Avalanche Airbags
Product 2020
Femme, Homme, Enfant

BLACK DIAMOND Jet Force Pro 10

A few years ago, we were lucky enough to share a big powder and ski touring day with a brilliant inventor who at the time worked for Arc’Teryx. So we were out on snowy slopes, on the Whistler/Blackcomb side when the Gyro Gearloose suddenly decided that he was going to trigger his airbag, which he did, completely free! He then folded the airbag up, replaced the zip and set off again! I had just witnessed the first demonstration of an airbag with an electric fan. Tinkered with by using a MacBook Pro battery, the bag was a curiosity but a very promising idea.

 

 

Educational tool

The advantages compared to using cartridges were obvious: you can train, do demonstrations completely freely (because you don’t have to replace the cartridge), you no longer have to worry about triggering the airbag by mistake: it doesn’t matter. You can practice using it with clients or friends. You can even train on a slope by asking over the radio to suddenly trigger the airbag just “to see what it’s like!”. Without the expense of using the ventilator Airbag, it is a fantastic educational tool because it removes the drama of its use and returns the focus on prevention with the concept of training and courses.

 

 

A few years later, after famously launching skins, it was revealed that the backpack patent had given birth to a pack for the general public at Arc’Teryx (Le Voltair) and Black Diamond (Jetforce). We found design problems and problems from inexperience with the Arc’Teryx bag.
For the 2019/20 season, we bought a Black Diamond Jet Force Pro 10 pack. We used it on numerous solo outings, in professional settings, on nearby off-piste skiing, heli-skiing and on exposed slopes. Here’s what we think after using it for several months.

 

Expensive

First of all it is very expensive, more than a thousand euros (1100 euros precisely). Yes, okay, you no longer have to buy any cartridges. But the price delta is high, and does the technology they use justify this price? We asked this question.

We already touched on the major point of acquiring this type of product: the possibility of training and showing how an airbag works in a simple and practical way. For an instructor or a mountain guide, triggering it in front of customers is definitely a real bonus. Being able to take the pack on an airplane is not really an argument because bags with cartridges rarely cause problems when they are put in the hold. As for helicopter pilots, they don’t make any distinction between cartridge or electric airbags: everything is put in the basket, outside!

Once you’re out on a dodgy slope, you know that at the slightest doubt or alert, you can pull the handle and that it won’t have consequences (no trigger expense, no need for another cartridge to continue off-piste and to retain safety measures.).

 

 

The argument against electric airbags, is that the triggering power is not the same and that at the moment where you pull it late, a fan assisted airbag cannot push the snow away. From experience, triggering when you are already partially buried makes it more difficult. If, you are still on your skis, you need a massive amount of calm and good reflexes to pull the handle (look out, the wrist straps pull your arms away from the handle)…

 

Opt for the Jetforce Pro Booster 25 L

Well-finished, the Black Diamond Jet Force Pro 10 bag is available in several volumes and sizes. Important: choose the size carefully because the packs have quite long backs. The reduced volume allows you to slide a shovel, probe and a few personal belongings as well as a (small) pharmacy kit. Let’s say it now, the pack extension, for example the 25 liter Jetforce Pro Booster seems to us to be absolutely compulsory to be fully operational, and respond to the zip problem – that we will say more about below.

A zip lets you to take out the trigger handle from the shoulder strap which, unlike bags like the Mammut for example, is tube shaped. At the end, you have a circular tip on which your hand goes up against when you trigger it. We wondered if this tip would’ve been better a bit bigger, but in use we realized that it is well-proportioned and sits well in your hand, including during panic (and when wearing large mittens). Also, we’re not sure that a traditional handle that most airbags have is more effective in terms of grip. With the JetForce Pro, you just need to slap your hand on the pack’s shoulder strap and slide down it and you automatically come up against the circular trigger tip.

 

 

On this same handle, there is a red button that allows you to select on/off, it also shows the battery charge level and gives access to the Bluetooth connection to manage the bag via the Pieps app: which mainly updates the software and deflates the airbag when you stop inflating it manually (during a demonstration, for example).

 

A capricious zip

One aspect of this bag that needs improvement, which was a recurring problem: the zip’s weakness that goes around the airbag. If triggered, it must of course be able to release the airbag, but the left side of the bag is badly designed.

 

 

During the day, the zip slides opens on its own. Be careful going through  the woods, a branch can snag the zip, especially if the bottom of the pack is open: you can also see the red airbag.

 

The flaps don’t give enough protection. Black Diamond fitted the pack with a plastic clip to relieve the pressure on the zip, which has a natural tendency to open, but it isn’t very effective. Also be careful when you put the pack in the helicopter basket, once again, it may open. Black Diamond designers will not be happy, but some of the users customized the pack by sewing thin Velcro straps to hold the two flaps of the pack together if the airbag is triggered.

 

 

In short, this aspect needs to be reviewed. It should however be noted that with the volume extension we mentioned above, the Jetforce Pro Booster 25 liters (sold separately, 60 euros), the tension on the zips is less and the airbag housing is less likely to open on its own.

 

The details…

The crutch strap (red) is stored in a non-zipped compartment and its end must be blocked by pulling on it, the rubber then blocks the strap which holds it in place. The (beautiful) carabiner is then attached and then doesn’t move about. This blocking could be improved. In the same place there’s a small stretch zipped belt pocket, the only one in the bag that allows you to put your car keys in, but not a smart phone.

