Backcountry Skiing Canada got the rundown on the Arva Reactor Airbags. Watch the video and then check out airbag reviews on our site: www.backcountry...
To slow my foot, I'd say extremely fast but don't you think it would be a good idea to carry a extra bottle.Most likely the person is going to be o.k.in a avalanche,, and after putting the airbag back together would you call it a day or keep on skiing and you have a extra bottle with you.
I don't know anyone who would ever carry a secondary gas canister as they are not light and the whole point is to not get caught in an avalanche. Few people would want to carry on with their day if they did get caught. They'd either be injured physically, too shaken up emotionally or the conditions themselves are telling them that this is not the time to go ski touring. The mountains are great teachers if we choose to listen.
The handle should always be deployed and at the ready when skiing down as you will only have seconds to pull it. Even when skinning up in exposed terrain it should be out and ready.
Most all bags expand in between 3-4 seconds. It is not so much a race as what has the highest inflation power and ablity to expand in snow or not, Arva is the highest PSI and aspiration rate of all systems in the market, battery packs are the lowest, if there was any sort of blockage this could limit the full inflation. The shape of the airbag is even more important picture moving in snow and 1-you airbag lifting from your center of mass vs. shoulders 2- airbag being riding and providing lift vs. moving from a hing point (with the snow). Sorry long answer for a short comment, but this design has a lot of details that are overlooked on the assumption all airbags are the same.
