Avalanche Beacons: Is there a real Stand-Out Winner?

christopher · Mar 25, 2010

With the recent bought of Avalanches and burials, I am ready to take the plunge and purchase a few beacons for myself and family, and have been trying to come up to speed on whats out there and what works the best.

This matrix seems to be pretty definitive.
http://beaconreviews.com/transceivers/Comparison.asp

And when you narrow it down to the top contenders it kicks out 7 units as the best over all.

ARVA Evo3

ARVA 3Axes

BARRYVOX Pulse

BCA Tracker 2

ORTOVOX S1

PIEPS DSP

PIEPS DSP Advanced

So I am looking for some real world comments from those of you who own and have had the opportunity to USE your beacon in the real world.

WHICH ONE SHOULD I BUY and WHY ?

AKSNOWRIDER · Mar 25, 2010

the one that works the best is the one that on and strapped to you...with that said DTS and Peips are very very common and known for being best...

SnowBigDeal · Mar 25, 2010

There is definitely a difference between how you will operate the beacon when you try it out in practice and are calm vs how you will operate the beacon under intense pressure. That being said, ease of use matters more in my opinion than does long range. I have 3 beacons that I use and take with me all the time.....Tracker DTS, Pieps DSP, and the Barryvox Pulse. I find myself always wearing the Pieps DSP and when other people show up who don't have a beacon, I have them use the Tracker DTS. Both beacons are very easy to use and you won't get confused under pressure.

The Barryvox Pulse is a great beacon, but I have found that it can be confusing, especially under pressure.

bowerman61028 · Mar 25, 2010

Just upgraded from the Tracker DTS to the Tracker 2. Have yet to try it out but I plan on running the beacon park and doing some beacon burrial and retrival this weekend to become more familiar with it. Everyone says that the DTS was super easy to use and that the Tracker 2 is even easier so I'm excited to try it out because I loved my DTS.

av8er · Mar 25, 2010

I CURENTLY HAVE A PIEPS, BUT THE TRACKER DTS IS VERY POPULAR

THAT IS PROBABLY WHAT I WOULD BUY NEXT A TRACKER BY BCA

wienerwater · Mar 25, 2010

I have a Barryvox and love it. We make a point at the beginning of the year, first ride to bury a couple, and just get used to using them again.I am truly amazed how fast I can find someone, and once familiar with it,I found it much faster and accurate then some other top brands/models.They have used them in Europe (where they came from) for years and still do, for a reason.It may have cost more, but my friends are worth it to me.Just my 2 cents

cummins17 · Mar 25, 2010

I have the ortovox S1 and i like it alot, 5 buddys got the Tracker 2 and im the only one with the S1, when we buried the beacons i could find them twice as fast with the S1(no b.s.) and be on to the next buried one. it is so easy to use a 4 year old could figure it out!!! a little on the expensive side but it is worth every penny to me!!

christopher · Mar 25, 2010

AKSNOWRIDER said:
the one that works the best is the one that on and strapped to you...

Kinda hard to argue with that !! :face-icon-small-hap

Insaneboltrounder/sjohns · Mar 25, 2010

cummins17 said:
I have the ortovox S1 and i like it alot, 5 buddys got the Tracker 2 and im the only one with the S1, when we buried the beacons i could find them twice as fast with the S1(no b.s.) and be on to the next buried one. it is so easy to use a 4 year old could figure it out!!! a little on the expensive side but it is worth every penny to me!!

Dont let that simple phrase " the one that strapped to you" keep you from picking the right one.

Our group all have the s1 and so do our buddies who are in S+R in revy. They have done extensive testing and believe its the best. All beacons work pretty well and pretty much the same until you have a multi burial. Thats when everything gets thrown out the window. We practise more than most i bet , have taken the course and am sure if we faced a multi with out beacons that can separate single beacons we would be screwed. Finding multis with a beacon not designed for multis is extremely complex. Get a beacon that handles multis and go out in the yard and practice. Even the best ones will throw you curves and you need to know what to expect and not be surprised when you are in a real search. sj

christopher · Mar 26, 2010

The whole point of this thread is to get real world feedback.

smokindave · Mar 26, 2010

I have a BCA Tracker,I was extreamly happy with it untill I took My AST1 coarse.The differences between the different brands and the difference in price are drasticly different.They vary lots.
I have not seen the Tracker 2 yet,but after seening how well and how powerfull the Ortovox S1 is I will be purchasing one this summer.This in my opinion is the Cadillac of beacons.I want one that is easy to use especially for multable burrials.
The S1 also showed signals at least 20 meters before my Tracker.For price though the Tracker is more affordable.

