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  1. #1
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    Pieps Freeride - would you trust it?

    Anyone here tried the new super cheap Pieps Freeride? It sells for 200 bucks here comparing to 600 for Pulse...I did find some info but no real life experience. I am hesitating to recommend it to friends...


  2. #2
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    I'd trust it. But I believe it's got a specific use - for people with no avy training who are part of a group. Say you were in a guided party I wouldn't object to the guides giving those out to people purely so they could be located since they'd be useless as searchers anyway. I remember reading about it - it's just a single antenna beacon with no features right? So searching is the same as an analog beacon, the grid method?

    So I might think they'd be alright for a single person or maybe 2 if they were part of a good sized group with knowledgeable people in it, but I wouldn't get one for me.

  3. #3
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    Functionality seems very similar to the old ARVA 9000/Evolution (as opposed to the two-antenna Evolution+), i.e., single antenna with digital readout for approximate distance (but unlike the somewhat similar M1/M2, no adjustable sensitivity, and digitized accoustics) and hence no directional indicators.
    Also only one battery.
    And multiple burial symbol.
    Transmission can be deactivated by the iProbe, so, hmm, if (and only if) a Freeride (or DSP 5.0) user is one of multiple victims and is found first by a searcher with an iProbe, then the search for other victims will not be delayed (by first having to completely uncover and physically turn off the victim's beacon) or complicated (by having to deal with multiple signals after the first victim is located).

    More details:
    http://www.pieps.com/cms/media/manua...al_free_en.pdf

    More discussion/debate:
    http://www.backcountryworld.com/showthread.php?t=3844

    Most ridiculously misleading hype imaginable for a safety product:
    http://www.pineneedle.com/store/pc/v...&idproduct=295
    [So the Freeride is (an honor it shares with the DSP) "the first truly 100% perfect safety solution for multiple avalanche burials!" (unclear what the numerator and denominator were to arrive at a 100% ratio) and "Optimal solution for Off-Piste-Skiers!"]

    Overall, seems like a shame that the first beacon specifically targeted for sidecountry-type skiers who are least likely to practice is a design that is going to require lots of practice to be an effective searching tool. (Will be fine of course in victim mode.)

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonathan S. View Post
    hence no directional indicators.
    Mebbe the one I tried was special, but it did have similar flux-line "direction" as M2.
    Quote Originally Posted by RootSkier
    You should post naked pictures of this godless heathen.

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    phssht. I used an analog beacon for all my tours and did avy level 2 or 3. They take a bit of getting used to but I was pretty handy with mine after only a days' use.
    Quote Originally Posted by Divebomber View Post
    OR sign it with a fake sig, then later they say "we have your sig!" NO you dont!

  6. #6
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    I used analog beacons when that's all that was available too. I still have my Pieps 457. But there's no question that my DSP is worlds easier to search with. Don't get me wrong, the grid method's OK and great for the final pinpointing, but I prefer the direction/distance readout of multi-antenna digital beacons for the initial homing in.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Toby View Post
    I used analog beacons when that's all that was available too. I still have my Pieps 457. But there's no question that my DSP is worlds easier to search with. Don't get me wrong, the grid method's OK and great for the final pinpointing, but I prefer the direction/distance readout of multi-antenna digital beacons for the initial homing in.
    Pipes freeride has 'em... Distance and direction when on the flux line (so, like with the M2).
    Quote Originally Posted by RootSkier
    You should post naked pictures of this godless heathen.

  8. #8
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    Ah, cool. Should've read the pdf. So it's still much easier than an old analog beacon, but not as easy as e.g. my DSP. Not bad.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Toby View Post
    Ah, cool. Should've read the pdf. So it's still much easier than an old analog beacon, but not as easy as e.g. my DSP. Not bad.
    Yep, not perfect but pretty good....

    Good for groups, with at least part having "real" beacons. Freeride should be good 'nuff for some searching with the aid of "real" beacons.

    Main problem I had when I tried the Freeride was its limited range in searching...
    Quote Originally Posted by RootSkier
    You should post naked pictures of this godless heathen.

