This thread has many different personalities and opinions. It's inevitable to get negative feedback, but sorry you are discouraged. From my point of view your posts are welcome. Keep on keeping on. The only way to avoid negative feedback is to never post. +1, I concur.
Fascinating, good to see another manufacturer here. But it's questionable if anyone will ever capture the magic of the valves from yesterday, especially since some of those processes and or materials maybe not be available or even legal in this day and age.
Having lived several winters in Fairbanks, AK (I saw -50F absolute not wind chill many times), I can sympathize with your getting stuck in the snow (happened to me a couple of times on the Fort, one time road being too narrow for me and the fire truck heading the other way). I always rolled with a tow strap amongst lots of other emergency gear in my Subaru or other vehicle. Hopefully this doesn't go "political" but I'm of the drive slower (with studs where legal) and get there mentality when the weather gets bad (like the front coming in now here in the US) or further from help. In Alaska those lacking in common sense tend to end up dead from either the weather or the wildlife. In my opinion driving from Fairbanks to Anchorage (6 hours in the summer) or back to the lower 48 via Canada (days in summer) is only for the very prepared or the dumb in winter (and logistically very difficult due to many gas stations and hotels closing for the winter along the ALCAN). The further you are from town the more time before you can expect someone to come across you to render aid (which is almost a universal value in Alaska). I drove to and from Alaska via Canada (during summers) and got to see a large part of your beautiful country (I've driven through most of the major Canadian cities between Winnipeg and Vancouver. A friend of questionable judgement drove a two wheel drive Mitsubishi to Anchorage in the winter and totaled his car only a couple "summer hours" drive from Fairbanks when he was blown into guardrails on both sides of his car in serpentine road pass near Denali. He also liked to day trade Russian Telecom Stocks with borrowed (bank) money (Three high risk investment tactics that synergistically led him to losing his shirt). I attempted to explain to him why his investment method was unsound but some people just don't listen.
Some roads allow chains... studded tires... it varies by province (and I suspect by municipality). My fellow Canucks just need to slow down.
