Avalanche Beacon, Which do i get?

I looked through previous threads, odds are i'm blind and didn't see a discussion on the matter but i'm wondering which Avi beacon is best bang for your buck, features, etc. WIll mostly be doing back country split boarding, cruising bowls, and mountaineering. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Dave Retz

If you have to ask this question then hands down , get a tracker.

Bells and whistles are not necessary on a beacon.

If your beacon has a bunch of features and you are not a professional that knows the ins and outs of the different modes, and you don't use it everyday, or you don't practice often, then all those fancy gizmos are useless and most likely will get you in trouble when your beacon is not in the mode you think it is.

Get a Tracker, Tried and true. Don't settle because you got a good deal, don't buy used either, Do you buy used cell phones? A beacon is an electronic device and we know how reliable used electronics are.

To anyone still using an f1 or m2, or pieps 457 etc, or any analog single antena beacon , do your partners and yourself a favor and get with the times. Do you still listen to your cassettes in your walkman or did you upgrade to an mp3 player?

Best bet is to try several and see which one works for YOU.

I demoed several units from the Bent Gate and tried many of my friends' beacons. Now I am comfortable and happy with the unit I decided on (and also familiar with a couple others). I don't know if the store still does this or if any other stores do. It is a pricey item and worth the test drive.

Whichever one you pick, practice, practice, practice - and make good choices so you never have to use it.

Casey Bernal wrote:Best bet is to try several and see which one works for YOU.

all beacons work , but only as good as the person using them, and how practiced they are at using the unit they own.

Agreed though, it's better to make good choices and not have to use it.

I don't know how someone can try a beacon out though and say I like this one it works for me, I would focus more on your use, your level and what features you really need for what you do. Most people only need what a tracker can do. The new trackers are amazing, Triple antenna beacons are defenitly the first feature I would look for

And if you are trying your friends beacon out to see if you like it, Don't try it with me when we are on a real tour and your checking out a beacon you have never used to see if you like it. I see that all the time, and I see people say, I really like this beacon, and I don't have a clue on what they base it on.

I will tell you hands down, the tracker is the easiest beacon to use, and if you are lazy and read the directions once and practiced with a buddy in your backyard and called it good, then I hope you have a tracker , it won't do everything for you, but it might compensate for peoples lack of practice to some extent.

I'll have to stop by bent gate and see if they're still demo'ing. As JP said fewer features is probably a better thing.

The goal is to have the thing dialed, not a toy. And i don't plan on having to use it.

Yup get a Tracker or Tracker 2. Simplicity and ease of use is more important than lots of features. And they just work well. Whatever you do, don't buy an ortovox.

chosspector-

I'd be interested in hearing your opinion on Ortovox beacons. Have you had problems with any model(s) in particular that lead you to your statement? Is this just a general thing with the brand overall? Thanks!

I had an Ortovox M2. After only a few weeks of using it for practice searches, it became stuck in transmit mode, and could not be changed to search mode. This would have been fine if I got buried, but would have sucked if I was searching for someone else. Probably just a defective unit (hopefully rare), but it was enough to scare me into buying another brand. I returned it and switched to a Mammut Pulse.

I like the Mammut a lot. I've had it for several years now, and it's very easy to use (only in practice searches thankfully). I have some friends who use the Tracker and that also seems to be simple to learn and use.

The main thing is to practice a lot and get fast with your searches (single and multiple burial) no matter which beacon you get.

chosspector wrote:Yup get a Tracker or Tracker 2. Simplicity and ease of use is more important than lots of features.

+1: I've used my tracker for over 7 years and never had an issue. I love how simple it is. I just think if I ever had to use it in a real life avalanche (luckey this has never happened) I would be glad it is idiot proof.

I just got an Ortovox S1 and I really like it, especially the close range circle locating feature and the easy multiple burial

Some people like to say don't worry about the bells and whistles and get a simple beacon but there is nothing wrong with getting a beacon that has more features as long as you know how to use them.

