So stoked I was able to get my hands on one of these, its made me more comfortable in teh backcountry, just because I feel so comfortable usuing it. Its super easy to learn to use, its just rad!

I personally think this is the best beacon on the market. The software is easily updated, and the hardware is Swiss quality. Easy to use, but also loaded with features for the advanced user. When all else fails you can even switch to a classic analog search mode.

No doubt having to search for someone would be a frightening experience. With this tool in hand you can relax and let it find your friends for you. The processor needs a bit of time to stay fixed and will find your friends quickly as long as you take your time. You will be quicker by letting the machine work for you.

It has many features that with practice one could become very proficient with. But even without knowing all the tricks this beacon will find and locate quickly. Which is what matters most.

I used to own the BCA Tracker. When I played with the Ortovox and the Pulse at an avalanche seminar I knew I needed to upgrade. I preferred the Pulse over the Ortovox because I thought the interface was simpler and easier to use.

I always had trouble with seeing the red lights on the Tracker in bright sunshine. I had to cover the beacon from the sun to see. Not what I want to do when searching for someone. My search times with multiple burials with the Pulse is great. Seeing three beacons at a time and being able to mark the beacon when found reduces confusion.

The only negative with the Pulse is that when searching for an old analog beacon the Pulse will often ghost another signal. Being aware of this is very important. Also the Pulse takes more time to learn than the Tracker. I have spent a great deal of time searching with the Pulse and getting to know how it thinks. Now that I know the beacon I am faster with my searches and confident in the product.

When I took an avy course this winter, everyone else in my group complained that I was cheating (in jest of course), but thats how much faster and easier my searching was in comparison to others using BCA trackers and F1s. It was very handy for helping direct a group search for multiple burials as I could reliably declare how many were buried and to tell people which signal for them to pay attention to (to direct subgroups of searchers to different beacons).

Still as with most beacons, I found its important not to move too quickly while searching. The beacon would sometimes get confused if you tried to move very quickly and then it would ask you to stand still while it reacquired its target. The symptoms of confusion usually were that it might try to send you the long way on the flux line. The cure for this was to stop moving and let it figure it out quickly. I wouldn't consider this a flaw as with all digital beacons its important not to "outrun" them.

The Pulse is an amazing technological tour de force — perhaps too amazing for some users. Love the latest high-tech gizmos? Then check out the Barryvox Pulse. Still haven’t figured out how to set the clock on your microwave oven? Look elsewhere.
My complete review is posted here:
http://www.wildsnow.com/1729/barryvox-pulse-beacon-review/

I took the opportunity to extensively play with and test all three of the "high end" beacons (S1, Pulse, DPS) on the market recently when upgrading from a 10 year old tracker, and the Mammut was by far my favorite. To me, the interface was very easy and intuitive to read and use. The GUI has no frills or pictures of little buried men like the S1, which to me seemed clunky and awkward. Just a list of buried signals, a floating arrow, and a number; perfect. Marking signals is easy, and scrolling through signals in multiple burial situations is easy and gives you the info you need quickly to determine who to locate first.
Being able to hear the analog signal too also aids in searching, and if all else fails and the software starts going crazy, you can always switch over to analog mode and you're still in business.
The newer firmware has gotten rid of much of the annoying "Stand Still" and "Hold Level" messages that used to pop up all of the time. I rarely see any of these now.
As always for any beacon, practice with it and become proficient with it so it becomes second nature to use.

Bottom line; this is a great beacon with many advanced features that can really aid in a recovery situation. Even with all of the bells and whistles though, the interface makes it easy for anyone to just pick up and start using without prior experience. Worth the extra $$ over other models.

