probe in the baggie or out?

[laseranimal]

is there a consensus?

do you keep your avie probe in the bag that it comes in when its in your pack or not

[pechelman]

out
my pack has a beacon sleeve

(la mieje)

[Hacksaw]

out
my pack has a beacon sleeve

(la mieje)

I think he means probe sleeve......

[soul_skier]

I honestly don't understand the point of keeping the probe in the bag, its just another way to waste time

[slaymore_sessions]

I feel like it's a bigger waist of time if the probe gets hung up on something inside your pack when you're pulling it out. It's pretty much one motion to pull the sleve out of your pack and off anyway.

[summit]

depends on your pack and your probe. my osprey pack i keep it in the back. my BD covert it is out of the bag in a sleeve.

[pechelman]

I think he means probe sleeve......

of course he did

i mistyped and meant to say my pack has a bacon sleeve

yea
i know

you're all jealous

never go into avy terrain without your bacon

[Avalanche_Observer]

As Summit mentioned, it really depends on your pack and the probe. Before I had my BD covert, the pack wasn't conducive to keeping the probe outside of the sleeve it came in and it was a real pain in the neck to keep things organized when I would begin taking things in/out of the pack. Now that I have the BD covert, all of my avalanche equipment goes into the front compartment specifically designed for the (unsleeved) probe, shovel and saw. The rest of my gear goes into the main compartment.

I have nothing to do with any sales of any sort, but I would highly recommend the BD covert to anyone doing backcountry skiing. The AvaLung is great and the tidy separate pouch for the avalanche probe, shovel, and saw are REALLY convenient (no excuses not to take them with this pack!! ). The pack is very durable and light - so light, in fact, that I took it (AvaLung and all) on a "cold turkey" hike to the summit of Quandary Peak this summer - no problems with the weight or size of the pack. It is an investment, but a worthwhile one IMO.

[Shaggy]

While we're on the subject, what's the general opinion on probe/shovel combos where the probe stores in the shovel's handle?

[Toby]

The general opinion is they suck. Probes are usually too short (and maybe too flimsy compared to a proper one?). Do a search, it's been discussed.

[Core Shot]

^^^what he said. If you have the pole in the shovel setup, show your intellegence by never going on the mountain with the probe inside the handle.

1) it takes too long to deploy
2) if you drop that spring clip in the heat of battle and it falls in the snow, you have no shovel
3) they are short and flimsy

When you can, buy a real probe and throw the other one out, but until then, do not store the probe in the handle.

[nesta]

i keep the bag my probe comes in at home for summer storage. During the winter it's in my pack naked save for two thick elastic bands ( from broccoli works well) holding the sections together as a unit. Those suckers come off really quickly and usually go right into my pocket, and if I miss, no big deal, I've usually got some in the kitchen drawer.

[Ermine]

is there a consensus?

Doesn't look like it:

Bag duct-taped to shovel handle
probe in bag
cord on shovel
assemble blade to shovel handle, loop cord and all set for yo-yo skiing on short slopes

[Conundrum]

Doesn't look like it:

Bag duct-taped to shovel handle
probe in bag
cord on shovel
assemble blade to shovel handle, loop cord and all set for yo-yo skiing on short slopes

I used to do this until the infinite wisdom machine that is my mountain management stopped letting people board the lift with just a shovel.

Their rationale was that anyone with just a shovel was only building jumps. I tried to fight it but to no avail. Now I just use a little daypack.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Make sure all your rescue gear is easy to get to and put together. If your pack does not have a sleeve, fold the top of the bag down and duct tape so you have about 3" showing. I help facilitate avi education classes. The first thing I do is have every one take out and assemble their probe and shovel. It takes most people forever.

[Ermine]

I used to do this until the infinite wisdom machine that is my mountain management stopped letting people board the lift with just a shovel.

Their rationale was that anyone with just a shovel was only building jumps. I tried to fight it but to no avail. Now I just use a little daypack.

Ahh, even if we're riding the lifts for access, we still bring the packs. You know, water, extra clothing/gloves, clinometer, food, sunblock, cord or saw, spare binding parts/tools, first aid kit, Irish Cream, etc. Outside of longer Spring descents, many times we skin up to a slope, check it out, drop our packs at the top or bottom along our skin track (depends upon our exit strategy), and stop by the packs on each yo-yo.

Here, one partner uses the Sling Blade (along w/ the pack):
http://www.life-link.com/llpacks.htm

[nesta]

Make sure all your rescue gear is easy to get to and put together. If your pack does not have a sleeve, fold the top of the bag down and duct tape so you have about 3" showing. I help facilitate avi education classes. The first thing I do is have every one take out and assemble their probe and shovel. It takes most people forever.

even if I'm not going to probe or dig, sometimes I'll just whip off my pack and practice getting probe & shovel assembled in as short as time as possible. I find it's like the equivalent of practicing your quick draw as a gunslinger in the wild west.

[Shaggy]

^^^what he said. If you have the pole in the shovel setup, show your intellegence by never going on the mountain with the probe inside the handle.

1) it takes too long to deploy
2) if you drop that spring clip in the heat of battle and it falls in the snow, you have no shovel
3) they are short and flimsy

When you can, buy a real probe and throw the other one out, but until then, do not store the probe in the handle.

Thanks for clearing that up, makes sense.

I'm actually just starting to put together my touring setup. I saw the probe shovel combos but found it weird that no one else had one, hence the question.

[SJP]

The bag is long gone... too finicky for efficient travel.

I keep the probe contained with an old school leather ski strap. They're very useful.

Probe and shovel inside the pack... of course.

[Obi-Jong Kenobi]

i'd keep it in the sleeve. The sleeve is designed to go around the probe.