  10. #10
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    The Pieps Freeride may or may not have some sort of indicator for whether the searcher is aligned with the flux line, but it definitely does *not* have any true directional indicator (i.e., informing the searcher whether to go left or right to get back on the flux line), since a single-antenna design has no way of performing that function. (Same for Ortovox M1/M2.)

    Edit: The Freeride definitely *does* have a fluxline indicator. (But it definitely does *not* have any true directional indicator.)
    Last edited by Jonathan S.; 12-12-2007 at 08:21 PM. Reason: I was wrong, whoops, sorry!

  11. #11
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    You can get a tracker for the same price.
    Quote Originally Posted by wintermittent
    And furthermore. What is up with turkey bacon? Healthy bacon? Unpossible.
    Quote Originally Posted by snowsprite
    That is like masturbation. People resort to it when they can't have the real thing!

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonathan S. View Post
    The Pieps Freeride may or may not have some sort of indicator for whether the searcher is aligned with the flux line, but it definitely does *not* have any true directional indicator (i.e., informing the searcher whether to go left or right to get back on the flux line), since a single-antenna design has no way of performing that function. (Same for Ortovox M1/M2.)
    The one I tried had the fluxline indicator and naturally the distance. SO it works just as well as my M2, only it is smaller, cheaper and naturally has smaller search circle.
    Quote Originally Posted by RootSkier
    You should post naked pictures of this godless heathen.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by StroupSkier View Post
    You can get a tracker for the same price.
    My thought exactly. $220 U.S. gets you a BCA Tracker or Barryvox on sale; wait for REI's periodic sales, and they seem to show up 2X yearly.

    (Get someone in the U.S. to buy it & reship it to you?)

  14. #14
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    They are 229.93 right now at REI on sale.

    If you use code HOLIDAY7 when you check out you get an extra $20 off.
    Quote Originally Posted by wintermittent
    And furthermore. What is up with turkey bacon? Healthy bacon? Unpossible.
    Quote Originally Posted by snowsprite
    That is like masturbation. People resort to it when they can't have the real thing!

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by hemas View Post
    The one I tried had the fluxline indicator and naturally the distance. SO it works just as well as my M2, only it is smaller, cheaper and naturally has smaller search circle.
    Unlike the M1/M2, the Freeride has no adjustable volume sensitivity. Also, unlike the M1/M2, the Freeride has digitized accoustics.

    However, I stand corrected on the fluxline indicator -- sorry about my mistake in that regard.

  16. #16
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    given that the price is supposedly $185 does it make any sense as a practice beacon?

    It would seem to me that would make a lot more sense for those of use who don't have beacon basins nearby
    For sure, you have to be lost to find a place that can't be found, elseways everyone would know where it was

  17. #17
    Hugh Conway Guest
    cutting through the useless bullshit.

    It's better than not having a beacon. No, it's not the latest and greatest.

    If you'd like some help reshipping beacons I'd be happy to oblige (you were nice enough to offer help with a car). Cheapest/Fastest way would be a USPS Priority International Flat Rate Box ~$30-$40 depending on which country, should hold a couple beacons that could be sent as a gift

  18. #18
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    thanks guys (thanks Hugh for the offer), i know that i can get better beacons for a good price in US and especially now with your exchange rate being fucked up...but a few friends here in Czechland asked me about buying the Freeride here...the price difference is huge: Freeride 3500Kc comparing to BCA Tracker 8000Kc...and I wont bother with getting beacons for them from states...

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by 2-czech View Post
    thanks guys (thanks Hugh for the offer), i know that i can get better beacons for a good price in US and especially now with your exchange rate being fucked up...but a few friends here in Czechland asked me about buying the Freeride here...the price difference is huge: Freeride 3500Kc comparing to BCA Tracker 8000Kc...and I wont bother with getting beacons for them from states...
    Plus, you would prolly get raped by VAT and customs (shipping plus value can be around 80 bucks tops, when mailed into Yurp... any more, and you need to pay VAT and naturally customs), even for parcels marked as gifts.
    Quote Originally Posted by RootSkier
    You should post naked pictures of this godless heathen.

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