For multiple searches nothing is faster!

tried pretty much every 3 antenna beacon, and this was my favorite. Small, light, and easy to use

This thing is super pricey. But it is expensive for a reason. A) It is the best beacon on the market B) It has all the bells and whistles...and then some. Granted A and B go hand in hand, but still. This beacon operates on three antennae signals to locate burial victims, so you are guaranteed to pick up a strong reading. When looking for victims this beacon utilizes a 360 degree direction arrow, making it easier to find burial victims. It also displays signals from multiple burial victims, upto 8, and displays them by closest to farthest. You can also lock into a burial, so that you are distraction/distortion free from other beacon signals being broadcasted, making finding a buried victim much easier, and allowing you to do so in a shorter time. This beacons is also relatively small in size and fairly lightweight, making it less of a hinderance to wear than other beacons. And the cherry on top...this beacon, when wearing, detects motion from you breathing and your heart beating, so that if other skiers in your party have this beacon as well, they can tell if you're still alive. Great feature! If you are looking for the best beacon, the most chock full of technology beacon, and/or the most efficient beacon to use in a recovery situation, there should be not other beacon on your list but this one. Mammut really nailed it with this one. You get what you pay for. You might be paying a lot more than for other beacons, but you're getting a lot more also...you're getting the best!

I had a hard time justifying spending the extra 100 odd $'s on this over an Ortovox or BCA.. but I am glad I did. I have gotten to play with the BCA Tracker and Tracker 2 and much prefer the Mammut Pulse in every way, from size to ease of operation. After doing some quick searches I found that I was (and this is to each their own) more proficient at locating and pinpointing a buried beacon with the Pulse Barryvox over the others. That harness size and how the harness fits you is better with the Barryvox than with both the BCA beacons. The pulse feature and multiple burial capabilities as well as an advanced and novice modes make this the Beacon for me. Either way you go.. get yourself a beacon and know how to use it!

UPDATE: I still LOVE my beacon, but the harness is really pissing me off. It does not stay where you put it. I'll tighten it so it is centered on my torso (in between the hip bel and chest straps of my pack) and while riding the harness loosens up, which isn't good as it should always be tight agains your body. Still a 5 star because this beacon rocks!

I had a Tracker DTS but decided to upgrade when I started getting more serious about my backcountry pursuits and avalanche training. Although the Tracker is a good beacon it just doesn't compare to the features found on the Pulse Barryvox. For multiple burials it is incredible and although the stats aren't good for multiple burials I feel a hell of a lot more confident that I could find my buds a lot faster if it were to ever happen.

Great beacon, has everything you want/need without being overly complicated. It's great for beginners while in basic mode, yet also has an advanced mode for guides and pros.

The user-interface is simple, only two buttons. The build quality seems to be good, I spent a lot of time playing with it over this past season, and it's held up very well. Also, the battery life is pretty good considering the performance that you're getting out of it.

I'd recommend it to anyone.

Best beacon I have ever used. I still love my SOS, but you can't beat the Pulse. I want whom ever is looking for me to have the pulse.

this is a great upgrade from my old SOS. (not that it was bad, just new tech) it is super quick to learn and makes fast finds. i would say A+

The guides standard.Use digital or analog.Dialed for multiple burials.
When you find one victim automatickly mark the person and move to the next.
If someone in your group has the same transceiver you can see if there heart is still beating.When deciding on which beacon to use.Don't try to save here.Pay the price it's worth it.

Love this beacon. Easy to wear, easy to operate in gloves, easy to understand screen interface. I have practice with this device a lot and it does an amazing job at locating. I really appreciate both the on screen and audio feedback when in search mode. The audio feedback overall are incredibly helpful. The device makes practice fun and gives you confidence that you have the best tool for the job.

The beacon is great. Tons of reviews all over the web on how good and fast it performs and I agree. I have had a few instances where we had about 10 beacons buried around a field and it had trouble picking the closes one. It kept telling me to stop and hold steady. I believe the new firmware fixes some of that according to the description but i have not tried it and the chance of trying to find 10 buried people in the backcountry at once is unlikely. With 3 buried beacons its worked great. Also when close to my iphone its done some weird things sometimes, from the interference i guess. I choose just not to bring my phone(no reception anyways). It works great when you need it most, its light, and worth every penny if its not overkill for you.

