stever Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Can someone recommend me an affordable/inexpensive avalanche beacon? I do some skiing, but would use it mostly on winter climbing excusions, and would like it have it for when I do more skiing in the future. I would prefer digital. Can someone brand/model that is reliable as well? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snoboy Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 http://beaconreviews.com/transceivers/ http://www.wildsnow.com/category/avalanche-beacon-review/ IMO any of the offerings from the main players are good tools these days. I wouldn't personally buy anything that was not digital and three antennas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScaredSilly Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 The above are great references. Over the years I have used most of the major brands. Currently, I am using the Mammut Pulse which has many features. Their more basic model Mammut Element would be my current recommendation for the usage you are describing. Do some searching and you can find them for under $300. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurthicks Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Not really a place to be cheap IMO. Get a modern digital 3 antenna beacon...but find it on sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Not really a place to be cheap IMO. Regardless of the fact you plan to use it infrequently or climbing instead of skiing, when the shit hits the fan and your freaking out because your best freind is going to die soon, you want the best tool to get them out. Don't buy a cheap parachute because you skydive infrequently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snoboy Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 In fact the less you use it, the more you should go for a top flight model in some ways... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markwebster Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Just to play devils advocate here... If you had to choose just one thing, spend the 300 on a couple avalanche awareness classes. You need both the class and the beacon...but...if you learn enough to ski safely and stay off dangerous slopes, you don't necessarily have to have the beacon. People skied for years in perfect safety before beacons were invented. Common sense and knowledge can take you a long ways. That's been our approach. We did buy old pieps beacons 30 years ago, but they don't work with the new ones. Rather than buy new beacons, we stay on slopes under 30 degrees, and don't ski in dangerous avy conditions. This of course means we have a very limited terrain. Years ago we took an avy class from Ray Smutek. He took us up the skyline trail at Paradise to the base of Pan pt where we dug a snow pit. We traversed East below Pan down the Edith Creek drainage, over the wood bridge and back to Paradise. He told us that if the road was open, that loop would always be safe based on the slope angles. He said that if that loop was dangerous...they'd have the road closed because everything would be sliding. We've been living by that for the last 30 years of backcountry skiing. For you adventurous souls who ski the steep stuff...definitely buy the new beacons, shovels and probes. Learn to dig a pit and analyze the snow...and remember that if you are caught in an avalanche, there is a pretty big chance that your beacon will just make the body recovery faster. Avoiding steep slopes is our choice...unless we are skiing the lifts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fromage Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Buy a recent 3-antenna digital as already suggested. But here's the twist: before you leave the parking lot you give your beacon to a partner and take his/hers. Not that anyone actually does this, but it makes the point about where your priorities should be. A beacon, any beacon, is not helpful if you don't know how to use it. Having one does not guarantee your safety in snow. It is also important to have training and familiarity with your beacon, along with all the other snow safety gear that goes along with it: probe & shovel at a minimum. Beyond that, understanding snow conditions, terrains, and avalanche safety is also helpful to staying alive. Taking an Avy 1 course would be a great thing to do after you pick up your beacon. Sure, it's another expense, but the knowledge you'll gain will be valuable. The cheaper option, however, is to do none of these things and stay home. Not without its own tradeoffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldfinger Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 +2 for classes also. We have all sorts of folks cratering in snow gullies here, they have great ice axes, but the knowledge is what failed them, and off they go in a chopper to the ICU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurthicks Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Some on sale at 20% off: http://www.backcountry.com/store/subcat/4/sale/Avalanche-Safety.html Of the ones on sale, I can't recommend the Freeride or the original Tracker since it they are not 3 antenna models and can make deep burials more challenging to locate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sobo Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I have an ARVA 9000, which is an older, single-antenna style digital transceiver. But even though it's an old model, I am, without fail, always the first to find the "victim" in my rescue unit's practice scenarios. I bought it on a trip to the Italian/French Alps border region in 1999. Beaconreviews sez this about the 9000: The ARVAs are French transceivers that have not been widely distributed in USA. The ARVA 9000 is an older model that was discontinued in 2001. Summary: This is an interesting beacon in that it has one antenna, yet the audible tone is digital. The tone increases in both cadence and pitch as you near the victim, and the screen displays digital numbers. Read more about audio feedback here. Although I have only done moderate testing of this beacon (and it has been discontinued), the ARVA 9000 appears to be one of the most capable of the single-antenna transceivers I have tested (i.e., the long range you would expect from an analog beacon and the best audio and visual indicators of the analogs). So since the 9000 isn't available anymore, I would highly recommend a newer model from ARVA. I can't say enough good things about this beacon, except the price... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stever Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 (edited) Thanks for all the information, seems like I have more reading than I thought. Those links are definitely helpful. I have already taken classes, and i have used some beacons in the past, but I just can't justify paying $600 for something I may only get to use a few times a year. I will not buy a "cheap" beacon, for obvious reasons such as safety and reliability, I'm just looking for something in between. I will look for a digital 3 antenna beacon, like suggested. The Mammut beacons look really nice, I will have to do some more searching to get the best new beacon that I can afford. I'll check out the backcountry sale as well. And once I find a beacon, I will make sure I know how to use it very well, before I take it outside. I've practiced with them before with friends' beacons, hiding the beacons and finding them at night. A fun exercise at the least Thanks for the help Edited February 11, 2012 by Steve Roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maine-iac Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 It is not the type of beacon you have... but what your partners have. I always make sure they have the longest probe, the grain scoop, and the best beacon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stever Posted March 2, 2012 Author Share Posted March 2, 2012 Would you guys recommend buying new at all costs? Or are used beacons okay to buy as well? There are a few used one's on MEC's online gearswap, but I do not know the people selling them. I would assume because it's a piece of "safety" gear that new is better... Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaisedByPikas Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 If you buy used you might be able into the manufacturer to make sure its ok. You are supposed to do that every 5 years or so anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Would you guys recommend buying new at all costs? Or are used beacons okay to buy as well? There are a few used one's on MEC's online gearswap, but I do not know the people selling them. I would assume because it's a piece of "safety" gear that new is better... Thanks Of course, buyer beware -- but keep in mind that just because it's used safety gear doesn't mean instant death. Haven't you ever driven a used car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonG Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 This is bare bones, but for around $200 will get the job done (digital, 3 antennae also). Pretty good deal on sale at quite a few places online.... http://www.ortovox.com/avalanche-transceivers/patroller-digital-2 Or, my personal favorite, the Mammut Element Barryvox (more money and a better interface/features): http://www.mammut.ch/en/productDetail/231000370_v_1012/ELEMENT+Barryvox.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroc Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Good review: http://www.backcountrymagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=565&Itemid=61 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stever Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 If you buy used you might be able into the manufacturer to make sure its ok. You are supposed to do that every 5 years or so anyway. Thanks, I actually didn't know that so I will just do that if I do go the used route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainwreck Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 The Ortovox S1 is only $274 at backcountry atm. Plus shipping back to Ortovox for the newest software update. Still a smoking deal though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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