any feedback on these? I’m thinking of adding them to our stock, I think the 3AXES has the benefit of spike resolution and, roughly, the EVO3 would be on a par with the original tracker

I will have to chase up Nic-Impex and see where they are and if they have resolved the issues that were reported.

I think the 3 Axes is being replaced by the Axis and by the Link. Very interesting beacons, but the Link had quite a lot of software trouble last year. They have come up with an update though. The Evo 3 is now Evo 3+ and has an added indication for multiple victims, counting up to 3 and indicating more than 3. It is cheap, but the marking function is not as good as that of the Barryvox (Mammut) Element (which is cheap as well).

Likes Evo 3+:
ease of use
safety system to turn it on

Dislikes:
4 battery’s
vulnerability display

Rolf - 22 September 2011 09:12 AM

I think the 3 Axes is being replaced by the Axis and by the Link. Very interesting beacons, but the Link had quite a lot of software trouble last year. They have come up with an update though. The Evo 3 is now Evo 3+ and has an added indication for multiple victims, counting up to 3 and indicating more than 3. It is cheap, but the marking function is not as good as that of the Barryvox (Mammut) Element (which is cheap as well).

Likes Evo 3+:
ease of use
safety system to turn it on

Dislikes:
4 battery’s
vulnerability display

I think we would have a couple of Mammut Elements providing we get some reasonable pricing on them. Right now they’re not cheap, Mammut Switzerland are listing them at 390 chf which is far from cheap when you consider a Tracker 2 retails for about 299 euros.  I’m also not aware of anywhere having any Elements on sale right now.

I don’t know about the expensive Swiss Franc, but the Element should do about € 100,- cheaper than the Pulse!
So € 299,- would indeed be a good target.

I don’t think they ar on sale yet. We have a couple of samples (with print on them in bold ‘SAMPLE’!)right now and they perform OK.

Rolf - 22 September 2011 04:20 PM

I don’t know about the expensive Swiss Franc, but the Element should do about € 100,- cheaper than the Pulse!
So € 299,- would indeed be a good target.

I don’t think they are on sale yet. We have a couple of samples (with print on them in bold ‘SAMPLE’!)right now and they perform OK.

How have you found the Element? It sounds like they’ve eliminated a lot of the stuff you don’t really need (apart from the direct indicator not pointing behind but I think this is the subject of an Ortovox German patent[1]). They say it is aimed at the occasional user but it seems that is pitching it too low, probably for marketing reasons. Victim selection is also no longer possible, but then maybe multi-victim searches are fairly rare http://pistehors.com/news/ski/comments/0817-multiple-avalanche-burials-rarer-than-you-think/ but this might be a deal breaker for guides and leaders.

[1] http://pistehors.com/news/ski/comments/0999-ortovox-wins-patent-case-against-pulse/

davidof - 22 September 2011 04:31 PM

Rolf - 22 September 2011 04:20 PM

I don’t know about the expensive Swiss Franc, but the Element should do about € 100,- cheaper than the Pulse!
So € 299,- would indeed be a good target.

I don’t think they are on sale yet. We have a couple of samples (with print on them in bold ‘SAMPLE’!)right now and they perform OK.

How have you found the Element? It sounds like they’ve eliminated a lot of the stuff you don’t really need (apart from the direct indicator not pointing behind but I think this is the subject of an Ortovox German patent[1]). They say it is aimed at the occasional user but it seems that is pitching it too low, probably for marketing reasons. Victim selection is also no longer possible, but then maybe multi-victim searches are fairly rare http://pistehors.com/news/ski/comments/0817-multiple-avalanche-burials-rarer-than-you-think/ but this might be a deal breaker for guides and leaders.

[1] http://pistehors.com/news/ski/comments/0999-ortovox-wins-patent-case-against-pulse/

It’s supposed to be more or less the same apart from lacking the advanced mode, so no analog mode, as you say no victim selection which also means no triage info about victims moving. It’s software upgradeable which I reckon is essential in devices like this and I think it works with the same fleet management software as the Pulse.

I’d have said the stuff you get in advanced mode is fantastic but is more likely than not to get 99% of recreational users in serious trouble. The advanced mode is more difficult to use, in my opinion, than using something like an F1 and requires more practise. If you can use it though it’s incredible. The analog range is incredible, if you want to sweep a debris field to determine if you’ve any contacts at all then that’s the way to do it.

We have pulses, mine’s in advanced mode but otherwise basic mode is just fine.

We’ve got 5 sets of gear right now but it looks, based on bookings, that we need three more sets or four if I retire the Tracker 1 we still use. I think there’s a lot of advantage to me to have different models, at the right price, so the ARVA looks a good deal and I’ve always wanted a Pieps DSP and I may even get an iProbe

I have an Arva Evo 3, and I like the fact that it switches on when you attach the harness (like the old analogue ortovoxes), it’s reasonably light, and it’s simple. I’m pleased to say I haven’t used it in anger, s I can’t really comment on it’s usefulness. I bought it on the recommendation of this website:

http://beaconreviews.com/transceivers/

davidof - 22 September 2011 04:31 PM

How have you found the Element? It sounds like they’ve eliminated a lot of the stuff you don’t really need (apart from the direct indicator not pointing behind but I think this is the subject of an Ortovox German patent[1]). They say it is aimed at the occasional user but it seems that is pitching it too low, probably for marketing reasons. Victim selection is also no longer possible, but then maybe multi-victim searches are fairly rare http://pistehors.com/news/ski/comments/0817-multiple-avalanche-burials-rarer-than-you-think/ but this might be a deal breaker for guides and leaders.
[1] http://pistehors.com/news/ski/comments/0999-ortovox-wins-patent-case-against-pulse/

We have a big transceiver venue next week. http://snowsafety.nl/PIEPERFEST_11.html
And good connections seem to work!

Victim selection is not possible, but marking of victims works fine (that is: in our preliminary ‘test’ ). It doesn’t have a 360 degrees indicator, but an arrow will tell you when to turn around. The Element misses a compass (this design decision was made before the Ortovox patent case, I heard) and therefore the direction indication is much more ‘jumpy’ then you’ll find with a Pulse. In my opinion, and paradoxically, that is a pity for occasional users. They need all the help they can get! So here is the funny thing: ‘expensive’ transceivers with compass are more suitable for occasional users and expert users probably could do without it!

It is an interesting idea to delete all the gizmos you’ll find on the Pulse. I agree that they are probably confusing for 95% of the people. The Basic profile in the Pulse’s V 3.0 was a good idea and the Element comes close to this Basic profile. BUT IT’S NOT THE SAME!! The compass seems to make a whole lot of difference an the Element also has only one button on the side to mark victims (which is a good thing!).

If following the signal wasn’t so ‘jumpy’, this would be a very good transceiver indeed for many backcountry enthusiasts!

Disclaimer: as already mentioned, we haven’t been able to test the Element too much in detail !!

Hi Rolf,

Any feedback from the Pieperfest ?

cheers,

David