[roymurdock]

Just don't see a value prop to make this feasible. I go to festivals, skiing, camping with friends 2-3 times a year.

At a festival, cell service is fine. Camelback with gatorade/water mix is the crucial piece of equipment. Just keep an eye on it, as random people will try to drink from your straw.

For casual skiing we set times/places to meet up in case we get separated. Again, cell phones work fine on most mountains. Don't want to throw this bulky, expensive (not water/shock proof?) thing in a plastic bag in my pocket. If I'm going back country, go with a buddy. Keep an avalanche kit (shovel, beacon, air tube) in the backpack and bring a $30 pair of 6 mile, 2-way, replaceable battery, shock/waterproof radios.

Camping, the point is to get away from constant communication and leave the phone off, in the car. Again, bring the actual radios if you're going in deep.

Smartphones are great for day-to-day life and work, but I feel like half the point of the vacation is being able to untether.

[ldayley]

I don't think it is designed with this use case in mind, despite the marketing that mentions crowded festivals.

I see a "Born in Bozeman" badges on the site, so I'm assuming this was born out of necessity for backcountry trekking in wild Montana and not hiking Mt. Tamalpais. I'm not far from Bozeman and I don't have to travel far from home before I lose network coverage from both Verizon and T-Mobile. Sure, I relish the loss of service in a way as a means of escape, but it has higher risks and causes a number of challenges that I think this seeks to overcome.

I'm intrigued.

[aj_g]

Yep. I'm from Bozeman, and can think of more than a few friends who could find this useful doing field research out here. And to anyone who is wondering, the name is in reference to the Absaroka-Beartooth wilderness, an absolutely gorgeous expanse of land near Bozeman

http://www.outsidebozeman.com/places/wilderness-areas/absaro...

[prawn]

Also maybe the Beartooth Highway which is a stunning road South-East of Bozeman. Up there with Byway 12 in Utah as one of the most picturesque drives I've done.

[dboreham]

I bought a sat phone after an experience rescuing a couple (and their two large dogs) in 20 below weather from the Battleridge campground where their truck had become stuck. That's only 20 miles outside of Bozeman but cell service fades out long before there so they had no way to call for help. I've used it a few times over the years when camping and driving around the area on day trips. As you say, cell service is very much optional away from towns and the freeway.

[dopeboy]

I hear you but aren't carriers competing to fix this? I imagine coverage is only going to increase over time.

[hammock]

Air tube? I ski with beacon, probe & shovel, familiar with airbags but unfamiliar with air tubes.

[roymurdock]

http://www.backcountry.com/black-diamond-avalung-ii

Most ski patrols use ABS to cushion the neck and buoy the skier above the snow, but this is supposed to be OK in a pinch if you can keep it in your mouth while tumbling down a mountain.

[lfowles]

I would assume even if it isn't long enough to break the surface, it will at least get the humid exhaled air away from your face.