Funnily enough, I do recall it was me that pulled the trigger, I was there at the time.

Then it seems there’s a stroke of luck, the importer is available and sends me a mail apologising for not helping me faster saying the service from the manufacturer is sometimes a problem. Even better, he says if I send them the bag they’ll send it back the same day, or if there’s a problem send me another to use. That sounds great, it’s just the sort of service I expect.

Monday 16th March 2009 - Thursday 19th March 2009

So, first thing Monday morning I go to the post office and send the bag by priority post to them, they’ll have it by Tuesday so I think there’s no reason I’ll not get it back by Wednesday or Thursday. But, it gets to Thursday (19 March) and there’s no contact from them, so I email them again asking if they’d actually received it. This doesn’t get any response at all.

Tuesday 24th March 2009 – Thursday 26th March 2009

On Tuesday 24th March, by now two weeks since I’d tried to get this sorted out, I emailed them again and got a response on Wednesday 25th. There was no explanation about why they’d not contacted me earlier or where this promise to send it in 24 hours had disappeared to simply a demand for my postal address to give to DHL as they won’t deliver to a “postbox”, in fact I’d not asked them to, I’d given them my “PickPost” address. Pickpost is a thing we have here in Switzerland that allows you to get things delivered to any main post office and get a text or email telling you they’re available for pick up.

Why do I use “pickpost”? It’s quick and easy and they keep things for a couple of weeks, it’s really handy as couriers struggle to find our main house, the chalet has no post box and it’s much easier than waiting for the delivery people to arrive. This is a case in point, I know I’m certainly not going to be around for a couple of days so a courier will just end returning the rucksack to the sender. I explain all this to the importer and by Thursday 26th I’ve a response from them saying it’s not a problem, they can still send via the post service but they need an address and won’t send it to a postbox. Assuming this is some of billing address I send them my home address.

Of course then I realise they’re proposing to mail it my main address which is exactly what I don’t want to happen so I ring them and vent some of my irritation with them. It’s the afternoon of Thursday 26th March by now, I’d fired the trigger on the 10th of March, the importer had promised 24 hour return from the 16th but I’m beginning to give up hope of seeing my rucksack again.

But, apparently it’s all OK now, they’re going to send it by post to the address I’d given them originally, there’s no explanation given about why they’d not bothered to contact me between the 16th and 24th of March but at least the rucksack is on the way back.

Wednesday 1st April 2009

Only it’s now Wednesday 1st of April and I still don’t have my rucksack. I emailed them yesterday and asked where it was. I got this helpful response :

The Swisspost informed me, that the Postfach address you sent me is not authorised to take packets. Anyway, they are so kind to keep the packet till you pick it up. It is really a nightmare and don’t tell me that this is our mistake. Please call the Post where your Postfach is

This of course is nonsense, I’ve given my Pickpost address , the Pickpost service exists only to receive parcels but it doesn’t explain why Pickpost haven’t contacted me so I ask the importer what address it’s been sent to and, of course, the answer comes back with the wrong address. It’s been sent to a local Post Office but without my Pickpost account details so they’ve no idea what to do with it.

I think this is some of the most appalling customer service I’ve ever experienced. This is safety equipment and it’s not cheap to buy, if you need support then you expect it to be quick and efficient, there’s really no way that I should have been left for three weeks without my rucksack or had to chase the importer to even get a response at all. The importer acts like they’re doing me a favour and tells me normally they only deal with shops, that’s absolutely super but it was the manufacturer who told me to contact the importer so they’re not doing me any special favour at all. I wouldn’t need to deal with the importer or manufacturer at all if they’d a dealer and service network of any size, I’d contacted the nearest dealer, who was miles away, and they’d not bothered to respond.

My very strongest advice is anyone is think of getting an ABS rucksack is not to bother, it’s vital that there’s a good support network for this type of gear and my experience is that the support isn’t up to an acceptable standard, at least here in Switzerland. There’s a new Swiss product called SnowPulse which cannot fail to be better, all they need to do is actually have some dealers in sensible places like ski stations and they’ll be a lot better.

Do I have the sack even now (Wednesday April 1st) ? No, I don’t. I’m just going to the post office to see if they can find it. Of course, by this time I could have hopped backwards to and from the original dealer in Neuchâtel who was Défi Montagne who are fantastically helpful and would have sorted this out quickly.

