Avy Beacon vs PLB

[swbkrun]

Can anyone please give me the Pro's and Con's on these things. My family is wanting to buy me one of these, but I am not sure which is best for me. I am an avid hiker, who loves to snowshoe. I would not say anything I do is close to Mountaineering, but love to push myself both physically and mentally. The steeper the better for me... Summer or Winter, rain, snow or sun. PLEASE HELP ME OUT! Thank you.

[BirdDog]

An avy beacon only has a range of about 200 yds. So unless you are with others who have avy beacons they are not much use. A PLB would be better for finding a lost hiker. If you are snowshoeing in avalanche territory you should also have a beacon and at least one partner; and have knowledge of avy avoidance/rescue.

 

Do a search on this site for some interesting info on PLB's.

[Off_White]

An avy beacon is only used as a locator for when you're buried in an avalanche. You will need people with you who also have beacons, and they will need shovels and probe poles to find you and dig you out ASAP. This is not a "lost in the wilderness" sort of locator.

 

A PLB is like calling "Help me Mr. Wizard, I don't wanna be in the wilderness anymore." It doesn't communicate any information other than where you are and that you want a rescue.

 

Neither is a substitute for judgment and experience. Perhaps your family might do better to fund some sort of specific training and education for some aspect of your adventures that might merit it?

[Weekend_Climberz]

Listen to OW, have your family pay for a Level I avalanche course and you will quickly learn that even when the avy danger is high, there are still safe places to travel. Some of the best skiing I have had is when the danger was high, just gotta stick to the trees

[mtn_mouse]

Avalanche beacons are really only good when everyone has one. Skiing in the backcountry, if you are buried, you need to be dug out ASAP. No time to wait for rescuers, you must be dug out by fellow skiers. Plus as stated above, the range is not much, you must be close to located a buried victim. So climbers often do not take beacons, because they are in remote areas and being buried by an avalanche on steep terrain would make it difficult to locate them.

So for you, snowshoeing, unless you are with someone else with a beacon too, just having one would not help much.

[jonmf76]

Just get the ACR personal locator beacon (406 MhZ) located here:

 

http://www.acrterrafix.com/

 

Your family wants you to be able to get rescued if you break your leg way out there snowshoeing, right?

 

BTW, get the Terrafix with the built in GPS. It is about $100 more, but it pinpoints your location more accurately.

 

Avalanche beacons are only useful if you are traveling in a group where the others have one and can attempt to find you buried under the snow within the first few minutes after an avalanche. Otherwise, they don't call 911 for you..Conversely, the PLB won't do much for you if you are buried in a pile of snow either.

[prole]

just gotta stick to the trees

 

This statement is fraught with complications! Take an avy course!