Avalanche safety gear

N

Nylle

New member
I love powder as much as the next guy, but I must confess that I never have had the (required) safety gear for it.. I'm a student, so scraping enough cash together for a week in the alps is hard enough, but I feel guilty for not having the necessary gear..So my question: Could you recommend a basic safety gear pack?

I think a long the lines of:

Beeper (It seems like a douche thing to only have a 'sender' do you agree?)

Probe

Shovel?

Backpack (obv. don't got money for an ABS one) - for carrying the probe and an eventual shovel.

Lastly, any brands I should avoid or that you could recommend?

 
A brain and training is the most important thing, all the best gear in the world is not going to do shit if you don't know how to use it. It may seem intuitive sitting in your warm and safe house but having to find a buried buddy is a whole different story. GET YOUR AVY 1 OR AT LEAST do a lot of beacon practice with experienced friends. Until (and even after) you know your shit keep it mellow and safe and ALWAYS go with people who know what they're doing.

As far as gear goes you'll need a beacon, shovel, probe, and pack. Avalungs and ABS systems are useful but not absolutely necessary. There is absolutely no reason to get a send only beacon. Any digital 2 or 3 antenna beacon will work, the best beacon is the one that you know how to use, but it's worth it to spend a little more money and get a nicer beacon (for example 3 antenna beacons are more accurate). Don't get a single antenna or analog beacon.



Most companies sell packages with beacons, probes, shovels, and sometimes packs. BCA's basic package is probably the cheapest but the tracker DTS isn't the greatest beacon. While BCA is most likely the cheapest and makes good gear orthovox and mammut tend to make a better product. I'd check out their packages first and see if you can afford them.

Again get some training before you go into the BC and always go with people who know what they're doing!
 
Knowledge = powder

Buy your beacon/probe/shovel in a kit and get a great deal and save money..

Buy a 3-antenna beacon.

Dont cheap out on a shovel, get a really strong one, you can find tests online.. Shovel needs to be strong enough to handle avy debris wich is like concrete.

Dont cheap out on a probe, get a long one, not something stupid like 200cm..

You can find avalungs for cheap..

Buy your beacon/probe/shovel in a kit and get a great deal and save money..

Knowledge = powder : follow an avy course, read books and train all skills to save your buddy..

Have fun!
 
you definitely need a beacon, probe and shovel to go in the bc. also make sure all of them are easily accessible in the case of an emergency. however, the biggest thing is knowledge and knowing how to be safe. the gear is for worst case scenarios, you want to never have to use any of it. learn to avoid situations that are dangerous that could harm yourself or others. it is STRONGLY recommended you get your avy 1, at a minimum practice with your beacon and have friends teach you how to properly use your gear and bc safety
 
Lots of good advice in her already and I don't see the need to go repeating it. So I'll answer your question about the "basic safety gear pack". I beleive that Ortovox does two different tsp packs (transceiver,shovel,probe) and offers them at a very resonable price. One pack features the 3+ transceiver and the other features the Zoom+. Do some reading on the two transceivers and find out which one is the most appropriate for your needs an then pick the pack appropriately. Since your are a new transceiver user look for one with a simple user friendly interface. The ability to mark transceivers as 'found' is also an asset in multi burial situations. When purchasing your transceiver ask yourself whether you really need the more advanced multi burial functions often found on the higher end models, these are more typically suited to patrollers/guides rather than first time users like yourself.
 
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