The more advanced features on the S1 don't take long to learn and the basic search feature is about as simple as it gets. The main nuances of it to know is not to close the beacon after you start a search with multiple rescuers (reverts back to send) and that it will revert back to send if left perfectly still for a certain period of time.

check out beaconreviews.com

The standard is 3 antennas, i.e. Tracker 2, not Tracker.

I have personal expereince with the Pieps DSP and Tracker 2 and like them both. Also heard very good things about the Ortovox 3+ and the Mammut Pulse Barryvox from reviews and friends who have hands on expereince.

Say what you will about the bells and whistles not being important, but if you got buried with the transmitting antenna on your beacon oriented vertically, the technology in the Ortovox 3+ where the beacon can transmit on the more horizontally oriented antenna sounds pretty cool to me.

Common opinion is that the best beacon is the one you have practiced most with.

I use a Tracker DTS, as do most people I ski with.

If I were to buy one tomorrow, I'd get a Tracker 2.

bwalt822 wrote:I just got an Ortovox S1 and I really like it, especially the close range circle locating feature and the easy multiple burial Some people like to say don't worry about the bells and whistles and get a simple beacon but there is nothing wrong with getting a beacon that has more features as long as you know how to use them. The more advanced features on the S1 don't take long to learn and the basic search feature is about as simple as it gets. The main nuances of it to know is not to close the beacon after you start a search with multiple rescuers (reverts back to send) and that it will revert back to send if left perfectly still for a certain period of time. check out beaconreviews.com

I played with first gen S1's before they were released with a few other professionals, Major problems, they could not get it right , still had bugs and put the product out anyway. Another drawback to this beacon is the multiple choice, choose your own adventure questions you might be asked during your search. Another problem as you stated, if the beacon is closed during search, it reverts, Well, great, don't trip while your moving fast and fall on it while hauling ass in your primary and secondary phases.

Tell me what is so great about a digital compass, thermometer or a digital inclinometer that eats precious battery life, and is hardly accurate, and requires constant calibration.

I have seen the worst performances out of any other beacon in the AMGA ski exam with this beacon, even by people that claim they know the beacon and like it.

Ortovox has the most products through time then any other company as well, seems they have a new model and new features every other year. How long was the M1 on the market before it became the M2, How long was either of those units on the market? I saw more defective or damaged M1's and 2's in the field then any other beacon ever. I also saw some of the most unsuccessful searches with these units, I'm sure it was just as much user as unit error, but nonetheless, I was not impressed. I have owned or learned almost every beacon on the market, and currently own a fleat of about 20 beacons. I know most of the units inside and out.

To Trackers credit , They came out with a tried and true product in 1997 and was the first dual antenna beacon. The unit went hardly unchanged for 12 years until technology made a good thing better. They set the standard and the other companies followed suit. We waited awhile for the tracker 2 but that is because BCA has a high standard in quality control, Once again they pave the way.
They are not going to release a product until it is at 110%, it was worth the wait.

As for bells and whistles, Many of you are missing the point, triple antenna beacons are not a bell and whistle, but are becoming an industry standard, Bells and whistles are compasses, heart rate detection, clinometers, thermometers and any other digital item that chews batteries and has nothing to do with the function of the beacon and is hardly accurate anyway.

So many people talk about these features like they are so great, and the people that use them scare me.

Trackers are tried and true, once again, If you really want to pay for all the extra crap so you can say my beacon does this and that, go for it, but if you want quality and best bang for your buck, I can't think of a better product who is ahead of the game.

You should know how to do a multiple search, but ideally you won't ever have to search and if you do hopefully its only a single because you only exposed one person.

All you tech weenies say what you want , but You can have the baddest newest, gizmo on the market, but I bet I have seen more searches then most of you in some pretty advanced scenarios, Tracker times have smoked the competition that I have seen probably 9 times out of 10.

If your into all the gizmos, chances are your gonna wind up in a mode you don't know your in because of all the pretty buttons and choices you have. KISS.

Most broken beacons I have seen in the field have been Ortovox M1 and M2 hands down, Blown screens, or just no screen display, 2nd most was shattered display screen on Barryvox, even though the barryvox is a damn nice unit as well.

