Thank you BCA

[Scott]

Thank you Back Country Access, BCA for GREAT products, GREAT customer service and for being a GREAT company that supports multiple forms of winter recreational use on our public lands.

I had a canister that wasn't holding pressure last year. The canister is my spare and therefore I had never test fired it. I've had it for about 4 years, I'd say.
It would bleed all the way down to about 200 pounds and then just sat right there at 200.
I took it to a local shop twice. They kept it for about a month each time and they just couldn't get it to hold air.

Sent it to BCA this summer and they swapped out for a new one. No questions asked.

AWESOME!!!!
THANK YOU!!!

 

[Borderstaff]

I've always found BCA's customer support to be absolutely the best in the business... I've contacted them on 3 occasions. The first time was regarding a T1 beacon that had a cracked screw hole and I was worried about water intrusion. They had me send it in and in a week a brand new one showed up. More recently it was for a lost leg strap for a Float 20 bag and another time about a cracked buckle and they sent new replacements within the next day - no charge.

I have been so happy with their service that last night I bought a BCA MtnPro Float vest, BCA shovel and the knee and shin guards to upgrade from my older gear. I have also bought 4 of their beacons over the years.

I particularly like their presence at Haydays each year and this year I was able to have them refill a canister there. No charge while I enjoyed asking questions about the new MtnPro vest and talking snowmobiling.

Truly a great company. Thank you BCA!

 

[Trashy]

Same here, nothing but good things to say about the company and their products and even more so about the way they back them up!

I have owned a number of their Float packs, looking forward to trying out the Float 17 2.0 this year. No issues with the bags to date.

Have had two concerns over the years with beacons, a Tracker 1 and a Tracker 2, both were handled promptly. Running a Tracker 3 since they came out, really happy with it and have lots of hours of use (and practice) on it. So intuitive to use, especially in multiple burial scenarios. Thanks again, BCA!!

 

[FatDogX]

I would completely agree with the comments above!! I've run several Float packs and I'm on my second Mountain Pro Avy Vest and every time I call BCA, there wonderful to work with. They actually know what "customer service" still is!!

 

[Clark42]

A little while back both my tracker2 beacons needed a software update and they replaced them both with brand new ones no questions asked. Awesome company!

 

[Scott]

Not that this is the sole reason for good service, but they are dealing in a product line that nobody can afford for it to fail.
And since they have done so well to insure this, we are all the benefactor.

 

[NorthMNSledder]

Well I can't comment on their customer service dealing with any problems as my BCA gear as just flat out worked all the time. But I have dealt with them at Haydays every year and the product knowledge they have has always been great and they are more then willing to go the extra mile in helping find just the right gear for a person.

 

[Missy]

BCA is HANDS DOWN the best at what they do!
Year after year I am continually impressed with their products and their STELLAR service! THANK YOU BCA!

 

[Visi]

I have had 6 BCA radios and used 4 at work everyday this summer with flaggers and two excavator operators. They never failed. We broke the clips off of the mics and bodies of a couple. Called BCA and said I need to buy some. They said the would just ship them out. I have had no company ever do that. Will always look to them first for this.

 

[Ultra]

So if I have BCA canisters that bleed off every year I should be contacting BCA about replacements?
Cause at $50 to refill a can it gets a bit pricey every year. There are times a refill doesn't even last a season.
My plan this year was to start trading off my BCA airbags for fan type airbags.

 

[DDECKER]

So if I have BCA canisters that bleed off every year I should be contacting BCA about replacements?
Cause at $50 to refill a can it gets a bit pricey every year. There are times a refill doesn't even last a season.
My plan this year was to start trading off my BCA airbags for fan type airbags.

cold temps will mess with the compressed air a bit, you should be testing your life safety device every year, 50. $ sounds a bit extreme to me isn't there a better place that can fill them? also are they replacing the O rings?

 

[Maul]

I myself just had an awesome experience with BCA.

I purchased 2 radios about a year ago. Just recently they seemed to not be transmitting or receiving at much of a distance. I contacted BCA about the issue and asked if they could look at them to see if there was a problem. I sent them back per their request and a week later I had 2 brand new radios on my door step.

What absolutely great customer service. I also have 2 float 22's and would never think about using another brand.

Thanks BCA

 

[Trashy]

cold temps will mess with the compressed air a bit, you should be testing your life safety device every year, 50. $ sounds a bit extreme to me isn't there a better place that can fill them? also are they replacing the O rings?

I would agree with all of this. Even up here in Canada where we seem to overpay for everything I’m getting mine filled for $20.

I test fire them when new and every fall after that.

 

[Ultra]

cold temps will mess with the compressed air a bit, you should be testing your life safety device every year, 50. $ sounds a bit extreme to me isn't there a better place that can fill them? also are they replacing the O rings?

