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January 10,
2006-- After the original O2 binding
debacle a few years ago, BD went out and hired themselves a group
of apparently very talented designers. After a couple of years
spent righting the wrongs of the O2 (we can't remember hearing
even a single complaint last year), the team finally had a chance
to roll up its sleeves and come up with some fresh ideas of its
own. The new all-metal Deploy shovels they'll be showing at the
Outdoor Retailer (OR) tradeshow this month are yet another example
of what these guys have been coming up with, in addition to the
O1 touring mode binding, and the Avalung-integrated packs we
have already told you about.
Why do we carry shovels anyway? Is it just
because it's the PC thing to do? Of course not. Most of you are
probably like me... my ski partners are like blood brothers and
sisters. Most of 'em I've been skiing with for decades. We've
stuck by each other through thick and thin. Marriages, births,
divorces, business successes and failures.... literally triumphs
and tragedies. I don't even want to think about how terrible
it would be to lose one of my partners to an avalanche... especially
if I wasn't as prepared as I could possibly be for such an emergency.
The whole concept of a shovel with a detachable
handle has seemed like a bad idea to me ever since the time,
some 15 or 20 years ago, when I lost a handle in the backcountry
on my local mountain and didn't even know it. One day I was getting |
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packed up for a tour, and realized
it was missing. I could have lost it on the last tour, or it
could have been way before that... I had no idea. I was pretty
freaked out by this realization and ever since I have made damn
sure parts A & B were there before every excursion, but I've
always thought that a one-piece shovel would make a lot more
sense, especially considering how important this piece of gear
might someday become.
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So it was with great interest that we checked
out BD's new for next season Deploy model shovels. A trapezoidal
handle shaft means the spring pins are always lined up, unlike
a traditional round shaft design.
A dimple in the the sleeve the shaft slides
through on the blade means that like a switchblade knife, you
just pull the shovel out by its handle, press the upper button,
flick your wrist, and the shovel is good to go. |
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The weight of the model we have been testing
is just 1.8 lbs, barely more than 5 ounces over Life-Link's popular
plastic-composite "Ice Pro Compact" model, and our
Deploy is all metal, with an overall extended length of 26 inches
and a 10 inch wide blade.
A hexcentric shaped handle makes the Deploy
easy to grip, reducing slippage. BD is hedging its bets by also
introducing a couple of traditional, longer handled, detachable
shaft models called the Transfer 7 and Transfer 3 (see video),
but in our opinion the big news here is the innovative Deploy.
We'll have more info (pricing, weight of available sizes, etc)
in our reports from OR, so stay tuned. |
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