 

 

Once the pack is full the back and the shoulder straps carrying comfort is relative when you carry it for a long time. The back is fairly flat and could be more fitted. The big advantage of the shoulder straps is that they don’t twist when you put the pack on your back: they are quite stiff. Another criticism concerns the pack’s zips. Not very easy to grab hold of with gloves on, also we would have liked a color-code to identify the different pockets, especially the emergency housing, the one containing the shovel and probe. With the pack extension, the JetForce Pro Booster, pushing the volume up to 25 liters, there are different colored zip tips: red. The pocket with the shovel and probe needs be opened very quickly to start the search: you don’t want to waste time looking for the right zipper cursors.

 

 

The Pieps app…

Please note, the bag system is updated via the Pieps app that you must download onto your smartphone. Before being able to update the software, you must synchronize the pack with the app via Bluetooth, then press the red button on the handle 5 times in less than 3 seconds as explained in the video.

 

 

 

Updates are quick as soon as the Bluetooth connection is established. The app is in English. A very interesting function that lets you deflate the airbag after manually stopping it: “Enable deflation after manual stop. Deflate the Jetforce if deployment is stopped manually? “. Without this option, you need the fingers of a gynecologist to find the deflation button: you have to open the panel closed with Velcro in the pack and press at the top right on a button, which is very difficult to access, especially with cold fingers.

 

 

Learn the instruction manual off by heart

The light-emitting diodes on the trigger handle give very relevant information about the battery charge: 4 blue LEDs lit up = 4 triggers; one diode = one trigger; a red = danger. Once the pack is activated, by pressing the red button for 2 seconds (end of the trigger handle), the green LED lights up and the bag is ready to trigger. What is very reassuring is that the pack emits a characteristic fan noise for a few seconds, you know that everything is in working order. A big bonus point. With a cartridge pack, how do you know that everything is in working order?

 

However, the LED information does have a limit, the relative complexity which rarely goes well with a safety product. In this regard, the simpler it is, the better. When you start looking at the instructions for storing your pack and disconnecting it for a long period of time, you have to do various manipulations with the different LED lighting. Out in the mountains it is in your interest to have thoroughly read the manual and know it inside out.

 

 

The instruction manual could be clearer or at least laid out better. The typeface size is minimalist and we are constantly forced to go back to the first pages to link the text to the diagrams. Important, contrary to what is shown, the pack charging socket is not on the left shoulder strap but on the right. We think we read somewhere that you can reverse the trigger handle, and presumably the power cable too, to be checked.

 

Final remarks: we liked the metal buckle on the waist belt, which is very easy to use. We liked less the fact there is no water bladder tube passage. We didn’t test the ski carrying system. Bravo for the small foam layer on the top of the pack, which holds up well and absorbs small shocks.

 

 

The Black Diamond Jet Force Pro 10 with its cartridge-free technology is an unbeatable educational and prevention tool. Very expensive and it does have some points to improve if it’s to become an essential choice.

"The Black Diamond Jet Force Pro 10 with its cartridge-free technology is an unbeatable educational and prevention tool. Very expensive and it does have some points to improve if it’s to become an essential choice."

Rating

  • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
  • TRIGGER HANDLE
    9
  • TRIGGERING
    8
  • AIRBAG INTEGRATION
    7
  • CROTCH STRAP
    9
  • PRACTICALITY
    8
  • Shovel/Probe
    8
  • BACK
    7

Price : 1100

Weight

2860

Overall Rating

8.00

LONG TERM TEST

We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:

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    1. John Hickie says:

      Couldn’t resist getting this pack on sale. Still expensive but …. couldn’t resist 25% off. What I like: This is the first back country pack with an avalanche gear pocket that’s actually usable (really really usable). Easy to fit probe, shovel, shovel handle and saw in. There was still lots of room left for skins – even my big wide G3 skins for DPS 112’s slid in with no bother. After that, there’s still more room! Despite being a somewhat heavy pack, all the heavy stuff is at the bottom in close to the small of your back. It doesn’t actually carry as heavy as it is – kudos to the pack designer here. With the 35 Liter attachment, there’s tons of room in the main compartment – maybe even enough for hut to hut (barely). There’s also a huge pocket above the avalanche compartment. On the main pack that contains the fan and bag, there’s a mesh pocket in between the wrap around bag compartment. It seems to be designed for a bladder (even though there does not appear to be a hose port). I carry a bag there with heavier stuff like first aid kit, repair kit and a tarp. Tucked right against my back, it’s a stable place to keep heavier stuff.

      What could be better: An interior zipped pocket in the avalanche compartment for stuff like a field book and Rutsch cord would be good. Similarly, some zipped pockets in the top and/or main compartments for keys and smaller easier to lose items (i.e. sunscreen, lip screen, glasses) would be good. Compared to having extra small stuff sacks, pockets would save weight. The end of the waist belt flops around once the main buckle is secured. The wrap around velcro slides back and forth too easily.I’ll figure something out on my own, but this should have been attended to. Does any one make a helmet carrier that works? Black Diamond/Pieps is in good company here as no one seems to be able to do this well. A friend lost his helmet out of another helmet carrier made by another manufacturer. After that, I looked at this pack more carefully and noticed that the helmet also has the potential to pop out the side of this pack all too easily. I’ve attached a cord loop so that my helmet strap can clip in to prevent loss. The helmet carrier compartment is much larger than it needs to be. Pointing downwards and secured with velcro, all the extra space isn’t really usable though. The shoulder straps cannot be adjusted at all. They are both attached directly to the back panel which prevents independent motion across the shoulders.

      All in all – very satisfied, but there is room for improvement. Hope I never actually need to deploy it.

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