The Carry Awards – Best Specialist Carry

Best Specialist – ABS Vario System 

“ABS created the category of life saving avalanche backpacks, and still own it with the Vario”

There are not many carry areas where good design can save lives. And there are not many brands that get to create entirely new categories. With ABS, we get both, with the German Avalanche backpack company having created this lifesaving carry category.

Their recent updates mean you can buy the refined Vario base unit, and then attach different capacity pack sections to the front. If you mix it up between side-country teasers and full back-country missions, this means you don’t need to double up on the expensive bits of these packs.

With recent changes in US laws, we’re now seeing a proliferation of avalanche airbag packs, but it’s ABS that are the benchmark, and a very deserving winner of our Best Specialist Carry Award.