AVAGEARUSA was born from a passion for snow and the desire to understand the sheer force of nature. While our founder was skiing Tahoe he became aware of the devastating power of avalanches and tried to learn how to avoid them. In 1982 there was an avalanche at Alpine Meadows that buried the entire ski lodge. From this avalanche in 1982 and avalanches all over the world came stories of survival. These stories continued motivating him to create AVAGEARUSA. The concept of the device is by increasing one’s size or volume to such a point that it is possible to keep a skier/snowboarder/mountaineer on the surface of an avalanche. Founded in 1998 as Avagear, it was one of the first companies in the world to market an inflatable device that could inflate around the user. David went to the foremost experts at the time–in Davos Switzerland where the device was tested successfully. With such an important discovery he felt compelled to bring this invention to the light and insure that it was available for those who might need it. We thrive at AVAGEARUSA in bringing better technology and designs to continue to help prepare our customers for avalanche danger. We remain committed to making our product of the highest quality and craftsmanship. We want to get our backcountry travelers ready to join a natural unspoiled wilderness as safely as possible.