Unimaginable winter heat, icy Arctic cold - the winter of 2012 is perfect for always having a small thermometer with you. It's also great if the thermometer can also measure the slope inclination. And that's exactly what the little yellow thing from Pieps, which goes by the "name 30° plus", can do.
Admittedly, you don't really need the Pieps 30° degrees plus. All the basic information you need about how the temperature affects the snowpack can be read or felt on the snowpack even without a digital aid. Slope inclinations can be estimated or measured with the pole pendulum trick. So why the 30° plus from Pieps?
Because it's a cool little toy. Am I freezing because the wind is whistling and it's just really cold, or am I freezing because I'm in a bad mood? One look at the thermometer and I know the result.
I originally bought the little device to give beginners the opportunity to determine the exact slope inclination themselves during training courses. But then I quickly got used to the device and don't want to do without it anymore.
I've been using the little device since 2010, and according to the manufacturer, the non-replaceable battery (a clear minus for this!) is supposed to last 5 years. In 2012, in the third winter, it was the end for my little companion. Minus 1.5 degrees and constant rain, moisture penetrated into the waterproof device - and... death!
The manufacturer couldn't believe it and sent me a new one without hesitation.
And now the little yellow thing, which you really don't need but which I like so much, is back on my ski pole. And a thermometer on my ski pole is always better than a bulky camera on my head... The little device costs 55 euros. That would be 10 euros per season, which is perfectly fine.