Gear, Tech & Food

Every two or three years manufacturers release improved and more innovative features for their avalanche beacons. Some of these are revolutionary and some are just small enhancements, however, they are constantly moving forward.

In the past couple of weeks I had a chance to talk to two representatives about new products of their respective brands – ARVA and Ortovox.
Both discussions opened my eyes to some new thinking about avalanche rescue search but also somewhat confirmed my opinion that we might be stuck with some old standards.

Old standards

Technology and standards that are used for current avalanche beacons were established (agreed upon by manufacturers) about two decades ago.
Of course, there were some refinements since then but pretty much it appears that we are stuck with the antennas and the frequency they transmit (457 KHz). Therefore, being stuck also with the way we can search for avalanche victims.
I am no engineer, so during a meeting with ARVA representative from France I asked these questions:

• Isn’t the current technology quite limiting for significant improvements for faster searching?
• If it is then why something new isn’t being invented?
• What about some other technologies (like GPS)?

The answers were both upsetting and encouraging:
On one hand, yes, we are a bit stuck with the very core technology beacons are using now. On the other hand, there are great plans underway to improve what we currently have.
Bad news
The current technology obviously affects the basic functionality of the avalanche beacon and the ways manufacturers can improve its performance.
Also, even with a technology like GPS it would be very tough, at least for now, since users (searcher and victim) would depend on one more piece of device (satellites) than just a transmitting and a receiving beacon. This would make the rescue activity quite vulnerable due to terrain obstacles (steep valley) and satellites available for precisely locating a victim.
Pretty much the bottom line is, according to ARVA representative, that avalanche safety is such a small market to invest big sums of money in to invent, or research, something completely new. Besides, manufacturers don’t have such budgets anyways as they are not selling to huge markets such as electronics consumers.
They could possibly work on this together but then there must be a significant will to share information. In a commercial world we live in, this seems too “utopia like” to consider that. However, there is already a small change on this front which is discussed later in this article.
Good news
The good news is that engineers found some new ways how to improve avalanche beacon search while using the same old standards. To me these are brilliant ideas and I am looking forward to see them work and hopefully to be implemented by more than just few brands.

New ideas: out of the box thinking

Two new avalanche beacons will (should) hit the stores next season – ARVA Link and Ortovox 3+, and they will represent new ideas and developments from inside their companies.

ARVA Link avalanche beacon

ARVA is a French avalanche safety equipment manufacturer that is quite popular in Europe, yet not known at all on the North American market.
Recently, ARVA purchased or is licensing W-Link broadcast technology from Mammut which uses a second frequency (W-Link frequency: 868 / 915 MHz) for additional data transfer between Mammut Pulse beacons.
Mammut uses this frequency to transmit victim’s life data and there is a bit of debate within the industry whether it is good or not to make such information available to those who search.
However, ARVA is not thinking to use this frequency to send such data but rather to use it for communication among all the beacons in a reachable range.
This is how it should work – rescue scenario:
Party of five gets caught and three persons are buried under the snow, the other two starts searching. As searcher “A” flags (marks) a found victim searcher’s “B” beacon receives this info and flags it too. So now both searchers know there is only two more to be found.
Or if the searchers run in different directions and searcher “A” picks up a signal that is too far for “B” to see, it will notify the “B” beacon that it already picked up a signal.
This signal separation would be possible because the other W-link frequency through which the buried beacon is sending its unique ID (maybe a serial number).
Therefore, there is no way a beacon could be flagged but really not located in case of signal overlap by the transmitting beacons which happens sometimes with currently available models.
Taking it a step further:
Lets say another party comes to help and is also equipped with ARVA Link (or other beacon that would support this technology in the future). As they start searching too their beacons will be notified of the already found victims by the searchers “A” and “B” beacons.
You can definitely see how this can be very helpful in multiple burial scenarios. However, as you also noticed, no one started digging yet. 🙂

Ortovox 3+ avalanche beacon

Ortovox is a well known leader in the avalanche safety industry and once again they are readying to release a beacon that will do something no other beacon did before.
Apart from a very nice design and a use of only one AA battery, which makes the beacon very small and light, Ortovox 3+ will introduce a feature that helps others to search for itself!
This avalanche beacon will have the ability to automatically switch between two antennas through which the transmitting signal will be send when buried.
Ortovox 3+ will have three antennas in total but the third will be used only for enhancing it searching capability, not transmitting.
How this works – Ortovox 3+ vs today’s beacons:

When any currently available beacon is buried in a “wrong” way its main antenna will be transmitting mostly in vertical directions – to the sky and to the ground.
If an avalanche manages to bury you the “right” way then you have a better chance of being found as your antenna is transmitting more horizontally (or more leveled to the surface), therefore, providing the searching beacons with a bigger range to pick up your signal.
What Ortovox 3+ will bring to the table is its ability to figure out which one of its two main antennas is positioned more horizontally, then switch transmitting to it.
This means that no matter how this beacon is buried it will always be transmitting on the best plain for the searching beacons to pick up its signal from.
This feature seems quite revolutionary since the buried beacon will actively help the searching beacons to find it. Therefore, improving searching capability of any beacon, even those with a smaller search range.

