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Pieps iProbe - 2008 BCS
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The Pieps iPROBE Probe provides the missing link during searches for multiple avalanche victims. This probe uses a single AA battery-powered proximity detector to give you both audible and visual confirmations when you’ve located a transmitting beacon. The iPROBE will detect any brand of beacon, no matter what your friends are using. If the buried person has an iPROBE-supported beacon (such as the Pieps DSP or Freeride), you can actually temporarily turn off the transmitting beacon to go search for other beacons. The reduced interference could save valuable minutes. How does it work? When the tip of the iPROBE comes within two meters of a transmitting beacon, the iPROBE’s LED lights up, and it emits a “peep, peep,” sound. When the iPROBE is within 50 centimeters, the intermittent peeps become continuous (“peeeeeeep”). If the transmitting beacon has iPROBE support, you can hit a button on the probe to mark the location, turn off the beacon, and search for the next victim using your traditional transceiver and a second probe. Hitting the “mark” button again or removing the probe from the area causes the iPROBE-supporting beacon to turn on again.
Bottom Line: Closer searches mean faster, easier victim recovery.
Talk shop with all the gear freaks out there: ask 'em questions, upload/browse photos, and give your 2¢.
Sold on it
By:
Andrew McLean
March 18, 2010
This is my favorite avalanche probe and the only one I consistently carry for day tours. It seems a little weird at first and the idea of an electric probe might be right up there with an electric spoon, but once you see it in action, the usefulness becomes very apparent.
The advantage of the iProbe is that it has a receiver in the tip of it that is always set to fine search, so as you sweep the probe tip over a debris pile, it will light up when it is within a meter or so of the buried target. This is cool as the 225cm length, plus the length of your arms, means you can sweep a six meter circle very quickly and without moving. When you go to plunge it and the sensor gets very close (within inches) of the victim, the buzzer goes off in a way that leaves no doubt that you've found your mark.
The iProbe is simple and easy to use. As a probe, it is sturdy aluminum with a nice, solid interlocking design and a secure tensioning system. All it takes to turn it on is to flip the switch - the rest is intuitive.
The downside of the iProbe is that the on/off switch is also where you loade the battery, and I have mistakenly opened the batter compartment and dropped the battery in the snow many times. No big deal when practicing, but it would be a drag in a real rescue scenario.
10 oz (290 g)
By: Bud Martin
November 4, 2008
12.2 ounces (with single AA battery)
By: Jonathan S. Shefftz
August 29, 2009
Probe Combined with short-range Beacon
By:
Jonathan S. Shefftz
August 29, 2009
First off, let's get the wow factor out of the way: wow! Yes, this probe has a beacon (receive only) in its tip. So although as an avy instructor I'm always supposed to answer the student question of "how do I know a probe strike is hitting the victim and not something else?" with "trust me, you'll know" with the Pieps iProbe the answer is, "it will tell you!" But wait, there's even more "wow" factor: it can temporarily mark/mask a found Pieps DSP or Freeride, and not just for you, but for everyone. In other words, let's say you find a Pieps DSP or Freeride with your own DSP, S1, or Pulse, then mark/mask the beacon. Great job, but any other searchers will still have to deal with that potentially confusing signal in a multi-burial. However, the iProbe will temporarily suspends the victim's transmission to any and all searchers. Now for the drawback: at an actual weight 12.2 ounces (with single AA battery), this probe is heavy for its length. Okay, just a few extra ounces though. Also, the off-on-mark switch is a bit hard to see at first, though a magic marker fixed that. If I was running a snow cat or heli op with newbie guests equipped in victim-only mode, I would strongly consider the cost-effective approach of giving all guests a Pieps Freeride, then all guides would get a DSP and a iProbe (or two) each. (Picture is of Mark Renson from the Mad River Glen & Mt Washington ski patrols using my iProbe to "find" a transmitting beacon hidden inside one of many decoy boxes at this ski patrol event: http://amn08.nmnsp.org )
Innovative Product
By:
Brian Muller
November 13, 2008
After seeing a demonstration from Pieps about this product at the Utah Avalanche Center lecture, it is apparent that this thing, while expensive is groundbreaking, however serves basically the same purpose as a probe. If you are without a beacon (stupid) than this would help, but the accuracy of a beacon is good enough to allow you to begin digging, and to be honest some stupid people will use the iprobe to then begin to dig directly on top of another person, causing more problem than harm because the beacon is located at the chest number 1, and number 2 people need to learn proper shoveling techniques. Very cool device, but until the price comes down, invest in a good beacon because its not worth it
3 Comments Last Comment: January 9, 2012 by: Nick Barlow
By: Nick Barlow
January 9, 2012
"stupid people will use the iprobe to then begin to dig directly on top of another person, causing more problem than harm"
So, digging out a burial victim (yes, perhaps hitting them with the shovel) and saving their life is doing more harm than good?
The victim is dying of asphyxiation. The only thing that matters is time.
By: Bryan
June 20, 2011
This is a horrible review from somebody who has no personal experience with the device.
1.No, it doesn't just serve as a probe. 2The uninformed rescuer who will begin digging on top of another person will still do that with any other probe as well.
Perhaps your person giving the demonstration didn't explain all of the functions, or you didn't fully understand. I have this probe along with 2 DSP beacons and a freeride. The advanced functions allow me to give the less experienced user the DSP and I keep the freeride. In the case of multiple burials, the probe deactivates the beacon of the found victim, allowing me to pick up the second victim's signal. A truly innovative feature.
3. Invest in a good beacon, a probe and a shovel. Not just the beacon.
Anybody interested should go the Pieps website and research the actual functions.
By: Jonathan S. Shefftz
August 29, 2009
This review is all mixed up. The Pieps iProbe is of course intended to serve the same purpose as a probe, because it is . . . a probe. And an enhanced probe as such, to take the uncertainty out of whether you have a real strike or not.
If you don't have a beacon, it won't help that much, because you'll still have to probe the entire debris field.
But no, the accuracy of a beacon is not good enough to allow you to being digging without probing first (unless the burial is very shallow, but in that case a body part is probably already visible anyway).
Whether the price and weight are worth it though is another question.
Change me.
Out of Stock
2008 Model No Longer Available
We have a lot more Probes than that
ProbesResearch other out-of-stock versions:
Sold on it
This is my favorite avalanche probe and the only one I consistently carry for day tours. It seems a little weird at first and the idea of an electric probe more...
Probe Combined with short-range Beacon
First off, let's get the wow factor out of the way: wow! Yes, this probe has a beacon (receive only) in its tip. So although as an avy instructor more...
- Material:
- carbon fiber
- Length:
- 225 cm
- Storage Sack:
- no
- Weight:
- 10 oz
- Recommended Use:
- avalanche safety, avalanche search & rescue, multiple burials