Maybe. I haven't seen any detailed statistical comparison.

Airbags have been known to help: Air bag backpack likely saved former Alaskan. "In all, the avalanche had swallowed three other skiers. Saugstad, a professional downhill skier who grew up in Girdwood, was the only one of the four wearing the air bag backpack -- and the only one to emerge alive."

On the other hand: Soules ... had the latest ... backpack air-bag system... "The important thing to realize here is that thing was completely soaked in blood," he said of the air bag. "It certainly deployed, but I didn't think it would have made any difference."

My concern is that people are using these devices as an excuse to cut their safety margins thinner than they would otherwise. I worry they think because they have a beacon, avalung, airbag or whatever, that it's OK to ski in conditions that they would have avoided if they didn't have these devices.