More details about ARVA Link and Ortovox 3+

Currently, there are not all details available about these two units, thus not everything can be explained right now. However, based on what is known so far the features that will be used in these two beacons are a big step towards future improvements of avalanche beacon search functionality.
Both beacons will be available on the North American market once they are officially released and the purchase prices should be in a range of $350-$420, not too much for such cool features.

The 2010 Gear Guide published by Backcountry Magazine obviously contains ski reviews among other gear. By now everyone that bought this gear guide issue knows what their testers think about the skis that were available to them.
However, there are more skis out there than can be contained in one test and more importantly there are many more different “tastes” than those represented by the testers. Therefore, I thought it would be great if we all get to say what would make our “Editor’s Choice” list.

How does this work? What do you do?

The way this works is based on your honest opinion or a desired choice.
In the comments section below, you can either state reasons why would you love to have (own) a certain ski or why would you recommend a specific pair to your best friend.
So the rules are simple – be honest, make sure to give good reasons (why?) and pick no more than two pairs of skis. And you can go as wild as you want with brands or types of skis you would recommend – wide, skinny, super light, hard, soft…

How did the Backcountry Magazine review work?

The magazine ski review was basically divided into two categories – freeride skis and all mountain skis.
The freeride skis were on the fatter side – about 110 to 140mm wide under foot. The all mountain skis were in the range of around 86 to 105mm wide. Then of course there were other properties but this seems to be trend these days in terms of widths and how we categories a ski based on this one single figure.
This is quite interesting because about 15 years ago an 85mm ski would be almost unheard of. And the magazine states in their own words that in 1994 they featured a story: “…about new ‘super wide’ skis that [were] 85mm at the waist.”
It is amazing how our perception changes with time and evolution. And also, I believe this perception is shaped a lot by the terrain and snow we ski the most often. Because on the West Coast you can “get away” with a narrower ski, even on a powder day, than you could in some bottomless interior regions.

My picks

My desired ski would be something that floats enough and behaves fairly well in most conditions. Therefore, it would be around 85-95mm at the waist and perhaps weigh no more than 1600gm per ski. So my choice might be…Ski Trab Stelvio Light XL…or Dynafit Mustagh Ata Superlight.
A ski that I would recommend to a friend, based on my own experience, would be a super light ski mountaineering ski for fast backcountry missions or skimo racing competitions.
The skis would be Dynastar Pierra Menta Pro or its carbon version. It is quite stiff for its weight (870gm per 164cm ski for the non-carbon version) and it is still 65mm wide under the foot.
Now go on share your own pics. This should be interesting 😉

Melanie Bernier is a G3 sponsored athlete for past couple of years and tests their equipment any time she is playing in the snow. She lives in Revelstoke, skis almost every day and is a member of the Canadian Ski Mountaineering National Team.
Melanie will be representing Canada at the 2010 Ski Mountaineering World Championships as well as at the famous Pierra Menta – a four day skimo stage race.

I saw Melanie using the new G3 Onyx bindings at our Canada Team ski mountaineering training camp I asked her to answer a couple of questions for you regarding the product.
Obviously, this is not a review of the G3 Onyx bindings since Melanie is sponsored by the manufacturer, however, I don’t have any real use experience with the bindings myself, therefore I thought why not ask a friend couple of questions.
I am sharing my view of the product (even though it’s limited due to no real experience with it) below the questions/answers section.

Product intro

G3 Onyx bindings use the Tech technology that was developed by Dynafit about 15 years ago. Since the Dynafit’s patent expired few years ago some companies took on the challenge improving a system that revolutionized alpine touring bindings market. Here is how G3 made their mark.
» Click the following link to see a bigger photo of the G3 Onyx bindings.
» Click this link to see a PDF version of the operating manual for Onyx bindings.
G3 Onyx features as highlighted by the manufacturer:

• Easy to switch between tour and ski mode on-the-fly
• Easy step-in toe utilizing the Tech system
• Dependable and intuitive pole-actuated heel lifts
• Increased overall rigidity creating increased overall skiing performance
• Adjustable base plate mounting system applied to the toe and heel for quick adjustments, maintenance of boot center mounting and 33mm of adjustment to fit a wide range of boot sizes
• Ski brake and crampon compatible
• Complete disassembly and re-assembly possible
• Lightweight

Materials

• Forged aerospace aluminum toe-jaws, chassis and heel-post
• Fibre reinforced binding mounting base plates

DIN Settings

• 5 – 10 (My)/12(Mz)

Weight

• 1430g / 50oz with screws

What does Melanie have to say about the G3 Onyx?

Q: For how long have you been using the Onyx bindings? How many days have you toured or skied on them, backcountry and ski resort?

