Skip to content

Cookies 🍪

This site uses cookies that need consent.

Learn more

Zur Powderguide-Startseite Zur Powderguide-Startseite

Language selection

Search PowderGuide

news

Pieps DSP Sport, Pro: Call for device inspection

Check the function of the DSP Sport and DSP Pro switches!

by Lea Hartl • 10/17/2020
Following an accident involving pro rider Nick McNutt, whose avalanche transceiver failed to transmit in an avalanche, Pieps and Black Diamond are calling on users to regularly check the functions of their avalanche transceivers, including all mechanical parts. In particular, you should check the switches of the latest generation of DSP Pro and Sport, see photo on the right. The older (DSP Pro, old version) and newer models ("BT") have different switches.

Update from 21.10.20: Pieps has now announced an exchange program for the DSP Sport/Pro devices with the affected switch on Instagram. Whether devices are replaced free of charge or at a reduced price compared to a new purchase probably depends on the age of the affected device.

A storm is currently raging on Instagram about Pieps/Black Diamond avalanche transceivers. TGR athlete Christina Lustenberger published several posts describing an accident in spring in which Nick McNutt was buried and injured. His avalanche beacon, a Pieps DSP Pro (same as photo at right, but gray housing), was still on when checked that morning, but stopped transmitting when it mattered. The group located McNutt with probes and subsequently found that the device was switched to off. Lustenberger demonstrated on Instagram that the switch of a DSP Pro device of the corresponding generation can be moved from send to off with a little effort without pressing the lock button. According to Lustenberger and McNutt, this could also happen in an avalanche.

An initial reaction from Pieps on Instagram after Lustenberger's post met with little approval. Pieps pointed out to users that avalanche transceivers are everyday objects that must be regularly checked for correct function and used correctly. There was no design fault with the switches on the DSP Sport and Pro devices. In hundreds of comments on this post, users expressed their irritation: Surely you can't blame the users for the switch breaking.

Pieps asserted that they had already requested used DSP Sport and Guide devices from their mountain guide and opinion leader teams in the spring after McNutt's accident and had thoroughly checked the function of the switches, including in comparison with devices from other manufacturers. No fundamental problem was found. As with any mechanical part, signs of wear can occur with heavy use, which is why you should regularly check that everything is working. If cracks are visible in the plastic of the switch, the device must be sent in. A press release states: "An appliance fault can therefore be ruled out by inspecting the appliance and handling it properly."

This generation of DSP Sport and Pro is affected, recognizable by the lock button. The picture shows the Sport. The Pro has a gray housing.

This generation of DSP Sport and Pro is affected, recognizable by the lock button. The picture shows the Sport. The Pro has a gray housing.

This generation of DSP Sport and Pro is affected, recognizable by the lock button. The picture shows the Sport. The Pro has a gray housing.

In 2017, there was a fatal avalanche accident in Canada in which the deceased victim was eventually found with a non-transmitting Pieps avalanche transceiver with the same type of switch. Subsequent official investigations in Canada and by the German TÜV did not find any design faults in the avalanche transceiver in question. However, the victim's family believes that the device failed and demanded that Black Diamond carry out a recall. This incident is also frequently referred to on various social media platforms as part of the discussion surrounding McNutt's accident.

Pieps deeply regrets the 2017 accident and that of Nick McNutt. Nevertheless, the company is convinced of the quality of its own products. "The DSP Sport is a good, safe device," says Georg Wenger from Pieps to PowderGuide. The company is aware that the current debate on the internet is weakening user confidence in the devices and would like to counteract this by referring to the results of the device tests from the spring. The company does not want to get involved in the very heated social media debate, which Pieps/BD is unlikely to win at the moment.

Do not override the locking mechanism

As already mentioned and shown in the Instagram videos by Lustenberger and Pieps, the switch of the affected generation of DSP Sport and Pro can be moved without pressing the lock button if you apply sufficient force. But you should never do this! According to Pieps, it has become common practice that the lock button is not pressed when switching: You switch back and forth with one hand because it's quicker and you have to make one less move. If you use the device a lot, the blocking plastic part of the lock button will become worn over time. The switch becomes easier to move over time and the lock no longer works properly. According to Pieps, the device shown by Lustenberger on Instagram is one such, "heavily damaged" case. It should not be possible to move the mechanism that easily.

It is debatable whether it is a problem with the design if the design gives the user such an opportunity to use it incorrectly. However, Pieps emphasizes that it is important to deal with your own safety equipment and not just purchase it and then stop thinking about it. You need to find out how to use and maintain it correctly.

Update: Pieps has announced an exchange program for the affected devices on Instagram. Anyone who has concerns about whether a DSP Sport or Pro with the corresponding switch is still working properly should send it in.

Newer generations of Pieps and Black Diamond avalanche transceivers, i.e. the Pieps DSP Pro BT, DSP Powder BT, the Micro BT models, as well as the Black Diamond Guide BT and Recon BT, have different switches that cannot be moved without activating the lock button construction (photo left). The DSP Sport is the only model with the old switch that is still on sale.

In general, Pieps recommends having a service carried out every 3 years to check the device thoroughly. This costs €35 at Pieps. Other manufacturers also offer such device checks.

Start of season = check safety equipment!

Independent of the current discussion about the switches of the Pieps avalanche transceivers concerned, the following applies: At the latest at the start of the new season and before the first trip into the powder, your own avalanche transceiver - regardless of brand - and other safety equipment should be checked.

  • Does everything look good?

  • No corrosion in the battery compartment from batteries that leaked in summer?

  • New batteries in the avalanche transceiver?

  • No cracks in the probe elements?

  • The telescopic style of the shovel can be extended and is not jammed?

  • Is the airbag backpack ready for use?

And while you're at it: It's best to organize an exercise with your freeride colleagues!

Newer generation DSP Pro with a different switch. Here, the lock button is not pressed down as before, but pushed to the side.

Newer generationDSP Pro with a different switch. Here, the lock button is not pressed down as before, but pushed to the side.

Newer generationDSP Pro with a different switch. Here, the lock button is not pressed down as before, but pushed to the side.

This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

Show original (German)

Comments