What kind of avalanche beacons should I consider?

[diffracted]

Some friends of mine introduced me to Alpine Touring this last year and I have to say, I am hooked. So, I have been slowly building up my own equipment. I am finally down to looking at avalanche beacons. I have been looking and reading reviews at the online stores but I thought I might check with the forum to see what everyone has to say. So, which kind of beacon should I look into buying and why?

[powderface]

Search engine JONG! Forgot the beacon, pack some tuna and bring your're dog. He'll dig you out!

[Below Zero]

Buy a Tracker. Why? Because I said so!

[pechelman]

hear great things about the peips dsp

[skifree]

Pieps dsp is supposed to be a great beacon. If you're an unexperienced user, go with the Pieps or BCA tracker.
Alot of experienced users also like the Ortovox F1.

[f2f]

you should definitely get your life-saving equipment advice on teh intarweb!

sign up for an avalanche course first, then worry about what kind of beacon you should get.

[soul_skier]

pieps DSP, for mutiple burials, it wins hands down

[Arty50]

sign up for an avalanche course first, then worry about what kind of beacon you should get.

Just be sure you buy something before you attend said class. Most Avy instructors are trained in the use of all beacons. I think it's a requirement of Avy III, or so I've been told. So your best bet is to come with your own beacon and have the instructor help you with it if necessary. For instance, in my Avy I class they handed out ancient blue Ortovoxes to those who didn't bring a beacon. Several people had brought their own Trackers too, and the instructor knew the model well and was able to help them refine their search techniques too. It's all about practicing with what YOU will own, not what they offer you in the class.

As for what to buy, DTS Tracker or Pieps DSP. I have a DSP and love it. Much better range than the Tracker and better with multiples.

Whatever you do end up getting remember these important things
1) Read the manual
2) Practice
3) Practice
4) Practice

[wstdeep]

I really like my Tracker, fast easy to use and easy to learn.

whatever you get practice, get an old ortovox have someone bury it, find it , do it again.....

[Cirquerider]

The Mammut Barryvox is a reliable analog/digital beacon that a few of us oberved to go on sale for only $199 last year just before christmaa...just after we'd already paid full price (minus the 20% maggot discount from Backcounty). I'm OK with that. Mine came in time for the Avy I class.

Check it out, if you can get a device that sends a signal at 457 mHz, you too could get your dumb ass rescued if your forgot everything else and got into an avalance. More importantly, if you have a device that you know how to use, you could dig my ass out of the snow if I get stupid. Now, don't get me wrong, I have watched people who proudly owned beacons that didn't even know how to put them into receive mode and read the results. Don't be one of them.

[bio-smear]

Your run of the mill studfinder commonly found at Lowes or Home Depot can also act as a good substitute if all you need is to appease the rangers at the backcountry registration, or put the minds of your fellow thrillseekers at ease.

Sarcasm alert for those who missed this classic thread

[bad_roo]

A used one.

[BakerBoy]

Your run of the mill studfinder commonly found at Lowes or Home Depot can also act as a good substitute if all you need is to appease the rangers at the backcountry registration, or put the minds of your fellow thrillseekers at ease.

Sarcasm alert for those who missed this classic thread

I plan on calling people from my cell while buried, dumbass. I've got Blutetooth!

[Boomer28]

was wondering when the studfinder would come up.......

hey I have RICO in my jacket, at least my family will get closure by finding my corpse eventually...............

[bio-smear]

was wondering when the studfinder would come up.......

hey I have RICO in my jacket, at least my family will get closure by finding my corpse eventually...............

Uncle Rico?

[diffracted]

Thanks for the info! I appreciate all of your feedback.

[Hicks]

I'm using the Tracker and am pleased with it. The Pieps and Tracker are both recommendable.

Extended practice tests performed by the Alpine Club here confirmed what has been said before. The Pieps is an excellent choice for long range and multiple burials whereas the Tracker performed best on fine search (lowest deviation). The Club went with Trackers as their standard beacon.
But also as said before practice is the key rather than the type of beacon.

[taz]

I've got a pieps and I have to say i'd recomend it to anyone. You get free software upgrades each year and service. if some thing is not right you know it will get fixed. simple to use. but yeah the thing that sold me was the whole service thing.