 Poster: A snowHead
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I have booked myself to the EOSB off piste clinic. If it all goes well, I intend to further go off-piste. But even at this initial phase, I intend to buy a reliable transceiver, probe and shovel and throw it in my back pack for any case. Hopefully at a good price.
Any recommendation regarding what and where?
TIA
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hi @drporat you'll probably find someone on the EoSB who can lend you the kit.
One thing is certain, you'll get plenty of advice there.
And probably in the next few minutes plenty of advice here as well.
I cant help here at all as I'm pretty much a piste only person these days.
See you on the 20th 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Don't skimp on the shovel and probe, plastic shovels are widely accepted as best used for digging the car out, not digging your ski buddy out. Probe I think is considered best to have at least 3m length?
I think any of the Ortovox & Mammut transceivers are fairly well reviewed and a number of snowheads use the BCA Tracker as well.
Worth looking out for the package type deals, e.g Mammut do a shovel, probe and beep all together.
I picked up a deal for a K2 Backside kit which is a rucksack with shovel and probe included. I then managed to pick up an Ortovox S1 which someone was selling on here. Mad to spend so much money on something that I hope I never have to use.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@drporat, there are few really bad transceivers these days... I'd suggest talking to people at the bash.
Lending kit faor the clinics not should not be an issue... 2 have offered through the lesson topic, and admin has a few sets first come first served.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@drporat, if you have eyesight issues, make sure that you go for a transceiver that you can actually read! Although I liked the Ortovox and what it could do, I couldn't read it very well without reading glasses and went instead for the BCA which was super-clear. Struggling to locate reading glasses when you're needing to find a buried companion is not an option.
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@Hurtle, the Ortovox S1+ has a lovely big screen, although it's LCD so might not suit all. What I really like about it is how simply it goes from send to receive because it just flips open.
Another thought, worth making sure that whatever beep you get has the function where it reverts to send if you're motionless for a certain amount of time (i.e you've been caught in a secondary). I suspect that survival statistics in that situation are pretty low, but if I'm in that situation I don't want to be laying there thinking "I wish".
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| Ronald wrote: |
@drporat, there are few really bad transceivers these days... I'd suggest talking to people at the bash.
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Worth also trying to compare the range of different models. In my group on the SOPiB this year, we had 5 different models of transceiver. We did a range check, with a beacon buried about 20cm under the snow. One beacon (possibly a BCA Tracker DTS - can't remember) lost the signal about 10 metres away. Most of the others got to 20+. My Pieps DSP Sport got out to about 30-35, and the Mammut Barryvox went another 5 metres or so. The difference between the best and worst was striking - and all the beacons were relatively modern.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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The bca tracker dts is a obsolete discontinued two antenna model which was good in its day but not up to the latest three antenna generation. Surprisingly still a lot going about.
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| mgrolf wrote: |
| [One beacon (possibly a BCA Tracker DTS - can't remember) lost the signal about 10 metres away. Most of the others got to 20+. My Pieps DSP Sport got out to about 30-35, and the Mammut Barryvox went another 5 metres or so. The difference between the best and worst was striking - and all the beacons were relatively modern. |
We did a similar test at the PSB - the Mammut Barryvox and the Pieps DSP Sport had the best range, the Mammut with the sending transceiver oriented one way, and the Pieps with it oriented the other way.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Tom Doc wrote: |
| mgrolf wrote: |
| [One beacon (possibly a BCA Tracker DTS - can't remember) lost the signal about 10 metres away. Most of the others got to 20+. My Pieps DSP Sport got out to about 30-35, and the Mammut Barryvox went another 5 metres or so. The difference between the best and worst was striking - and all the beacons were relatively modern. |
We did a similar test at the PSB - the Mammut Barryvox and the Pieps DSP Sport had the best range, the Mammut with the sending transceiver oriented one way, and the Pieps with it oriented the other way. |
I did a similar one in Baqueira in Jan. My BCA Tracker 3 (3 antenna so not like the DTS) was somewhere between the Pieps and the Barryvox as I recall
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@drporat, As mentioned above, all current transceivers have to meet the industry standard, but some will exceed it.
The main reference for transceivers is the Beacon Reviews site : https://beaconreviews.com/transceiver_reviews.php
I’ve tried and used in tests all the main transceivers, and they really do behave differently in different situations. So for example standing 40m away, some will give a positive direct arrow, but others give either no signal, or the wrong direction. Some will give a strong direction, but if the sending transceiver is rotated 90 degrees either vertically or horizontally, it loses the signal.
For me the fine search was the biggest difference. When carrying the transceiver at waist height to simulate a 1m deep burial, the bracketing accuracy varies between transceivers. For me the original Barryvox, and now the new Barryvox S were the most accurate in terms of long range and fine search accuracy. I could often walk straight to the searched for transceiver, with the arrow never wavering. The automated guided fine search on the Barryvox is particularly good. It instructs you how to move then gives an initial probe position, in many cases the initial probe hit the transceiver on the first probe.
The other thing is to treat your transceiver as a precision instrument, and keep the software updated, and lastly practice, practice, practice.
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You know it makes sense.
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@PowderAdict, you’re right about practice!
Having been through the https://beaconreviews.com/transceiver_reviews.php I bought the Pieps DSP for both myself and @Wendyjh & find it very intuitive to use. We haven’t yet had to use them for real & hope never to.
A couple of years ago we went on Henry’s Avalanche Talk training on Wimbledon Common on which there was a guy who had been involved in an avalanche & seen a couple of friends killed. He told us the shock of it makes it very difficult to get people to act - even getting them to switch their transceivers to search mode. The advice he gave is that someone needs to take control of the situation to stop the panic.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Another Pieps DSP user here. I've never needed to use it in anger but in training events, it's been simple and very effective to use.
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Poster: A snowHead
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As you can see from the replies, there is no correct answer.
Transeivers - I have the Barryvox as it seemed the easiest to use for me. (the difference to the old early digital Ortovox it replaced is incredible). If you could get your hands on a few and give them a go, you’ll find the one that “feels” like it works best for you. After that, it’s practice. Familiarity with your device is crucial. As alluded to above, in a real live situation a clear thought process is difficult so trying to learn your device at the same time will lead to poor outcomes. It’s should be (as near as possible) automatic.
Shovel – make sure it’s a metal handle, don’t get a gimmicky one that turns into something else and it’s worth considering a D handle is a lot nicer to dig with than a T.
Probe – Don’t go too short! The idea of a 2m probe might appeal as light and small but remember how tall you are. Short probes slow down the probing process, you want to be stood up, not bending down/on your knees all the time.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I've been shopping around for avi kit and eventually ordered from Sport Conrad.
I bought a Mammut Barryvox and BCA shovel - can't remember what probe.
If bought together as a package, prices seem to be quite competitive
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FAQ
