From Inspiration to Action
Earlier this year, our team attended the KORE Outdoor Summit - a gathering of leaders, gear nerds, innovators, and sustainability thinkers from across the outdoor industry. It was an event filled with ideas, insight, and plenty of industry chatter.
One session in particular stood out: Nicole Bassett’s talk, which showed what’s possible when companies take ownership of their gear beyond the first sale. That message hit home for us. We also encountered the ReHUB program, and the wheels started turning - why couldn’t we turn this wheel in our own way?
On the drive back to Golden, an idea started to take shape. Why not us? Even in the snowmobile world ; how could we do better with what we’ve already built?
A New Direction for Avalanche Gear
Snowmobiling doesn’t always have a reputation for thinking about sustainability - and that’s something we wanted to challenge. At Highmark Avalanche Airbags, we believe that protecting people in the backcountry and protecting the places we ride can go hand in hand.
That’s where the idea for the Highmark RePack Program was born.
It’s our way of giving avalanche airbags a second life - keeping them out of landfills, making them more affordable for riders, and starting a conversation about responsibility in an industry that’s not always known for it.
The idea started simple: we wanted to create a way for riders to trade in their used Highmark airbags for credit toward something new. But as we dug in, we realized there are a lot of great packs out there from other brands too - gear that’s still perfectly functional and doesn’t deserve to end up in the landfill.
So we asked ourselves: why limit it?
If the goal is to keep quality avalanche safety gear in use and make it more accessible for riders, then every brand should have a second chance.
That’s why the Highmark RePack Program accepts lightly used Highmark, Mammut, Dakine, and BCA airbags.
Here’s How It Works:
- Submit your airbag → Fill out a quick online form with your pack details and a photo.
- Get a credit estimate → We’ll review your submission and let you know what your trade-in is worth - anywhere from $50 to $400
- Ship it to us → If your pack qualifies, we’ll send you a prepaid shipping label
- Receive your credit → Once your pack arrives, we’ll inspect it, finalize your credit, and issue a HighmarkAirbags.ca gift card valid for 2 years
- Refurbish and resell → We’ll inspect, test, and refurbish each airbag before listing it for resale through a local retailer, both in-store and online - giving more riders access to discounted, safety-checked gear they can trust.
The result? More riders get access to avalanche safety gear, fewer packs end up in the landfill, and every piece of quality equipment - no matter the logo - gets another ride.
Why It Matters
We’ll be honest: we don’t expect hundreds of trade-ins. We’re a small business in a small town, and this program might only process a handful of packs each year.
But that’s the point.
If every small brand and every small town took steps like this - rethinking how products are made, used, and re-used - the impact would start to multiply.
For us, it’s not about volume; it’s about values. It’s about doing something different in an industry that doesn’t always talk about sustainability. It’s about proving that innovation doesn’t always mean a new material or design - sometimes it means giving what we already have a second chance.
Our Small-Town Roots, Our Big Ambition
From our home base in Golden, BC, we see firsthand the mountains that inspire everything we do. We know that avalanche airbags save lives. We also know that making outdoor gear more sustainable is an uphill climb - but it’s one worth taking.
We’re proud to launch Highmark RePack as a first step toward a more circular, thoughtful approach to avalanche safety gear.
If you’ve got an old airbag hanging in your garage, we’d love to give it a second ride.
Learn more about Highmark RePack →
Join the Movement
Whether you’re a backcountry rider, dealer, or just someone who believes in keeping gear out of landfills, you can be part of this.
Trade in a pack. Tell a friend. Start the conversation.
Because when we all take small steps, the whole mountain moves.
For now, the program is only available in Canada. We'll test it out, see if it has legs and look at how we can make it work in the USA. In the meantime, if Americans wish to participate (we'd love it!), we just ask that they cover the shipping across the border to us.