ISPO & Gear News LVS and airbags 2021

The smaller manufacturers seem to be more or less ignoring ISPO and the associated pressure to present new products this year. Young companies such as Advenate also had production difficulties due to the corona crisis and postponed the launch of new products for a season.

Mammut was the only avalanche transceiver manufacturer to take part in the virtual trade fair. There is no significant news here, the well-known Barryvox S was presented as a trade fair highlight and as far as can be seen there are no changes to the airbags. Ortovox and Scott are also not changing their airbag lineup. There was no information from Arva - but they presented a new avalanche transceiver last year and it can be assumed that there will be no changes now. BCA once again refers to the Tracker 4, which was already presented at ISPO 2020 for 2020/21. Compared to the Tracker 3, the Tracker 4 has a faster processor, a brighter display and a slightly "grippier" housing. The handling is similar to that of the older devices, so that you will find your way around as usual when you switch to the newer generation. The familiar airbags are also retained here.

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Ortovox: new avalanche transceiver with voice navigation

Ortovox has a new avalanche transceiver in its range, which stands out from the previous fleet thanks to its new design and voice navigation. "Voice navigation" means that the device issues commands when searching. The relatively small Diract Voice LVS has a large display, a control button and a toggle switch for switching between search and send, which should be particularly easy to operate even when wearing gloves. The usefulness of the voice commands is explained as follows (quote from the press release):

"Intuitive handling is like automation: the less you have to think, the better. Voice navigation with an avalanche transceiver is a great help because you can focus your eyes on the situation and not on the device. We first have to process visual information and translate it into a resulting action. If we are relieved of this by a voice and the instructions are given directly, we save ourselves a step of processing. With a clear announcement, we therefore need less brain capacity, which is limited in this situation."

In addition to the Diract Voice, there is also an otherwise identical Diract version without voice. It is a 3-antenna device with a low-temperature rechargeable battery that can be charged via USB C cable. The device can be personalized and updated with an app and Bluetooth connection. There is also a marking function for up to 4 buried victims, automatic switching for post-avalanche problems, "Smart Antenna Technology" (automatic switching to the best transmitting antenna), as well as a Recco reflector in the carrying system. The RRP for the Diract Voice is €330, for the Diract €280.

Black Diamond Recon LT

The BD avalanche beacon lineup has been expanded to include the Recon LT Beacon. It is small and light (136g) and the inner workings are identical to those of the Pieps Micro Button, although the Recon LT is slightly lighter than the Micro and differs more clearly in design from the Pieps version than is the case with the "large" models. Unlike the Micro, the Recon LT has a lever/switch at the top of the device to switch from search to transmit (the Micro Button has a button for this, the Micro without a button has the sensor). According to the press release, the Recon LT has a circular range of 50m, like the Pieps Micro. The device is Bluetooth-enabled and can be configured and updated via the Pieps app, just like the Micro. BD has also slightly expanded or redesigned its range of shovels and probes and has a new snow saw in its range. There is nothing new from Pieps this year.

ABS: New release mechanism

ABS is saying goodbye to the small explosive charge in the airbag release handle and switching to a mechanical release mechanism. The advantage of this is that you can pull the handle without the cartridge screwed in to get used to the handling - this is now common practice with various other manufacturers. The backpacks as such have also been updated after the big relaunch last year.