My 2 cents, but I really don't know much about this stuff

PS, if your beacon is more then 5 years old, I suggest having it checked by its manufacturer, it is an electronic device. How many people have phones or mp3 players that are 5 years old and still work like new.

The four mid-featured popular 3 antenna beacons are the Pieps DSP, Tracker 2, Barryvox Pulse, and Ortovox 3+. All are good tools. Try each and see which works best for you.

I've had the Pieps DSP since is was first available in the US and have been satisfied.

bruno-cx wrote: Also my stoner buddies are able to use the tracker 2 successfully in practice drills. Probably easier to use than lighting up in the wind.

+1

Always an important side note......

+2

JPVallone wrote:I don't know how someone can try a beacon out though and say I like this one it works for me, I would focus more on your use, your level and what features you really need for what you do. I see that all the time, and I see people say, I really like this beacon, and I don't have a clue on what they base it on.

I guess I can be a little more specific. *I* found that *I* was much faster with searches when using the Pieps over the Tracker (with the latter being faster than the analog Ortovox, and the Mammut device only tried once and not liked). This was for both single and multiple burials (I was faster with the Ortovox over the tracker for multiples). Other partners found the opposite was true for *them*. This was ~5 years ago and I haven't tried the newest devices.

There are several factors that influence this for each person - to name a couple: familiarity with the device, user interface. After a few demo's and practice sessions, I felt comfortable with both of those enough to make a decision. Now, each season (often multiple time per season), I practice and am confident with using this device. This is one of those YourHumbleOpinion type of things; what is the beacon going to be used for (climbing/skiing, how much practice, technical savvyness of the technology, preferences of interface, preferences of the straps/harness, preferences of the size, color, lights, weight . . .

The Tracker is definitely the easiest to use for the inexperienced. BUT it is not foolproof and there MAY be better options for each individual.

The only way to know which one is best for *you* is for *you* to try it (and practice, practice, practice).

Spend the extra $45 and get the Tracker 2 over the DTS, it is much more accurate. The Pieps DSP is nice too, but it's expensive...

JPVallone wrote: How many people have phones or mp3 players that are 5 years old and still work like new.

Great post, but yeah all my stuff still works like new. Have like a 256mb mp3 player (small) that works, 3 gen 40g Ipod looks like crap but fine.

But I'm probably nicer to my stuff than most people.

JPVallone wrote: Another drawback to this beacon is the multiple choice, choose your own adventure questions you might be asked during your search. Another problem as you stated, if the beacon is closed during search, it reverts, Well, great, don't trip while your moving fast and fall on it while hauling ass in your primary and secondary phases.

I cant really argue with your observations in the field but as you said a lot of the issues may have been due to user error. This is not the fault of the beacon.

What multiple choice questions are you talking about? The only messages that I have seen that could be confusing with the S1 are the indications to hold the thing level and to stop while the unit processes info.

Don't trip with the tracker 2 either then because you can accidentally push the button back in. In any case its not much of an issue to put any beacon back into search mode if accidentally put into transmit.

I don't know for sure but i'm guessing that the compass, thermometer, and inclinometers are turned off while in transmit mode and therefore dont use any batteries unless you are doing a search. Even then the use very little power. If you're that low on batteries where these features cause your unit to shut off then you were in trouble from the start of the tour. Yes the features are useless apart from their inputs to the searching algorithms but just because they are there doesn't mean you have to use them or that they will slow down a search. I also found that they are pretty accurate.

jason baker wrote:Spend the extra $45 and get the Tracker 2 over the DTS, it is much more accurate. The Pieps DSP is nice too, but it's expensive...

+1

The pieps is pretty expensive and I still want to know why anyone wants this stuff in their beacon? Pieps DSP has a temperature display, compass, and barometric altimeter. Similar to another pretty expensive model on the market with weird moving parts.

Put it on, turn it on, leave it on, That is how transcievers are to be used from trailhead to trailhead or hut to hut, or helicopoter base to to heli base. Or whatever other area you are working in or playing in that is Avi Terrain.

Who takes there beacon out to play with these features and where. Why would you pay to have these features? Scary!