Friday, March 3, 2017

New Mammut Barryvox and BarryvoxS avalanche beacons for Fall 2017

The proverbial cat is out of the bag on our new avalanche transceivers, so here is some information for people who have questions about the new beacons or about Mammut's continuing warranty & service for their existing Pulse or Element beacons.  This post has background info and details on the new beacons, as well as a timeline for availability, info for warranty during the transition, and some info for operators utilizing our fleet management tools.

First, a little history:  Barry, the fabled Swiss avalanche rescue dog (link), is the namesake of the Mammut Barryvox beacons—Vox means voice, so BARRYVOX means “Barry’s Voice”, or “the sound of rescue on the way”. Because of this we like to say the Barryvox has been at the forefront of avalanche rescue from the rescue dog, to the very first avalanche beacon technology, and now to the new Barryvox S and Barryvox avalanche transceivers, which will be new in October of 2017.  
The new BarryvoxS avalanche beacon, available Fall 2017, utilizes dynamic screen icons such as the rescuer running down the avalanche path shown here during the signal-search, in order to visually cue a rescuer throughout the search.  Extensive usability testing during development allowed us to find the most intuitive-to-follow icons, as well as help to alleviate some common searching errors.

The existing Pulse Barryvox and Element Barryvox beacons will be replaced by these new beacons and, since we are out for this winter will no longer be available.  Mammut will continue to provide warranty and after-sales service for the Pulse and Element as we have in the past.  Any owners or fleet operators with concerns about this, please read the "Fleet Operators & fleet management tools" section at the bottom of this post and then if you want give us a call at North American HQ at (800) 451-5127, or if you're outside the US and Canada at the Barryvox Service Center in your country (link).

OVERVIEW
The basic functions of both the Pulse and Element are intact in the new beacons, but we dramatically improved the simplicity, ease of use and the performance of both.  Both are 3-antenna beacons with a marking function, and the new development was focused on three main priorities: