Mammut/Barryvox makes some very fancy avalanche transceivers—one even can tell if the victim beneath the snow has a heartbeat. But for 99 percent of the casual backcountry users out there, it’s most important to just have a basic beacon that they won’t be confusing during an actual rescue. It’s called the Element Barryvox, and it looks pretty idiot-proof—just a simple on-off, switch and search button.
Our friend Lou Dawson at has done a nice preview of the new beacon.
–Justin Nyberg