It's difficult to skimp on avalanche gear, but lots of people try with varied
success. This is an example of how Light is Right is applied to safety.
For example, Mini shovels work okay for the weight-obsessed glisse
alpinist, but they don't move cement-like avalanche debris very quickly. Similarly,
plastic or Lexan blades are not as durable as metal. For ultralight low-risk trips,
you can get a shovel blade that attaches to an ice ax or ski pole, but again you
compromise performance because the handle or interface is not as strong.
For probe, a three meter collapsible probe is the standard. Ski poles that
convert to a probe are not a great substitute for a collapsible probe...even for
"light is right" tech-heads. They are always difficult to assemble quickly and the
locking furrels get stuck in hard snow. A newer system for the pound-and-space
conscious is the two-meter probe that stashes in a shovel handle. Although 3-
meter probes have long been the standard, a study by Bruce Jamieson of the
University of Calgary suggests that 2-meter probes are adequate.
WATER PURIFICATION
No more laboring over filters that clog and freeze. No more foul tasting
iodine. Forget boiling. Mountain Safety Reasearch (MSR) and MIOX have an
innovative light is right water purification tool. It's simple, it's quick and at 3.5
ounces, you'll have no excuse not to carry one into the backcountry or overseas.
Miox is a company that has been treating municipal water system for
years by using electrolysis. Now they teamed up with outdoor oriented MSR with
a grant from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Take the penlight-sized purifier, place rock or table salt in the top, add a
few drops of water, and shake. Then press a button to add electricity. Using
electrolysis, the brine solution converts to a powerful disinfecting mixed oxidant
solution. Pour this into your water bottle and presto, it's purified. It takes 15
minutes to kill bacteria and viruses, 30 for Giardia, and 4 hours for
Cryptosporidia. It meets EPA standards and was field tested by US military
forces in Afghanistan.
It runs off two Lithium camera batteries that reportedly last 200 liters. The
unit has a self-test strip and an adjustment that allows a user to purify up to four
liters at once. It's freeze- and shock-proof, submersible, and works to minus 20
degrees F. The compact, lightweight design makes it incredibly portable. The
potential down side is that the batteries could run dry or the electronics could
malfunction.
ELECTRONICS
Well, electronics are ubiquitous in the backcountry now. There are several
issues with them. Before you buy, make sure you know how to use them and
make sure you don't rely on them. Always have a backup plan. You'll have to
decide if they are worth the weight.
One major problem with these gizmos: batteries, especially a for units with
multiple functions, a backlight, and lots of memory. I like to have all electronics
on one type of battery, which was easy when everything was AA. Now many