I’ve just posted a review of the Swiss Map 25 DVD electronic mapping product here :

Swiss Map 25 DVD Review

I just added a quick review, a sort of half season review in fact, for the Voodoo from Black Diamond. Basically, I like them and I’m going to keep hammering them….

Black Diamond Voodoo Review

Waiting for the first snow to fall and getting ready for the upcoming is always fun as it always means a few new pieces of kit. In fact, I’ve been replacing a load of old climbing gear as well and I’d already posted an inventory of that here, primarily that’s just my way of keeping track of what stuff weighs.

First, a pair of Black Diamond Voodoo’s for me. My Stormrider XL’s are starting to get slightly tired and I’m not sure they’ll last the whole season. The XL’s are a little heavy at around 4-4.5 kg so I wanted something a little lighter. For ultra light I’ve a pair of Stormrider PIT Lights with Dynafit TLT Speed bindings which are only around 3.6kg all together so I was looking to save around 1kg on this ski. The XL is a versatile ski at 112-76-102 mm but I’ve decided that fatter skis have improved enough to size up slightly so I’m taking this Voodoo at 124-88-115 mm in the longest 185cm length.

I’d looked at the Black Diamond Havocs as well which are a similar ski but use a few more wood layers to make them stiffer and slightly heavier. I also seriously considerd the Black Diamond Kilowatt but at 127-95-116 mm I think it might be awkward on some of the snow we get at times.

I’ve gone back and forth over what bindings to mount on these, on one hand some dynafits and use my Megarides. On the other hand, Fritschi or Silvretta and have the choice of boots. The reason I’d like to use my Megarides is that they’re 1 kg lighter than my Endorphins and that would extend the range of use for the ski. In the end I’ve opted for the Fritschi option, I’d like to be able to use either the Endorphin or Megaride and I’m familiar with Fritschi as I have some Freeride Plus bindings already.

I did consider going for the Fritschi Explores but when you add a brake they’re barely lighter than the Freerides and I get that higher DIN range for skiing with a pack etc.

In fact these skis haven’t been shipped to me yet so I guess I can still change my mind about the bindings !

The next pair of skis are actually for Julie, we wanted something for an occasional tour and light off-piste as her current Stöckli Laser skis are a FIS masters ski and rather thin underfoot. Looking for something light(ish) with a reasonable footprint we came to the K2 Shuks Anne which is a women’s version of the Shuksan. The Shuksan, developed in conjunction with Swiss Guide and Pro Guiding Service owner Martin Volken, is the staple tour ski now from K2 and this is the first year it’s offered in a women’s version. It’s a nice light ski at 2950g per pair and 122-80-107 mm.

These actually are shipped and they’re right here now with some Diamir Fritschi Explores on them, being lighter than me the DIN range on these is just fine for Julie.

I’ve been looking for a new rucksack for ages. I’ve been having some problems with my back for various reasons and I’ve found I need exactly the right sack to be able to comfortably carry any load at all for a full day. I’m still delighted with my Salewa Inversion but they’ve stopped making them and it’s just too small for some days. I think this is a shame, I still reckon the Inversion is one of the best rucksacks ever made by anyone.

The Inversion weighs 1200g and some bits can be stripped to reduce that further. One of the reasons I like the Inversion and dislike many other sacks is the weight. Some manufacturers are shipping ski, ski tour or off piste sacks that weight a ridiculous amount, over 2kg which is just daft, why do people buy these? Don’t they look at the weight? I presume they’re more concerned if their shovel is visible and makes them look sufficiently “hardcore”.

The Black Diamond Revelation is 42L in capacity which is exactly what I wanted and weighs 1550g, again some bits can be stripped to reduce that more. It’s a single compartment top loading sack which I quite like but I know a lot of people don’t. It’s got all the attachments I want, straps for multiple ice tools, crampon straps, ski carrier etc. In fact the ice axe attaches nicely as you can see in the photo’ neatly tucking the pick out of harms way. So far I’ve used this for a two day hike and climbing on the Mönch and it’s been great.

Finally, I’ve been so impressed with the fit of the new g-fit inners on my Megarides that I’ve had some done for my Endorphins as well. The fit on the Endorphins was already good but this just makes it perfect. After a season usage the padlock liners on the Endorphin showed some wear but nothing too excessive so I’ve now got two shells and three inners which I can mix and match.