 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Unfortunately the transceivers are all quite expensive. Even collapsible shovels and probes are more expensive than they should be. Captive market. And then you need a ruck-sack to hold them if you don't have one already. How much did your buddy pay?
My transceiver is a Tracker and is fairly simple to use, but it is a few years old and I'm not up to date on what is best now, or best-value.
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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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Have PMed you chaletgirl,
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| snowball wrote: |
Unfortunately the transceivers are all quite expensive. Even collapsible shovels and probes are more expensive than they should be. Captive market. And then you need a ruck-sack to hold them if you don't have one already. How much did your buddy pay?
My transceiver is a Tracker and is fairly simple to use, but it is a few years old and I'm not up to date on what is best now, or best-value. |
Thanx for that - I've been looking on ebay and am quit stunned at the costs of some of the kit. I kind of understand for the tranceivers as they are electronic and I guess you pay a premium for that kind of lifesaving kit. But a collapsible shovel and pointy thing??!!
I think he paid £325 or £345 for the whole lot. He was very happy - the tranceiver was a fairly new Ortovox (signal sent it either of two directions!).
I'll be saving for a while and see what happens - and what I can get 
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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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| davkt wrote: |
| Have PMed you chaletgirl, |
Thank you
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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chaletgirl, That price is too much. If it were in dollars rather than pounds, then perhaps. I think you should be able to do it for about £250 - most of that for the transceiver - if you shop around.
Edit: See here: http://www.backcountryaccess.com/product/tracker-dts/ or look on Amazon or ebay.
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We did some training yesterday and Mammut came out tops, ease of use and great for multiple bodies as you could block one person once you'd found them and set about finding the next. Mammut Element BARRYVOX Avalanche transceiver beacon, 2012 about £250
And no, I don't work for them, till yesterday I'd never even used one 
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robapplegate, Multiply burials??? .. Ok in theory. Find one in XX feet of snow when it is tonking down... white out, you're freezing, panicking, - not sure about your own life... Mmm the number of people I see giving up in the 'avalanche parks' because it's a 'difficult climb', or they can't get their probe through the crud. In more pratical situations.. how to dig.
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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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welshflyer, presumably the latter was second hand.
chaletgirl, most of the bargains I have noticed have been from the USA (ie outside the EEC).
I just checked and avalanche transceivers are duty free, but you might be charged 20% VAT if they notice. (I wasn't charged anything on skis I had sent to me on Ebay from the USA, but perhaps I was lucky). Plus postage of course.
On that basis it looks to me that it would still be worth while going this route.
My guess of £250 might be a bit low so far (though it might be possible) but shouldn't be more than £290 at the most for the 3 (new) items, I would have thought.
Be careful about second hand transceivers. You want to be sure it will not only work OK now, but have a long life ahead.
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads  on Tue 6-11-12 14:49; edited 1 time in total
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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www.blue-tomato.com start from €164.95 for a Pieps Set Light Freeride, shovel and probe. Eu based.
Having played with a couple last weekend, all transceivers are not equal and the Mammut Pulse had superior range and location than my BCA Tracker.
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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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...and then there's airbags. I thought about getting one until I saw the price. I'm afraid that at £450+, that particular piece of equipment will have to wait
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Boardban, that IS cheap.
Not got an airbag yet but they are lighter than when I looked, years ago.
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You know it makes sense.
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| snowball wrote: |
welshflyer, presumably the latter was second hand.
chaletgirl, most of the bargains I have noticed have been from the USA (ie outside the EEC).
I just checked and avalanche transceivers are duty free, but you might be charged 20% VAT if they notice. (I wasn't charged anything on skis I had sent to me on Ebay from the USA, but perhaps I was lucky). Plus postage of course.
On that basis it looks to me that it would still be worth while going this route.
My guess of £250 might be a bit low so far (though it might be possible) but shouldn't be more than £290 at the most for the 3 (new) items, I would have thought.
Be careful about second hand transceivers. You want to be sure it will not only work OK now, but have a long life ahead. |
Thank you for the info. I've saved your link and the BlueTomato link from BoardBan. And of course I have this thread to refer to!!
I'll have a look at whats available and when I think I have the money, I'll probably come back and confirm I'm getting something decent
xx
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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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If you send a malfunctioning transceiver back to the makers they will replace or rectify it - but I'm not sure if this is true if you got it second hand (?)
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Poster: A snowHead
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| snowball wrote: |
Boardban, that IS cheap.
Not got an airbag yet but they are lighter than when I looked, years ago. |
I believe its single antenna though, hence so cheap.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Personally I really rate the Ortovox kit. The 3+ is a very effective transceiver. The 240 Economic, is a solid probe. And finally the Kodiak is a brilliant shovel. Don't go cheap on safety kit would be my honest advice - you'll only regret it. Buy stuff that works ! Worth looking at the Facewest website as they often have some deals on there. Stay safe folks.....
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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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Transceivers are expensive but not extortionate. You can get the MkI BCA Tracker for £165
http://www.v12outdoor.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5383
You should be able to pick up a decent shovel for about £40 (e.g. Black Diamond Transfer) and a probe for about £30 (BD make good probes too) so that's about £230 all-in for good quality stuff from respected brands - so you won't be worrying that you've skimped on your safety kit. Just make sure you buy the lot before going off-piste as any individual piece of kit is useless without the other two. Also make sure you get a metal shovel rather than one with a plastic blade.
