I mailed two beacons again to their makers up to now week due to early-season product remembers on these crucial security units.
Each Mammut and Pieps (distributed by Black Diamond in North America) issued remembers on avalanche transceivers over the previous two weeks: Mammut’s Barryvox S2 and Barryvox 2 and Pieps’ Professional IPS. Each are voluntary remembers initiated by the businesses and each manufacturers will proceed to promote the units.
Mammut Barryvox 2 and S2 Recall
Mammut introduced their recall on November eighth and the official announcement with data on how one can test in case your machine is affected will be discovered right here. The Barryvox 2 and Barryvox S2 had been in the marketplace for lower than a month so it’s doubtless not many recall items have been truly within the wild, however Mammut declined to share particular numbers.
Mammut says the potential subject is, “primarily based on an meeting subject. In consequence, the principle swap on the affected units could also be misaligned resulting in unintentional switching from Ship to Search mode with lateral stress, or probably even turning the machine off fully.” Clearly, not good.
At this level, the units on the market on Mammut.com have been checked and aren’t topic to the recall. I requested Mammut if merchandise bought elsewhere may nonetheless be topic to recall they usually stated they’re within the technique of getting checked stock again out to retailers. I wasn’t in a position to verify if the transceivers I noticed on the market on-line at third events have been undoubtedly checked merchandise.
Pieps Professional IPS Recall
Pieps explains the problem with their Professional IPS machine intimately and how one can test in case your product is affected by the recall on this official web page. As a result of the recall doubtlessly impacts any machine bought between Oct. 1, 2023 (once they first went on sale within the EU final 12 months) and Nov. 22, 2024 (a day after the recall was issued), it’s doubtless yours might be, however you’ll be able to test by way of the serial quantity following the instructions on the hyperlink. (The Professional IPS had solely been on-sale in North America since Oct. twenty fourth.) The corporate declined to share particular numbers on affected units as they have been nonetheless within the technique of submitting the official voluntary recall discover with the Shopper Product Security Fee.
The problem with the Pieps Professional IPS was first recognized by a US buyer whose machine wouldn’t activate after changing the batteries. Observe-up testing by Pieps revealed that “surprising conduct” of the battery housing materials as soon as assembled into the machine resulted in a battery housing 0.2mm bigger than anticipated from the design section. With the allowed variance within the measurement of AAA batteries between manufacturers, which means that smaller AAAs won’t make correct contact with the battery terminals. Once more, not good, and Pieps is recalling to swap in new battery contacts that resolve the problem.
I had been testing the Professional IPS on and off since final spring and was impressed with what I had realized about how the machine blocks electromagnetic interference from units similar to smartphones and the non-fiddly search/ship antenna instead of a swap. The Professional IPS had been a pleasant comeback for the model after a recall on their DSP Professional, DSP Professional Ice, and DSP Sport transceivers again in 2021 which WildSnow chronicled right here. Former WS Editor Jason Albert additionally did a two-part sequence on backcountry tools remembers with a deal with transceivers beginning with Half One right here.
Do These Remembers Imply These are Unhealthy Manufacturers/Gadgets?
Mammut, BD/Pieps, BCA, and Ortovox have all issued transceiver remembers sooner or later of their historical past. (To my data, Arva is the one main transceiver model that hasn’t.) Partially, the obvious frequency of those remembers is as a result of even minor or rare points are unacceptable in Private Protecting Tools as crucial as a transceiver. If a ski jacket has just a few situations of cuff Velcro failure, it doesn’t put lives in danger.
Of their recall FAQ, Mammut straight addresses the query of why high quality management didn’t catch the problem: “We set the best requirements for efficiency and security for our merchandise. The Mammut Barryvox 2 and S2 are advanced technical merchandise, assembled by our long-term accomplice in Switzerland. Sadly, the problem arose throughout the meeting course of and is now totally resolved.”
I don’t see remembers as a condemnation of the engineering, design, manufacturing, and testing processes that went into these advanced units. And it’s in all probability an indication of progress that remembers have been issued this early within the season and didn’t require widespread buyer complaints to be triggered.
Whereas each manufacturers seem to have responded shortly by making the problems public and pulling all stock from cabinets (actual and digital), I want I may provide extra readability for folk nonetheless contemplating shopping for the merchandise. I requested Mammut if the affected mannequin merchandise I discovered on the market on-line at retailers similar to Evo and Cripple Creek Backcountry may very well be topic to recall and haven’t gotten solutions but.
I wasn’t capable of finding the Pieps Professional IPS on the market on-line a day after the recall they usually advised me all bodily retailers had been notified to tug the product, although it was new sufficient in North America that some retailers hadn’t even acquired their stock but. Pieps says checked merchandise might be marked in three locations with a white dot, although that may clearly be simpler to verify at bodily retail than on-line.
Should you’re contemplating one among these Mammut or Pieps fashions, I’d stick to buying direct from the producer to make sure you’re getting a product that gained’t need to be despatched in for recall test and rebuild.
Or, let the mud of those remembers accept just a few months to reduce the likelihood a pre-recall mannequin leads to your palms.
Or, deal with avalanche transceivers like I do cars and don’t purchase new fashions till they’ve been in circulation for no less than a few years and any main flaws have been uncovered.
Justin Park is the Editor of Wild Snow. In 2009 whereas dwelling in Hawaii, he obtained invited on a hut journey in Colorado. He had no backcountry gear, discovered Wild Snow, learn up on backcountry snowboarding and acquired some body bindings for a pair of G3 Reverends so he didn’t have to purchase touring boots. He moved to Breckenridge, CO a 12 months later and as we speak he skis 100+ days a 12 months, most of them backcountry.
