whats the beacon to have

[tincouch1212]

i go out west snowmobiling out west 3 times a year and we are going to invest in avalanche beacons this year. What is the best beacon for the money? Where is the best place to buy? And do all beacons work together even if you have different brand names? I dont want to buy one not knowing about it and have junk!!
Thanks

 

[decarls]

good questions, our group is doing the same thing this year and we were wondering the same things. hopefully mike duffy will be able to answer our questions on the 6th when he puts the class on in aitkin. it'd be nice to find somewhere that had some sort of group discounts.

 

[jomama]

Avalanche Beacon

I have a tracker and my friends use trackers. They're SIMPLE!
Most work on the same freq. (pieps, trackers ect.)
Some beacons have too many extra functions. SIMPLE is the best. If you have to actually use this thing, you will be in the most stressed situation of your life and will want as little chance for mistakes as possible.

should be about $290 per unit. You can buy online.
You need to get a probe and shovel as well! -

Take a general avalanche course - you can find info on avalanche.org
The course will help you to never have to use the beacon outside of practice!

Most important - get your friends to take the class and practice finding a beacon. They're the ones who will have to dig you up!

Hope this helps

 

[pwdrhogRMK800]

Second the Tracker, I have one and its simple and easy to use..

 

[CatWoman]

I put this link in the avy section (under Avy links). It's a beacon review site.

Trackers are easy to use. I have one of those, and a Ortovox F1 (strictly analog, but longer range). The F1 is a good beacon, but requires lots of practice to be proficient with it. Actually you need to practice with any of them, but the Tracker is probably easiest out of the box.

Glad to see you preparing ahead of time!!!

 

[Good to Go]

Old Snowest discussion

Bunch of info over there.

LINK to Beacon Reviews

 

[LEE]

Tracker is good one for anyone to use. Also have had an SOS that I liked.
Practice with whatever you decide to buy.

 

[buck50]

i have the barryvox and like it very much. all the new digital ones are pretty good, very simple to use. point and go! but like others have said, practice with them so you KNOW how to use it when the time comes. i can't believe how many people i know or have met that have never practiced with their beacons."It'll be easy, i'm not worried"! what a load of crap. the first time you try it you'll see that it takes some getting used to, and i's rather not have you getting "used" to it when i'm buried in the snow(knock on wood)!!!

 

[BadBunny]

Been using SOS from Day One and really like them.

SOS LINK

 

[SnowSnob]

I felt the Pieps was the best for the money.
GrandpaJ on here sells them for $275 best deal.

 

[XC700116]

A group of us from MN bought Trackers from Barbwire1 on here for like 215 shipped on a group buy. By far the best deal we've found. they are easy to use but like everyone said before practice practice practice.

 

[SnowBigDeal]

Here is my .02:

Tracker DTS - By far the easiest to use and the most popular beacon in the world. Anyone can use it with very little instruction for single burials, even my 5 year old knows how to use it. However, I still recommend you practice a lot with it.

Pieps DSP - This beacon has long range and is more intuitive when it comes to multiple burials. However, the processor is slower on the pieps than on the tracker, so sometimes if you are going really fast, the pieps may miss the signal for just a second. (We only stock the most recent version, version 5.0)

Mammut Pulse - IMO this beacon is the easiest for multiple burials, it also has analog and digital processing, so that increases the range. It also has a feature that senses motion and will inform you of other pulse beacons and whether or not the beacon detects motion. However, this beacon has a menu and it is even possible to get the menu into chinese. So if you are not one who likes to play around with menu's, then this beacon probably isn't for you.

Whatever you do, make sure you get a beacon that is digital. The old analog only beacons are much more difficult to learn how to use effectively.

PM me with any questions, or for technical specifications visit our website: http://www.snowbigdeal.com

If you're looking for a group buy, PM me and let me know how many you are looking for and I will get you a quote

 

[tomx]

Good deal ($229) on BCA Tracker DTS:
http://www.dogfunk.com/dogfunk/BCA0...l?CMP_ID=SH_SHP003&CMP_SKU=BCA0018&mv_pc=r110

 

[minnesotam7]

most in are group use the Tracker DTS. Very simple to use and not real expensive

 

[cuder]

Avalanche education

Check this site for education classes while you are in the west, if around Bozeman,MT........... www.mtavalanche.com, also for avalanche info.

All modern beacons use the "457mhz" and are compatible. Go to a dealer and check them out. If the dealer will not let you "touchy feely" them find another dealer. Then decide what you like and where to buy them.

It does not matter what you buy if you and your group do not practice, practice, practice. Also use and store the beacon, probe, and shovel in the correct manner.

 

[Ace Freely]

DTS Tracker. Easy to use. Unfortunatly know from experiance.


Ace

 

[Wyoming T/A]

DTS trackers are top of the line and very user friendly

 

[Leterip]

I know 4 of us that have the dts tracker, and they all have had the same problems, sometimes they don't come on when you switch them on. and once in a while they will be off when you check on them. we are getting really nervous about this problem, and of coarse they are just out of their warranty. but other than this issue they have been good.

 

[Wyoming T/A]

I know 4 of us that have the dts tracker, and they all have had the same problems, sometimes they don't come on when you switch them on. and once in a while they will be off when you check on them. we are getting really nervous about this problem, and of coarse they are just out of their warranty. but other than this issue they have been good.

why dont you contact BCA and see if they would take care of them.had mine for 4 years and never a problem

 

[SnowBigDeal]

why dont you contact BCA and see if they would take care of them.had mine for 4 years and never a problem

I agree, call BCA and see what they can do for you. That is not a good problem to have. BCA is usually pretty good at taking care of peeps. Their number is 303-417-1345. If you bought them from us, PM me your name and approximate purchase date and I will go to bat for you.