But if I do (and I really hope I won't), what I'm using to find my buried friends is super easy to use and incredibly accurate. In the search mode, it practically inspires confidence - I will find anything emitting at 457 hz quickly and efficiently. In the guaranteed panic that follows a slide, that is invaluable to shave precious seconds from the rescue. Simply put, using this beacon (in conjunction with training, practice, and knowledge) is amazing and worth every penny. If the search mode is any testament to the capabilities of this thing, I'm willing to bet that the "Transmit" mode - you know, in case it's me who gets buried - is just as amazing.The only downside I can think of with this beacon is that now that I've got a Barryvox, all my buddies want to drop in before me. In case they get buried, they want me looking for them. Looks like I'm getting 3rd or 4th tracks down the mountain from now on.

This is my first beacon, and the only basis I have for comparing it to others has been using it and comparing my experience with that of other beginners during avy training. The short of it is that it is easy to use.

The Pulse units would consistently pick up signals from longer range than any others in the group- this included Trackers, DSPs, a few others- at 70m both of the pulses in our line lit up, with the rest of the units ranging anywhere from 20-50m before acquiring a signal.

On occasion this unit will become confused and order you to stop waving it about while it understands its environment. This seems to happen more in situations where there are many sending beacons, one or more of them are moving, or where you're rotating the beacon about excessively (or possibly if you haven't calibrated the device- the Pulse uses an internal compass to help it understand its spatial relationship to the the signals it's getting) Used deliberately, rather than rushingly, searches went efficiently.

While practicing large-group multiple-burial scenarios, I found that I could quickly obtain and use information with this unit to direct team members whose beacons didn't tell them these things. For example, knowing that there were 4 close-together burials (in a drill where we didn't know the total number of victims) helped individual rescuers better understand the confusing signals they were getting during their grid searches, and it allowed us to organize the team to search, probe, and dig pretty much in parallel.

I certainly expected that as a beginner I would be able to use this device to do an effective individual search- what surprised me was that as a beginner I was also able to use the information it provided to switch roles and organize a team of rescuers.

I watched someone with no skills take this beacon for the first time ever and find 4 "victims" faster then some pros. The simplicity of the tool is excellent! I am not convinced that motion technology will assist in triage scenarios of multiple burials, but the beacon is fast and easy, so it wins huge kudos from me. Seems like they need to universalize the beacon some more, but in general this beacon blows away peips and is a close second to the Ortovox S1.

This is my first beacon, though I have used the Tracker before. I finally decided on the Pulse after doing some research and watching demonstration videos on YouTube. It seemed easy to use and great for multiple burial situations. I took it to my Avy 1 course and was happy to see that both of the instructors (a heli ski guide in AK and NZ, and the other in charge of SAR at a major ski resort) both used the same beacon. I found it easy to use during practice though sometimes you do need to be patient and let the processor lock onto the signal. The Pulse also had one of the longest ranges of all the different beacons others had in the class. On mine the signal dropped out at around 70m while my friend's Tracker dropped the signal at 35m out. I haven't yet practiced a multiple burial scenario yet. I also like the smaller size compared to some of the other beacons out there.

This beacon is definitely good enough to find someone(s). It can be kind of shady if you are looking in one direction, the arrow may point straight ahead when the burial is straight behind you, Just takes a moment until the distance increases to realize your mistake. It is nearly impossible to switch from off to transmit to search with gloves on. (Look at Peips for easy big hand use)

Recently completed an Avalanche Course and compare the Pulse with Pieps DSP.There wasnt one sceniero the Pulse didn't out perform the Pieps....maybe just that untit but the construction alone on the Pulse is far better than the Pieps.

The switches on both sides of the Pulse are rubberised and the audio beeps can really be heard and appreciated in a low visibility and windy situation.Thats why the avalanche schools use the Pulse I guess!

Just finished the Avy1 class. Those with the Barryvox generally outperformed everyone else (especially on multiple burials). So easy to use that right out of the box anyone with common sense can find beacons. With a little practice, you can feel fairly proficient in your beacon finding skills. OK it is a little more pricey than the others, but I have no regrets spending a little more on something that if I ever do have to use it, I know that when seconds count, I have the best equipment available to find my buddy or wife.