Looked at them today, 2 of the 3 are down again, about 700 psi. Yup new O rings every year and yes $50 per refill canister is quite extreme.

Ya I know test every year but not going to do it at this cost. Might blow off the 2 low ones this year, IDN. Need to do something different, not sure what that's going to be yet.

 

[Visi]

So if I have BCA canisters that bleed off every year I should be contacting BCA about replacements?
Cause at $50 to refill a can it gets a bit pricey every year. There are times a refill doesn't even last a season.
My plan this year was to start trading off my BCA airbags for fan type airbags.

That's crazy, I walked into my local Scuba shop and for $5 I walked out with a full canister.

 

[NorthMNSledder]

I'm at $20 here in MN to refill at most places and that includes the new o-ring. Everyone here seems to be the same price from what I have seen so far.

 

[Rich_mountain]

Anybody know about BCA's garage sale thing? I saw on a different forum somebody said something about something they do in Colorado? I tried to contact BCA about getting something a little more affordable for beacons and I got told, they don't sell used, scratch and dent or donate anything. I also asked about what items were "necessities for back country and what would be more "likes"" and got absolutely no reply. Not trying to bash them, because they do seem to have some of the best products on the market but there response to my asking was kind of short and cold, not very consumer friendly feeling. So again, do you guys know anything about their discounted sales or where to get good used equipment?

 

[NorthMNSledder]

Anybody know about BCA's garage sale thing? I saw on a different forum somebody said something about something they do in Colorado? I tried to contact BCA about getting something a little more affordable for beacons and I got told, they don't sell used, scratch and dent or donate anything. I also asked about what items were "necessities for back country and what would be more "likes"" and got absolutely no reply. Not trying to bash them, because they do seem to have some of the best products on the market but there response to my asking was kind of short and cold, not very consumer friendly feeling. So again, do you guys know anything about their discounted sales or where to get good used equipment?

My guess is that they don't sell any used ones because of the liability if there is any hidden issues with it. I have never heard of the garage sale thing but they do have a Web special section on the website but I have never seen any beacons there. I would also guess that if they do have any used ones around they are getting donated to some the instructors to use in avi classes maybe? From what I have seen the used market for beacons is pretty good with the prices staying up there a bit so you might not be saving much buying new. But you can sign up for their e-mails as they have sales from time to time and also you could catch a sale from a distributor that carries them. Possibly Craigslist and eBay for used ones??

But I am going to step up on the soap box for just a second and say that being it's a life saving device (yours or maybe someone else) this might be a purchase that you want to buy new and know for 100% certainty that you didn't get someone else's problem transceiver. And now I will step down.

If you are looking for more information about what Avi gear to carry. Can I suggest the Avalanche section here on Snowest for some discussion on it and www.backcountryascender.com as well as the avalanche1 website for Mike Duffy class information.

 

[srt20]

Looked at them today, 2 of the 3 are down again, about 700 psi. Yup new O rings every year and yes $50 per refill canister is quite extreme.

Ya I know test every year but not going to do it at this cost. Might blow off the 2 low ones this year, IDN. Need to do something different, not sure what that's going to be yet.

I'd contact BCA.

They fill them for free at Haydays, obviously you have to be there. But Maybe the go to a show somewhere near your area?
I dont always blow mine off every year. Just forget or whatever. But anyway I have gone 2 years without psi loss. Or if it did lose any, it was still in the "safe" zone.

And I start out at 900 ft elevation where I live, and go up to 11K or so and back down.

 

[Scott]

I'm at $20 here in MN to refill at most places and that includes the new o-ring. Everyone here seems to be the same price from what I have seen so far.

That's crazy, I walked into my local Scuba shop and for $5 I walked out with a full canister.

Looked at them today, 2 of the 3 are down again, about 700 psi. Yup new O rings every year and yes $50 per refill canister is quite extreme.

Ya I know test every year but not going to do it at this cost. Might blow off the 2 low ones this year, IDN. Need to do something different, not sure what that's going to be yet.

On the refill topic, I purchased a handfull of refill kits (the ones that come in the little baggies with the o-rings, toothpick, and vaseline)
When I take my canisters to Gull Boats and RV in Missoula, they charge $10 whether they use my refill kit or theirs. So I guesss I'll just hold onto my refill kits.

I'd contact BCA.

They fill them for free at Haydays, obviously you have to be there. But Maybe the go to a show somewhere near your area?
I dont always blow mine off every year. Just forget or whatever. But anyway I have gone 2 years without psi loss. Or if it did lose any, it was still in the "safe" zone.

And I start out at 900 ft elevation where I live, and go up to 11K or so and back down.

Yeah, they should NOT bleed, as BCA has told me. They should not budge from month to month or from one year to the next. Expecting them to hold for 5 years might be a stretch though.
Check them frequently to make sure they are holding. It's not a bad idea to take photos of the gauge and time stamp them. Go back and check the photos a couple months later.