Thread: Flying with Snowpulse ABS Pack

yeah tech talk whatever - i need a quick answer and as many eyes on the thread as possible...

i'm looking to buy a snowpulse in the USA and flying back with it (2 actually). so i called TSA to confirm that it's ok to fly with these and they said that the air canister must have a removeable regulator so that they can inspect the contents. I can't tell from the pictures whether it is removeable. Can anyone confirm this?

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtrav...essed_gas.shtm

on the snowpulse site it says there are 2 versions, a Euro version (less volume/pressure) and an American version (more volume pressure). THE EURO VERSION IS ONLY AUTHORIZED FOR EUROPE. YOU CANNOT TRAVEL TO THE USA WITH THE EURO VERSION. The American version has a DOT marking and TC marking for US and Canada legality. That's a pretty big gotcha for any Euros that buy this and try to travel to the USA with it. BE AWARE!

http://www.snowpulse.ch/v5/wp-conten...e-cylinder.pdf

so to sum, is the regulator removeable, and if not, is the DOT marking enough for TSA? I sure don't want to find out the hard way, especially bringing back 2 of these ($$$).

Can't you just call them? They're based in Verbier, no? I don't have any contact details for them but I can probably get them...

HS, I heard they were pretty sold out in CH and that is why Ripz is trying to tote some back from the US (looks like a possible deal too). Know any retailers that actually have units in CH?

Originally Posted by Huck_Schmuck

Can't you just call them? They're based in Verbier, no? I don't have any contact details for them but I can probably get them...

Do you have a picture of an actual tank? It'd be pretty easy to tell from that.

Empty the cannisters and mail them?

Originally Posted by patxi

Empty the cannisters and mail them?

sure but mo $$$. would like to avoid that if possible.

Search jong I beleive there's a long thread on this by Toby. I do know he's flown to Yurp, Japan and NorAm with his so if not, PM him, but he's not on here much anymore.

Originally Posted by addict

Search jong I beleive there's a long thread on this by Toby. I do know he's flown to Yurp, Japan and NorAm with his so if not, PM him, but he's not on here much anymore.

Pretty sure he has the ABS system, not the snowpulse.

Snowpulse, what the?!?! OK, my mistake.

edit: but the way he dealt with it might help, ie. talking to the airline extensively.

According to this thread...

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...=134540&page=2

You can refill snowpulse packs from the air pump in a petrol station.
So no flying issues - Which is pretty useful. (*IF* it is true... I am no expert!)

Originally Posted by Scottish_Skier

You can refill snowpulse packs from the air pump in a petrol station.
So no flying issues - Which is pretty useful. (*IF* it is true... I am no expert!)

that was my impression. but you need an air compressor capable of 3000psi. they recommend a paintball recharger. fortunately there is a paintball place in geneva. that's not too bad. also, apparently it requires a new o-ring every time the canister is blown.

...going to call a shop in Gland today to see if we could avoid the hassle....I willl keep you in the loop

fyi...

according to the distributor, you can unscrew the valve and see inside. so TSA should be ok with it.

a 10 pack of o-rings is $52. plus whatever the paintball center costs to recharge the canister. so the "free refills" is somewhat of a myth. still it's probably a lot cheaper than a new ABS cartridge.

I suppose you buy it in the US to get a cheaper price, no? How much are they over there?

sorry can't be of help with the US flight rules, the only news I have is that there's a new ferrino/snowpulse backpack to be realased soon in italy for 820 euro. Dunno more details, though...

Yikes, that is is alot. Especially these days with the weak SKR - €/$

These rules change faster than most people change underwear.
One day they're cool with small co2 cartridges found on self inflating life jackets, the next they're not. (Most of us just suck it up and buy a new cartridge/arming kit at our destination)

I'd walk into the airport with it completely torn down to avoid any of those idiots going ballistic. Best bet is to call your carrier, they're TYPICALLY up to date on the rules. (or atleast we all hope)

Originally Posted by likwid

I'd walk into the airport with it completely torn down to avoid any of those idiots going ballistic. Best bet is to call your carrier, they're TYPICALLY up to date on the rules. (or atleast we all hope)

it's less to do with the carrier and more to do with TSA. TSA are the ones that are going to be doing the checking past the checkin counter. and i don't put a lot of trust in the $12/hour TSA worker's knowledge of all the latest rules. i called them twice already and got two different answers.

i think we're just going to go with a local euro version. with shipping, duty and other fees the savings is only about 100-150USD. i probably wont be skiing stateside anytime soon either.

v61- what's the ferrino/snowpulse version like? any beta?

never saw the ferrino.... but in this video looks a little bit different from the snowpulse...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDnYOcFWG54

Jay, PM if you want more info on the ferrino, I can get you on touch with the dude who bought it. At first sight, I'd say the snowpulse looks a bit better

So here I am, flying from Amsterdam to Jackson Hole with my Snowpulse 30 liter pack (WITHOUT the American 3000 psi cylinder) as carry on and the pressurized cylinder in my checked luggage. Afterwards I found out that is somewhat legal (or somewhat illegal) because I was technically on a rescue mission. The good news was that whoever is in charge of checked luggage safety in Amsterdam airport never blew the whistle on the cylinder, neither at any checkpoints (for checked luggage) in Chicago and Denver, my stops and plane changes on the way to the sickest ski mountain south of Valdez.

Going back was a different story. Seeing the big screening tunnels for checked bagage, I'd figured it would be wise to tell the airline I was on a rescue mission. The station manager of UA came over and said: I don't give a damn if you're on a rescue mission or if somebody will die or not, but this cylinder can only fly on my airplane if you empty it. After some - I stayed fairly nice, because the UA station manager is still alive - discussion, I pulled the handle and inflated the Snowpulse airbag right in the check-in area. Gave the folks some air for their refusal of listening to my rescue mission BS story.

Then about every (in JH airport there are about 60 TSA officers, so it seemed) TSA person started to make comments about the EMPTY cylinder. Finally the big TSA chief (he with the nicest character......) himself came over and explained the rule that they must look inside the cylinder and the valve housing must come off. I drove into town (in a blinding snowstorm), run into Hoback Sports (coolest Sport shop in the lower 48's), ran to their vise, got hold of their largest wrench and unscrewed the valve housing. Did some illegal fast driving back to the JH airport, only to find out my flight was cancelled because of weather conditions.

This is what I arranged with the Snowpulse manufacturer once I got back to Europe:

1. I took the somewhat official Snowpulse online course for filling the cylinder myself.
2. After I graduated this course with honours, I had Snowpulse send me a refill kit (O-rings, grease, etc)
3. I bought for about 50 bucks a SCUBA-paintball adapter. Note there is also SCUBA DIN-paintball adapter, but these go to 300 bar which is way too much).
4. I bought an adapter for SCBA (that is the stuff the fire department uses) to SCUBA.

Now I can travel around the world with my empty cylinder, with the valve housing on the cylinder (this time without loctite ;-) when I fly towards Uncle Sam and with the valve housing unscrewed when I depart from a country with a high density of TSA people. When I have to fill the cylinder, I have three choices: A paintball area, club or shop, a diving shop or club, or a fire department. And no, you cannot fill the cylinder in a gasstation. In a gasstation you can get gas, candies, drinks, newspapers, rubbers, air for your tires up to about 100 psi, but no 3000 psi air...............

Hope this helps from this - slightly bona fide because of low post count - pow addict.

thank you, very enlightning..