Backcountry Access has made it about as easy as possible to buy airbag cylinder refills. Still, you hesitate to blow off your balloon due to the hassle of getting a recharge, thus you miss out on practice that might help you avoid hesitation on the rip cord and the resulting crater (AKA avalanche burial).
No more. The guys in Boulder, Colorado are promulgating the use of an airgun “Benjamin” refill pump that does a fine job of refilling the BCA Float airbag cylinders. Albeit with a bit of work — you pay to play. We found the pump easy to operate (though time consuming and a bit strenuous), with a modicum of assembly required that I’d give a 3/10 wrench rating (e.g., you’ll need a metric spanner to remove a fitting you replace with the desiccant cartridge).
Benjamin unboxed, handle and base need to be screwed on, and you follow simple instructions for desiccant cartridge. Niggly things: You have to dry out the desiccant in your oven if you see more than a few pink moisture indicator crystals, and you’ll need a metric wrench to attach the desiccant cartridge. Note the desiccant is essential. The cylinder holds a lot of air, meaning if the air has much humidity you can get a lot of condensation in the tank if you go from warm to cold temperatures. The condensate can freeze and clog your valve. Tip: probably a good idea to keep any airbag refillable gas cylinder in a somewhat upright position while in use, to prevent small amounts of water from getting into the valve system. In my opinion it’s also a good idea to test airbags when you’re out in colder temperatures.
Our pump came with a kink in the hose, but it still works. Red circle to right indicates plug you remove to install the desiccant cartridge.
Benjamin assembled and hooked to BCA cylinder. Keep a BCA refill kit on hand, you might need to swap some o-rings.
I’d imagine BCA and backcountry.com will begin selling these at some point. For now, you can get the Benjamin from Amazon.
Benjamin Hand Pump, Fits Discovery, Marauder, Katana & Challenger Rifles
Sun Optics USA Airgun Scope Mount Desiccant Kit For High Pressure Hand Pump
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
