When we first looked at the current avalanche safety market, it was clear that most of the investment and innovation was focused on improving the search and recovery tools in order to maximise the ability and opportunity to find your buried partner in under 15 minutes.

Many studies of avalanche burials and deaths across the globe have shown that after 15 minutes, the odds of survival drops significantly. The person under the snow only has enough breathable air in the immediate area around their nose and mouth to survive for this amount of time, because it slowly gets depleted of oxygen and saturated with carbon dioxide.

As a result, the main cause of avoidable avalanche related death is oxygen deprivation / asphyxia.

Instead of looking for how we could contribute to trimming the next few seconds off of the recovery process, we began thinking about how we could help the person under the snow.

After many field interviews, extensive market research, and conceptual prototypes, we came up with the idea which has developed into the current Safeback SBX solution: If the O2-depleted and CO2-saturated air immediately around your nose and mouth is what becomes most dangerous to you under the snow, then actively replacing it with clean air could extend the window for survival.

Where is the safest retrievable air in a situation where you’re buried in an avalanche?

Based on all of our tests, we’ve found it to be the air right behind your back.

The field research and tests show that this unit can provide enough clean air to extend the expected survivable period of time buried under an avalanche from 15 minutes, to 90 minutes.

Field testing and certification has been a very important part of this process, and we have been fortunate to be supported by the Norwegian Armed Forces with a development contract administrated by the Armed Forces Research Establishment to support this process. One of these tests involved live breathing tests under snow, and another with a mannequin and mechanized breathing system to simulate real O2 and CO2 levels. Also, the Mountain Medicine Research Group at University of Bergen has performed independent studies related to the problem that Safeback’s product aims to solve.

“Our tests show that this system works. Snow is porous, so even in a large avalanche with dense snow conditions, the Safeback system can deliver fresh air to your nose and mouth so long as your mouth and nose are at are within 25 centimeters from the nearest outlet on one of your shoulders.” - Tor Berge, CEO of Safeback

Live independent test with Mountain Medicine Research Group, University of Bergen.

By Integrating our device directly into backcountry airbag and freeride backpacks, we can ensure that the unit is protected from the high forces during an avalanche, and that the hoses stay securely in place near the users mouth and nose.

While we are not the first to attempt to solve this problem, our system is the first to use electronics to actively provide clean air to the buried person. Much like electrical airbags, the Safeback system is fan based and battery powered in order to be reliably and repeatedly used. The system uses replaceable, non-chargable batteries due to their higher reliability in cold temperatures. With batteries, the whole system weighs 450 grams.

Additionally, the Safeback SBX is activated by pulling firmly on the T-shaped handle on your backpack - very similar to those used in airbag systems. This means that the user will not need to have any equipment in their mouth while they are navigating in steep terrain, and can activate their device if and when they are in immediate threat of being caught by an avalanche.