Had this beacon for 1 seson now and thinks its smashing.Easy to use.Needs a little practice along with other to be 100 % comfortable with it. The puls system dosent work in norway,thinks u need to download some software to get that working.

My first try out was at a avalanche training center at Andermatt, Switzerland I was able to test my response time over the older digital Mammut Barryvox, and the signal response was infinitely faster. The ability to shut off signals already found totally eliminates the confusion with multiple burials. With a little practice it's easy even for a beginner. Be careful though when using outside the US though, the Vital status feature is transmitted on a frequency only valid in the area you buy it. Apparently the frequency used by the rest of the world is illegal in the US. (Thank You US Army). But this only applies to the vital status feature, which only works if everyone in your party has a new pulse Barryvox anyway. Otherwise great product!

I just received the pulse from Backcountry with software version 3.00. I got an opportunity to take it to Mt Baker beacon park for some trials. I was pretty stoked. We turned on 3 beacons buried at a respectable depth. As soon as I turned the pulse on it identified 3 beacons and I started off after the first signal. The secondary search went quick and the pulse switched into pinpoint at 2.8. While trying to work a grid the beacon would throw up the hand signal asking me to stop. It did this about six or seven times taking from 4 to 20 seconds to acquire the signal again. Twice the beacon returned from the stop sign and acquired a more distant signal showing the arrow and a reading of 20 or more, even though I was still in the 2.8 zone of the first signal. Both times it did this it took a while for the beacon to realize there was a much closer signal. All in all the beacons were found but it took a long time and considerable baby sitting.

I thought maybe its all the cell phone interference of a busy place like Mt Baker. So I took my 2 old trackers and placed them in my back yard. One laying flat and the other on its side. The pulse immediately switched from primary search to secondary and I went quickly to within a few meters of the first signal. The beacon then switched into pinpoint mode and I started working a grid. The stop sign comes up and I wait for a few seconds and it picks up where it left off. The stop sign comes up again and comes back with the further second signal on secondary search mode. But after about 10 seconds it returns to the pinpoint mode of the first signal. I mark the first and move on to the second and get the same behavior. So now I'm thinking I had my call phone on in my hip pocket. I turned it off and repeated the exercise with the exact same results.

Now here's where it gets really weird. I switched the beacon into basic mode and repeated the same search for both beacons. The first beacon was found with a couple of short stop signs and I marked it. I moved to the second and go pinpoint mode and up comes the stop sign. But this time when it comes back it fixates on the marked beacon and takes me there into a pinpoint search where I mark it found. The first beacon was marked twice and the second tracker never found!

In summary, in advanced mode, the pulse will find the targets with a lot of fuss and baby sitting. It is not fast but will eventually get you closer to the target than an old Tracker. In basic mode it could trick a searcher! This beacon takes considerable practice.

This beacon is hands down the best on the market. As an advanced tool it offers many user settings and features to become "personalized" to each user. While it is more complicated to set up than some others, the new software makes it fast, easy and effective.

After having to think to solve a multiple burial problem in an avy training, I picked up a Pulse. It has more features and is easier to use then the Pieps. Generally it will find all beacons in range in about 45 seconds. It is generally just a matter of walking, probing and marking. Impressive.

There are a couple quirks. It takes about 45 seconds to find all the beacons in range. I have had this under-report beacons in a multiple burial but never give a false positive. Throwing the beacon in to the mis-named analog mode (I think of it as "tracker" mode) I was able to quickly find the missing beacons. The beacon can get confused if you move to quickly during acquisition. You need to practice with this beacon. If you are willing to it pretty much rocks. More information and less thought then my old Tracker.

This thing is so easy to use, me and my buddy just switched the things on and could use it around the garden out of the box without reading the instructions. This bodes well for the occassional vacation skier. We did read the instructions before taking them up the hill of course!Highly recommended.

