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I got the BD Anarchist Avalung pack new this season. The air exchanger box seems to ride right on the top of my shoulder. Is this a manufacturing-anomoly or just the way it is?
I like the pack so far, I haven't really got to use it more than once in dry sierra (yet).

Steady B...first, that little kitten is great at rolling your smokes, how did you teach that trick?

I just ordered an anarchist pack, so I will check out what you are saying when mine arrives. I wanted an avalung and got one integrated into a pack for a good deal, so I went pack over sling. That is the last piece of insurance gear I was looking for, so I'm stoked to gear up and get out.

I have used the pack about six time snow and I like the pack. It hikes and rides well. I don't even notice the shoulder-box. This pack eats everything I stuff into it. I am pretty sure we can overnight with these packs (my wife has the 32L Antichist) with the "only the clothes on your back" packing style.

Feeling the box in your shoulder seems to be pretty common. Especially inside with just a t-shirt on. Mine hits the top of my shoulder blade but once I am wearing a few layers and the pack has some weight in it everything is fine.

Got a prototype Covert w/avalung, and I've been using it off and on for about a year. The avy hose becomes a bit more flexible with use, not so noticeable on the shoulder now. Mine is the small capacity version (22L?) as I'm getting more savvy about trimming down the load I'm carrying.

My 2 biggest gripes:

Every BD pack I've seen has a sorry board carry system. If you use the compression straps to carry your board (and they are VERY minimal) you lose the ability to compress the pack down tighter. Booting a chute or ridgeline with high winds and a floppy board carry isn't my preference.

My second gripe is that there isn't a waist belt pocket which for me is just plain mandatory for the all important safety meeting

I'd like to see BD get their shit together and stop ignoring the boarders

If you require a pack with a solid board carry system, looks elsewhere.

Just a note on the Avalung packs. A buddy of mine who is super active in S&R feels, based on his experiences. They are useless. He said he rarely has dug someone up that has their pack on them. The pack he said is usually down hill some where. In fact, he feels the avalung can only work if it is inside your jacket, provided your jacket stays on.

This is very interesting! Are there stats on avy burials where the pack was released vs. not? Some avy schools teach ditching the pack if you're in a slide, others not. Obviously if it's an Avalung pack you better not ditch it! Regarding wearing the Avalung inside your jacket, the BD instructions specifically say NOT to do this:


Found this site which details some actual burials in which the AvaLung was probably life-saving:
http://www.avalung.com/

^agreed, because wouldnt you just be rebreathing your CO2 in your jacket???

Here's an article about a guy who was buried with avalung:
http://www.wildsnow.com/articles/avalung/avalung-avalanche-article.html

I was lucky enough to meet the BD softgoods category manager at OR and SIA last month. After a short explanation of what I'm doing with the bindings they sent me one of the new outlaw packs to test. I'm stoked! Good board holder, the avalung box is on the lower right corner of the pack (not on the shoulder), has two of the waist pockets Karma is looking for, hydration tube sheath etc. I'll have to pull the avalung out and weight it, seems like it adds nothing to the pack. A good ounce of protection in my book. I'll have it at scrubfest for y'all to check out.

I pointed him to this thread, which he read. The gear discussed that's not snowboard friendly was before his time, and something he's working to change. I'll post some pics later on, gotta get back to work!

Maybe I'm too generous, but I like your post Will. In general, I like companies like BD and Patagonia, which try to maintain the things that make them special, while they grow their market, so I'm rooting for them to put out a killer product. I'll keep my fingers crossed that more people dig the outlaw after they get to paw it at scrubfest.

Shep

Will ... if you can (read if allowed by BD) ... can you put some pictures / closeup of that pack ?... I'm really itching to see it ....

Thanks.

There's a photo of it from the OR show on another thread, I believe...

Shep

Since I am very unhappy with my Anarchist Avalung (shoulder pressure and unimpressed with features in general) I am thinking this may be what I should look into for next season