Win an action camera: It's downhill all the way...

Wireless avalanche airbags
AVALANCHE airbags, designed to prevent burial in an avalanche by providing extra buoyancy, aren't new. And they work. Freeride World Tour champion Xavier Delerue survived an avalanche accident in March 2008 while filming and photo-shooting in the Alps. Xavier was equipped with the ABS Freeride backpack and was found at the end of the avalanche on top of approximately six metres of snow: 'The ABS just saved my life... I should even say that it makes me being here today a big miracle.'

However, unless skiers inflate a device in time, it may prove too late for an airbag to be of use. ABS has now introduced a remote, networked electronic system which allows airbag inflation to be triggered by other members of a skiing party, so they can help each other in an emergency. The electronic system allows specific groups to be defined. Either one person, such as a ski instructor (the 'master') is can trigger the others' airbags, or all members of the group can to assist each other in the event of a slab avalanche. In the new system, a pyrotechnic gas cartridge fills the dual airbags.

As the ABS airbag is attached to a backpack it allows unobstructed vision and freedom of movement - even when inflated - giving the best chance of escape or digging your way out of the snow if partially buried. However, one hopes that the wireless trigger mechanism is robust and not given to false deployment, for instance inside a gondola while riding up the mountain or, even worse, while crammed in a chairlift seat. And regardless of the airbag's undoubted life-saving properties, it is going to spill quite a few drinks should it unintentionally deploy in a packed alpine restaurant - which is where most skiers spend their time. www.abs-airbag.com

Caught on camera
THE OREGON Scientific ATC3K is a tube-style action camera that allows you to record and share your outdoor adventures. Measuring just 115mm long and 40mm diameter it comes with a mounting kit that includes a handlebar grip, a Webcam stand, and a helmet grip with Velcro straps and a silicon rubber head band. The camera has a rugged housing with a raised rubber ridge and a plastic shield to protect the lens, and is waterproof up to 3m.

A monochromatic LCD screen and three rubberised buttons for record, power, and menu are located on the top surface. At the rear end of the device is a sealed twist-off cap that covers the battery door, SD card slot, video out port, and a Mini-USB port.

The camera can record video at up to 640x480 pixels and 30 frames per second in an AVI format. Downloading a recording is done via the supplied USB cable to your computer. A 32MB internal memory will hold up to 47 seconds of VGA video or 1.5 minutes of QVGA video(32 0x240 pixels). More practically, if you fill the SD slot with a 4GB memory card, it will store up to two hours of VGA video. In other words more than enough recording time to capture the entire footage taken during half a dozen black runs and an emergency airbag deployment. www.oregonscientific.com

Electronic tint ski goggles
THE UVISION Variotronic features the VALiD lens, a technology developed by Alphamicron Inc. for the US Air Force. It allows adjustment of the lens tint at the touch of a button - giving fast adaptation to changing outdoor light conditions. A thin layer of liquid crystal is located between a double lens; when a low voltage is applied, the LC layer switches from light to dark in one tenth of a second. So useful when rapidly emerging from the darkness of an alpine bar into the brilliant sunshine outside following the unintentional deployment of an emergency airbag. www.uvex-variotronic.de

Solar powered jacket
There is a sure way to be a real geek dude on the slopes: The Zegna Ecotech Solar.

Zegna Sports has partnered with German electronics specialist InteractiveWear and Italian-based Thermore to design a solar power jacket. The result is a stylish set of Italian-look threads with solar panels on the upper sleeves that connect to an internal battery. That battery pack is capable of charging almost any portable electronic device such as a cell phone, MP3 player or helmet camera. A full charge for the jacket requires about five hours of direct sunlight. The solar panels and battery pack are detachable, so you can use them as stand-alone solar power system and not look quite such a stupid twat when wearing the jacket at night. www.zegnasport.com