Take Charge Avalanche DVD Learn how to organize and execute a fast avalanche rescue. Take Charge is an instructional video that demonstrates how to perform a step-by-step avalanche rescue. Focuses on beacon, probe, shovel, and leadership skills (18 minutes).

About the Required Test Canister
ABS requires a Systems Test be preformed.  This test requires a Deposit for the Systems Test Canister.
Upon completion and return of the test canister, the Deposit will be refunded to you.

You will receive 2 release/cartridge units with your system. One cartridge is for the Systems Test, the other is for your equipment. A "Test Form" will also be included for you to fill out and return upon completion the Systems Test. To receive your $125 deposit back, you must return the empty cartridge, completed Systems Test Form, and a copy of your receipt to First Place Parts within 30 days of receipt . This ensures that you have completed the System Test as required for warranty claims. Again, this test MUST be preformed and submitted to First Place Parts within 30 days of purchase to validate any warranty claim with the manufacturer.

About the HazMat Fee
Because the canister is 'Filled', it is classified as a HazMat (Hazardous Materials) item. Delivery carriers (UPS & FedEx) require the HazMat Fee to transport hazardous material items.

Why ABS Packs are so important!
ABS packs are specifically designed to help prevent you from being buried in an avalanche. The operation of the system is based on nature. Each avalanche consists of individual snow crystals. If these crystals begin to move, e.g. in a flow avalanche, they begin to separate, with the smaller crystals of snow creeping beneath the larger crystals and forcing them upward. This process is repeated again and again as long as the avalanche is moving. As the avalanche slows down and comes to a standstill, the buoyancy force drops, ultimately approaching zero. It is the avalanche itself that repeatedly forces you upward. But due to your body’s greater density, you will not remain at the surface and will sink back down repeatedly, burying you as the avalanche tapers out.

With the ABS avalanche airbag, you have 170 liters (6.0 cu ft) of additional volume within seconds that can prevent you from dropping back into the flowing masses of snow and/or can reduce the depth of burial. This separation process in which items having a larger volume float to the top is called the "Inverse Particles Principle". Cold dry powder snow has a very low density but a large volume. A person on the other hand has a high density but less volume. In order to be able to float on the snow's surface and to avoid sinking, a person needs an additional volume of approximately 1.5 times of the persons total weight, which the ABS Avalanche Pack System provides.

98% Survival Rate
The statistics show that 98% of victims carried down by a moving avalanche (that deployed their ABS Backpack) stayed on top and survived the incident. The ABS has proven its worth in many tests. An increasing number of avalanche victims owe their lives to the use of the ABS Avalanche Pack System. ONLY 34% OF THOSE BURIED WITHOUT A PACK SURVIVE WHILE 98% OF THOSE WEARING AN AVALANCHE PACK SURVIVE!

When using the ABS System the following things have to be kept in mind:

• The ABS System does not prevent avalanches.
• Every avalanche implies absolute danger to one's life, whether you are equipped with the ABS System or not.
• Under no circumstances should the ABS System increase your readiness to take risks.
• The effectiveness of the ABS System is limited to the prevention of burial by the avalanche. There may be circumstances under which this might not be possible or possible only to a limited extent.
• The ABS System has to be released by the user himself. The mandatory system test is, as the name suggests, vital in guaranteeing that the user reacts sensibly in an emergency.