Great, but not perfect

By Brian Shindurling Ranked #124 - Avalanche Beacons January 24, 2011

The beacon itself is very clean, simple and easy to use. The display gives you no non-sense, easy to follow directions as you move through a search, and at the 2 meter mark it switches over to a fantastic pin-point display. The audio is great and the screen is backlit for use in low light conditions.

Searching: I wasn't overly impressed with the speed at which it acquires a signal in search mode. The range on this beacon is not top notch, but at 40 m I still find it adequate. Once the beacon locks onto a signal it is very easy to follow. There is a strange little glitch in the 5-7 meter range where it seems to stall and the guide arrows jump around a bit. I assume this is a point where it switches antennas or something. At 2 meters, the beacon switches over to pin-point mode which is actually really cool. My only quarrel with this mode is the intervals at which the signal beeps. You have to move a lot slower with this beacon in your pin-point than I'm used to with my analog beacon.

Bottom Line: This is a great beacon, but does stumble in a few areas. I'm hoping a software update in the future may correct the glitches that I've come across. I haven't experienced any issues in my beacon drills that would deter me from relying on this beacon in an emergency situation.

View Details: Ortovox 3 Plus Beacon

Helpful Votes: 0 Yes