HTH
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| aly wrote: |
Also make sure you get a metal shovel rather than one with a plastic blade.
HTH |
Yes, if you have ever crossed an avalanche field, you know that stuff is quite hard.
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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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The Tracker 2 has three antennas. I used the first generation (can't remember which of those pictured it was, but it looked something like those) back when that came out. The Tracker 2 I've used for the last two seasons and those are currently my favourite. They're functionally the same in that they find buried transceivers, but they are obviously different in lots of ways. Does that matter... that's your choice. They all transmit.
I've also used various Ortovox digital transceivers and none of them did I like - they were all much too slow in my view. I've not used the latest Ortovox yet, but after years of analog domination they really lost the plot for a few years at least.
I hadn't realized that the Tracker 3 was here. They look very pretty
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I saw the Ortovox 3+ in use today, although only in practice on a grassy slope. It seemed good and easy to use. Two people who had never used a transceiver before got on OK with it.
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| Avalanche Academy wrote: |
| Don't go cheap on safety kit would be my honest advice - you'll only regret it. Buy stuff that works ! |
Best advice on the thread.
And get some training in how to use it.
chaletgirl - if you post which resort you're going to be in then you might find a friendly  who will help you learn how to use your transceiver.
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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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Of course the great thing about having transceiver, shovel and probe is being able to rescue others (strangers) if you are first on the scene - even if on a piste next to the off piste avalanche
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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qwertyuiop7, Looking at the images, I'd go with the second one. Your buddy's FAR closer, a mere 2.7m away compared to 45m 
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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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Kevin Stephens, ,
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Of course the great thing about having transceiver, shovel and probe is being able to rescue others (strangers) if you are first on the scene - even if on a piste next to the off piste avalanche |
Totally. I had planned to redo my first aid this summer but never got to it but I guess you don't forget
feef
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Looking at the images, I'd go with the second one. Your buddy's FAR closer, a mere 2.7m away compared to 45m
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Proper LOL!!!
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Check out Decathlon. The Stockport branch has Pieps Freeride at £119 and Arva Evolution 3 at £149 and I think they are online aswell. I understand that both are fairly basic but do a job. From the reviews I was checking out recently the next best 'budget' transceiver would be the BCA Tracker. They are doing various Ortovox probes and shovels starting at around the 20 quid mark. Got my shovel and probe last year when on special offer for less than 30 quid the pair.
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You know it makes sense.
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^^ Again, the Pieps Freeride is a single antenna beacon, outdated, and should probably be avoided - hence the cheapness. The DSP/DSP Tour are good options from Pieps, but more expensive.
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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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Tip, buy the best, then swap it with your mate.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Ortovox 3+ at £209. Would consider getting the whole kit thing as per Avalanche Academy's advice. I would advise against a 2 antenna beacon and I would not touch a 1 antenna beacon unless willing to get to a professional standard with the thing.
See:
http://www.peglers.co.uk/ortovox-3/
Incidently I did Avalanche Academy's day course last year as a refresher and it was probably the best 80 quid I've spent on any training ever.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Thanx again guys. There is a Decathlon not too far (I doubt I'll be driving!!) from the resort.
Think I'll go for the hardware and save up for the electronics. Will borrow/hire from the schools for now I think, then I know I have a good piece of kit in case needed.
Having read the avalanche story (Canada?) I feel that I would prefer to save for the best I can - and I already know I can use one from the school if I am going out and would need to take one (I have only skied on piste so far!!)
Cheers x
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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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Decathlon is now doing the EVO 3+ for £149. Has good review in wildsnow.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| BertieG wrote: |
| Decathlon is now doing the EVO 3+ for £149. Has good review in wildsnow. |
oooo - Hopefully they'll have the same deal at Albertville!!
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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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chaletgirl, you don't need "the best" top of the range transceiver but you need to know how to operate the one that you have. Having equipment without knowing how to use it is pointless. First aid is good but you need to train avalanche response too. And how to avoid avalanches and minimise exposure. This is more important than to have expensive transceiever with a programmed multiple burial function. The presumption is that multiple burial will be avoided. So hire whatever and get a training. When hiring for real-life skiing get something you can get familiar with very quickly, not something that has many fancy functions.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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You could also consider the Ortovox Zoom. They're a new budget offering from Ortovox, who are trying hard to reclaim their previous dominance of the transceiver market. It's 3 antenna, very stripped down and simple (a good thing IMO), set to retail at under £200. Only problem is it won't be in the UK until early December.
I wouldn't use a 2 antenna transceiver. We deliberately took the decision not to stock the DTS because I didn't want to sell anything I wouldn't be happy using myself.
Also, totally agree with the comments on plastic shovels. Get a metal one- 6061 T6 aluminium is best.
The Tracker 3 isn't out yet. We don't know what the launch date will be, apparently BCA are still optimising it.
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Sat 22-12-12 16:33; edited 1 time in total
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http://www.absolute-snow.co.uk
These guys are reasonably priced and if you do a google search there is usually a ten pound voucher kicking about somewhere. Despite being annoyingly expensive it isn't a piece of kit that you want to cheap out on so make sure you do a bit of research and get a good, simple to use transciever.
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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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| evski wrote: |
Also, totally agree with the comments on plastic shovels. Get a metal one- 6061 T6 aluminium is best.
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Yes, if you have ever skied over avalanche debris you will know how hard it is: it compacts on impact. You need metal not just for strength but also the sharper edge.
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^ what snowball says.
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FAQ
).