Love this beacon, i got 2, pulled them out of their boxes threw the batterys in and turned them on, withing seconds i was using one to search for the other throughout the house. the display with 360 arrow makes it really easy to use and fast.

I was debating on either purchasing the Tracker DTS from BCA or the Mammut Pulse Barryvox. We decided to buy two Mammut pulse barryvox.
The day the beacons arrived we read the user manual and went out and practiced. I had my dad hide somewhere while i wasn't looking. I made sure to not cheat and only follow what the beacon was telling me.y The beacon led me right to the spot where my dad was located in about 2-3 minutes. This beacon is very easy to use and I had no problems with it.

I purchased this beacon after using an Ortovox M2 beacon for four years. I have worked in the ski industry for two years and am well trained with analog beacons so was skeptical at first about how much these beacons take away from thinking as I was used to. At first glance the user interface was really simple to use. After three weeks of using the beacon and putting it through its paces I came to this conclusion that I could not use this beacon with a clear conscious. The user interface was great, simple to use and made multiple burials a snap (also great for those who are not as well practiced at their searches). The only downfall (and a huge one) is the range, or lack there of. In comparison to the Ortovox F1, the range of the Pulse was consistantly about 1/3 that of the F1's distance ...unacceptable. I could not keep this beacon, knowing what one day it might cost someone their life so it went back and I am back to an Ortovox F1 until the technology improves in the digital beacon field.

Hands down the best piece of gear. Killer technology and easy and fast. Every guide in Europe was using this beacon and my Trakker was not cutting it in multiple searchs compared to the Barryvox. New softwear update this year to. Great platform to be able to upgrade

Hands down this is the most advance, user friendly and amazing piece of gear of its kind ever made. If you are looking for a new beacon try to get your hands on this and see for yourself.

Absolutely the easiest most efficent and functional beacon on the market. Replacing my old F1 Orthovox and when my guides of my level 2 avi course each had the Pulse and the guides we hired on Rogers pass all swore by this unit I new it was the one. Been practicing with my friends and mine is the only Pulse and now everyone else wants one. Love the display that pretty much tells you everything you need to know. Very fast, had my wife try to find two beacons and she has never used one before, she found two in 30 seconds.
Don't think you can go wrong.

This is an easy to use, compact & comfortable to wear beacon. If only it had a harness like the ortovox so when you put it on it was turned on, it would be perfect.

I had the opportunity to try this beacon out in a controlled environment. It is a super easy beacon to use. The compass feature gives the beacon the very accurate readings. Another great aspect of this beacon is the multiple burial function. It shows you the signal that is closet to you and you are able to check each individual one off as necessary. Remember the only way this beacon is effective is to practice.

Forgot to add in my original review, the strap for this isn't much good. Despite spending hours to try and adjust it and get it snug, it kept slipping whilst skiing. Why don't they make a proper 4 strap harness instead of the 3 strap one? Ended up putting the transciever in my pocket and attaching it to my jacket via the beacon clip and my jacket clip.

I got this beacon as a part of package deal, and luckily, I haven't actually had to use it yet. Hopefully I will never have to (knock on wood). Being a native East Coaster I had never used a beacon before. I took it to a practice park and was finding and checking off multiple burials in just a few minutes. It was really easy and made me feel way less intimidated by the idea of having to use one. There is a review above that mentions a lack of range, which is definitely something to consider, but the review mentions "digital" as the reason for lack of range, and the Pulse actually has an Analog antenna, so take that however you want.

So far this beacon is the bee's knees,
Unfortunately being quite new on the market I would like to see if everything all the bugs are worked out with it. I wouldn't recommend the pulse for someone who hasn’t had any experience using avi beacons but definitely for someone looking for the most advanced.
For first timers I recommend the Peips dsp

Excellant piece of kit, well worth the expense. I had the last barryvox but this one's extra features which will go that one step further to keep you alive. Simple to use, well protected in a plastic case when worn, comfortable. Highly recommended.