Dave

CatWoman · Mar 26, 2010

A good thing to do would be to see if there are people around that you can actually do a hands on with the beacons and compare for yourself. This is kind of one of those loaded questions.

I used my Tracker for part of one season. It's easy enough, but wasn't for me. I now use it for my loaner beacon. I didn't like how bulky it was. I bought the Pulse's for the hubby and myself the next season, and never once second guessed that decision. Absolutely love them, especially with doing multi burial scenario's. I know there are also many S&R units that have them. So, like I said, falls to personal choice and and funds available to spend on them.

One thing the hubby and I have talked about with these and the others we know whom have them, is that pulse feature. Some people have negative comments about it. We've addressed these amongst each other. If I'm buried, and I have no heartbeat showing, then I want the hubby to move on to someone else that does if we are riding with others that day (we do some rides with just he & I). We that have these, all agree on that. We also make sure that our beacons are calibrated correctly to our bodies, so there isn't any error. These beacons will tell you how long someone has a pulse, and even how long they have been without. We hope we NEVER need to use them for more than practice/training, which we do often with them (as we did with our previous beacons).

mmmod · Mar 26, 2010

beacon

i use an analog ortovox and i find other beacons faster with it than with a tracker

TIM · Mar 26, 2010

2010 beacon review

http://www.facewest.co.uk/Transceiver-Review-2010.html

this link takes you to a place that did a 2010 beacon review. It was sent to me from the local avalanche center.

Insaneboltrounder/sjohns · Mar 26, 2010

mmmod said:
i use an analog ortovox and i find other beacons faster with it than with a tracker

IMO the orty m2 is the best single burial senario beacon you can buy. You have to practise alot to be able to take advantage of it. Id like to have one of these in our group. The have almost 90 meter range.

Insaneboltrounder/sjohns · Mar 26, 2010

CatWoman said:
A good thing to do would be to see if there are people around that you can actually do a hands on with the beacons and compare for yourself. This is kind of one of those loaded questions.

I used my Tracker for part of one season. It's easy enough, but wasn't for me. I now use it for my loaner beacon. I didn't like how bulky it was. I bought the Pulse's for the hubby and myself the next season, and never once second guessed that decision. Absolutely love them, especially with doing multi burial scenario's. I know there are also many S&R units that have them. So, like I said, falls to personal choice and and funds available to spend on them.

One thing the hubby and I have talked about with these and the others we know whom have them, is that pulse feature. Some people have negative comments about it. We've addressed these amongst each other. If I'm buried, and I have no heartbeat showing, then I want the hubby to move on to someone else that does if we are riding with others that day (we do some rides with just he & I). We that have these, all agree on that. We also make sure that our beacons are calibrated correctly to our bodies, so there isn't any error. These beacons will tell you how long someone has a pulse, and even how long they have been without. We hope we NEVER need to use them for more than practice/training, which we do often with them (as we did with our previous beacons).

I dont want a 500 dollar gadget deciding if im alive or dead.

CatWoman · Mar 26, 2010

Insaneboltrounder/sjohns said:
I dont want a 500 dollar gadget deciding if im alive or dead.

It's definitely a personal choice, and extremely important that you follow the instructions to calibrate it to your body. It's also something that you DO want to practice with. Hiding with it on your body, or just hiding the beacon without it attached to you. We've done this lots, and it's not once messed up.

Edit: Like I said above, hopefully we never have to use these in a *real* situation. Brain first! If it came down to it though, the choice has been discussed already. It certainly doesn't mean we'd leave anyone buried....no matter what, all are coming out together. Also, there would still be the push to get anyone/everyone dug out as quickly as possible.

CatWoman · Mar 26, 2010

TIM said:
http://www.facewest.co.uk/Transceiver-Review-2010.html

this link takes you to a place that did a 2010 beacon review. It was sent to me from the local avalanche center.

Great link Tim, thanks!

I'm going to add that into the links thread in the Avy section.

Insaneboltrounder/sjohns · Mar 26, 2010

its a 2 year old link i believe , good reading still.

TIM · Mar 26, 2010

this one is the 2010 review, you are thinking about the 2007 review.

Avalanche Beacons: Is there a real Stand-Out Winner?

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