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Beacon Q's

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elliotness
Posts: 106 - Karma: 13
Thinking about getting a beacon and therefore have some questions

does it matter having one if the people you ride with don't

what is the easiest beacon to use

do they break easily


Sep 11 2011 5:12PM
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.jon
Posts: 2121 - Karma: 345
the BCA tracker dts beacon is incredibly popular and easy to use. it doesn't have tremendous range or anything, but it does the trick for most people and its simplicity is hugely important.

about the durability, i don't imagine you'd ever break it unless you managed to hit your side on a rock pretty hard (in which case you'd have bigger problems). It you wear it like you're supposed to it's pretty protected because you'll naturally try to avoid slamming yourself in that area.
Sep 11 2011 5:22PM
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Sklar
Posts: 8864 - Karma: 31,612
1st question:
a beacon is useless unless your partners have them, too, unless you want to wait until someone with a beacon comes to find your dead body.

I have only used BCA beacons, and don't know a whole lot about others, but the tracker and tracker 2 are fairly easy to use.

Never had durability issues, just make sure you keep the batteries fresh.

MAKE SURE YOU, AND YOUR PARTNERS, KNOW HOW TO USE THEM BEFORE YOU GO OUT.
Get some friends, get some beacons, practice practice practice
an avalanche level 1 class can be a good place to start, there are a lot of good books on backcountry safety, too.
Or you could also find someone more experienced than you and see if hey can help you learn as well.

The backcountry is dangerous, good decision skills, and the knowledge of everyone in the group on how to use their equipment and conduct a rescue is incredibly important.
Sep 11 2011 5:23PM
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elliotness
Posts: 106 - Karma: 13
thanks guys
another Q price do you ever find used beacons?
Sep 11 2011 5:26PM
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.jon
Posts: 2121 - Karma: 345
yeah you can... perhaps i'm just overly cautious but i wouldn't buy a used beacon. there's just something about buying a device that your life might depend on that i don't wanna mess around with. who knows what issues that beacon has had in the past or whether it'll soon deteriorate...
Sep 11 2011 5:29PM
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blatt
Posts: 5584 - Karma: 3,097
If you go out of bounds, it's a MUST to have a beacon. If you get buried, you're good as dead without one. Rescue is not possible. All your friends should have one

Tracker 2. Best beacon out there. Don't have to estimate distance which makes it amazing.

Beacons last quite a while, but it's good to buy a new one every 5-10 years just b/c of how fast technology evolves.
Sep 11 2011 8:57PM
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