Thread: Avalanche Airbag Canister Refills: The Who, What, Where, & How

The canister refill process can be very confusing because each manufacturer has a different program. Because there are so many different programs, I figured I would put some information on the forum for all to hopefully gain from. Please note that each dealer may be different, but this is how we do it at SnowBigDeal.

The canister programs may change at any time. If they change, I will try and post updates


ABS:
Self-Refill:
The ABS canisters use compressed nitrogen and cannot be refilled on your own. A full canister (yellow in color) without the cap should weigh approximately 580grams; empty they weigh approximately 510grams.

Refill/Exchange through SnowBigDeal
You can mail or bring your empty canister (with cap) and trigger to SnowBigDeal and get a refilled canister and trigger for $29.99 (+ HazMat Fee if applicable). If you need the full canister(s) shipped back to you, there is a special HazMat fee of $35 per shipment (not per canister). Alaska’s HazMat fee is $70 and we cannot ship outside of the United States.

Test Canister:
A test canister may be ordered at the time of purchase for a $125 deposit. You will have 30 days to test fire the canister and return it for a full refund of the deposit. By performing the test fire and returning the empty canister with your pack information, you will receive a 4-year warranty with your pack.

New/Spare Canister:
A new or spare canister can be purchased at SnowBigDeal.com for $124.99, + a Hazmat charge of $35 ($70 HazMat charge to Alaska/Canada)


BCA:
Self-Refill:
BCA uses compressed air and has a gauge on the canister to see how full the canister is. The fill fitting on the canister is a standard paintball fitting and the canister needs to be filled to 2700 PSI (the slower it is filled the better). The O-ring on the canister should be inspected and replaced each time the canister is fired; each canister comes with an O-Ring kit.

Refill/Exchange through SnowBigDeal
You can mail your empty canister to SnowBigDeal and we will replace your O-Ring for free and ship the refilled canister to you. You will be responsible for paying all shipping charges to have the canister returned to you. The minimum HazMat fee will be $35 (or $70 to Alaska).

Test Canister:
A test canister may be ordered at the time of the airbag purchase for a $125 deposit. You will have 30 days to test fire the canister and return it for a full refund of the deposit.

New/Spare Canister:
A new or spare canister can be purchased at SnowBigDeal.com for $175 (or $125 at the time of the airbag purchase), + HazMat charge.


SnowPulse:
Self-Refill:
SnowPulse uses compressed air and has a gauge on the canister to see how full the canister is. The fill fitting on the canister is a standard paintball fitting and the canister needs to be filled to 3000 PSI (the slower it is filled the better). The O-ring on the canister should be inspected and replaced each time the canister is fired; an O-ring kit can be purchased at SnowBigDeal.com for $39.99 for a 10-pack or $54.99 for a 20-pack.

Refill/Exchange through SnowBigDeal.com:
You can mail your empty canister to SnowBigDeal and we will replace your O-Ring for a fee of $5 and ship the refilled canister to you. You will be responsible for paying all shipping charges to have the canister returned to you; the minimum charge will be $35 to cover the HazMat shipping charges. ($70 to Alaska)

Test Canister:
A test canister may be ordered at the time of the airbag purchase for a $250 deposit. You will have 30 days to test fire the canister and return it for a full refund of the deposit.

New/Spare Canister:
A new or spare canister can be purchased at SnowBigDeal.com for $250 (or $225 at the time of the airbag purchase), + HazMat fee.

Avi-Vest:
Self-Refill:
Avi-Vest canisters cannot be refilled on your own, you must mail them to us or to Avi-Vest to be refilled.

Refill/Exchange through Avi-Vest:
The customer orders the refill and Avi-Vest will ship the canister to the customer with a return UPS label. The customer receives the new canister in the shipping box, replaces it with their used one, attaches the return label, and ships it back to Avi-Vest.
US only, 1 canister: $60, which includes UPS ground shipping. (expedited shipping on a quote basis, adds $50 - $100 to the cost)

Canada, 1 canister: $90, which includes UPS ground shipping. (expedited shipping on a quote basis, adds $50 - $100 to the cost)

If multiple canisters need to be refilled, the incremental cost for each additional canister is significantly less than the $60/$90 charge. Contact Avi-Vest for more information.

Test Canister:
We do not have a test canister program at this time. Avi-Vest may come out with one in the future. You can always test the pack with the canister you have and send it in to Avi-Vest to be refilled.

New/Spare Canister:
A new or spare canister can be purchased through Avi-Vest for $150.


Hopefully all this information helps instead of confuses.

Thanks, that's good information.

Can any of these be checked baggage for airline travel?

If not, there should be some kind of canister rental program in ski towns.

3,000PSI, anyone heard of a cannister bursting? That would be death from the back.

this was a totally random, paranoid thought while reading this.

Originally Posted by DasBlunt

3,000PSI, anyone heard of a cannister bursting? That would be death from the back.

this was a totally random, paranoid thought while reading this.

No, I have never heard of one of them "blowing-up." But, I have heard in one case years and years ago, that the cannister slowly leaked while in summer strorage and when the person went to test their airbag at the begining of the season nothing happened when he pulled the trigger. D'oh!

Cylinders like these are very safe. Your bag will not blow up on you if you don't do anything really really stupid to it.

(I work at a paintball field, and deal with compressed air on a daily basis.)

Originally Posted by Core Shot

Can any of these be checked baggage for airline travel?

If not, there should be some kind of canister rental program in ski towns.

My wife and I bought ABS packs in Europe in January, we had no issues getting them back to Australia, nor getting them to NZ in July, but we did have issues getting them back from NZ.

The rental idea is a good one, because it could potentially be a PITA and I would hate to arrive at my destination without canister or handle & not enough time to organise a replacement.

You can check an air tank as long as the regulator (or valve, whatever) is removed so the TSA guys can look into it.

Any locations or scuba shops in SLC that refill?
I am doing my test soon and will have to get a ref...

Originally Posted by TheDon

Any locations or scuba shops in SLC that refill?
I am doing my test soon and will have to get a ref...

SCUBA Utah does refills of the air canisters. If you need an ABS canister, then we can help you out if you want to drive to Mt. Pleasant UT, or you can contact us as we make a trip to the SLC area about every 10 days or so.

If anyone is looking for a dive shop to fill canisters here in Alaska, because they can’t fly with full canisters and shipping is cylinder a pita with all the HAZMAT certifications. Dive Alaska on the old Seward was able to fill our BCA Float 36 and Blackjack.