I received the bindings in April 2009. They were part of the “Beta Program” which consisted on giving the opportunity to G3 gear users to test the binding and give feedback after each day of skiing on them.
So the bindings version that I have been skiing on is slightly different than what is on the market right now. What you can buy at your favorite gear store is an enhanced version of the Beta Onyx bindings based on testers’ feedback.
I skied the Onyx bindings about 10 times in the backcountry exclusively last season, and I have skied them about 22 times already this season, which 7 of those days were on a ski hill.
Q: Did you have any problem with the binding during that time?
I did not have any problem per say. They are still in great working shape. No brake and no need to replace any parts.
I only had one emergency release while skiing with them and it was well needed and actually comforting to know that it works. I also only had one accidental switch from skiing to touring mode but it could have happened with any other binding in that situation.
Q: What features do you like the most about the G3 Onyx bindings?

How quick and easy they are to switch from walk mode to ski mode and vice versa. And activation of the heel-lifters is very fast too.
Then I like the fact that the bindings are so easy to adjust for different boot sizes. If you have different touring boots that have different sole lengths or if you want to let your friends use your skis, it’s a feature you will appreciate!
Also, the fact that you can adjust the positioning of the toe and the heel pieces of the binding on the skis is great. Therefore, whoever is using your skis can be positioned at the right place on them.
Another really nice feature of the Onyx bindings is that they are really easy to clip-in since the toe piece is designed to place the tip of your boot exactly where it should be in order to clamp onto the toe piece.
Q: What would you like to see improved in the future?
The toe piece activation mode since you have to push on it quite hard in order to get the boot in or out. It’s easy enough to get clipped-in properly as mentioned but sometimes when you are in knee-deep snow or if you are trying to put your skis on a steep icy ridge the current mechanism may cause some difficulties. I know G3 has been working on this.
Also, there are a lot of movable pieces with this binding but so far everything is pretty solid for me.
Q: What Skis are you using with the Onyx binding?
The new 2009/10 G3 ZenOxide. They are 105cm under foot – big boards. They have exactly the same side-cut as the G3 El Hombre but with a lighter core!
Q: You are a Dynafit binding user too. Pick one (feature or specification) to which the Onyx is better in your opinion and pick one thing that Dynafit has and Onyx not.
Onyx – Really quick and easy to switch from walk to tour mode.
Dynafit – Really light bindings, especially the Dynafit Low Tech model.
Q: What do you think is the best use for the Onyx bindings – backcountry skiing, slack country, extreme skiing, big vertical days? In other words, what type of user would mostly benefit from this product – regular backcountry skiers, occasional tourers…?
I think the Onyx would answer the needs of someone looking for a binding that does it all. It’s a great option for people getting more and more into backcountry skiing, people that do not want to carry the weight of heavy bindings like Fritschi or Naxos, and who want to have a closer contact with their skis.
The Onyx would be also for those who want a reliable setup which works on the hill, in the slack country and on day touring trips.
It will also meet the needs of people who are not wiling to spend a large amount of money for bindings since the Onyx are sold at a competitive price.
I think even the Dynafit die-hards should consider this binding since it is a great option. If you are all about the overall weight of your touring setup then it may not be your preferred choice but for a good days out in the backcountry it’s been proven to be a great choice!
Q: What is your overall impression?

I am so glad to see that there are companies, like G3, out there looking for alternative to touring bindings. It’s like the touring boots a few years back. Before Scarpa, Garmont and Dynafit were dominating the market, then others started to come out with alternatives which forced the previous mentioned companies to have a closer look at their products and improve them.
I think the same phenomenon will happen with the bindings. Since the Dynafit patent ran out, I am glad to see that more options are offered to backcountry skiers. I think the Onyx is a great alternative since it’s a competitive and reliable product.
And like any piece of equipment, the Onyx bindings have great pros to them and some room for improvement. But I still think that people have to try them in order to see what they have to offer.

My take on the Onyx bindings

As a loyal Dynafit bindings user since about 1998 it is tough to look at any other bindings without high expectations. But I fully credit G3 for sticking their head out and trying something new.
Whom the Onyx will benefit – in my opinion
I can clearly see that there are people that would desire the Onyx bindings and that they would really benefit from them as opposed to buying Dynafits or Fritschi or other models.
In my view, those people that would benefit from the new features that Onyx introduced (easier stepping in or more convenient ski-to-tour switch mode) are more of a leisure tourers or slack country skiers because all this comes at a weight cost compare to Dynafit bindings. In my opinion it would benefit more those that don’t log too many big days in the backcountry during a season or are likely to backcountry ski only seldom.
Whom the Onyx won’t make a difference for – in my opinion
In my view, the Onyx won’t make a difference over other existing bindings (meaning Dynafit bindings here) for people that are heavy backcountry users or performance oriented people. Because these groups use their equipment in such ways that they can live with small “inconveniences” if that means having a lighter and simpler product. Personally, I belong to that group.
My overall impression
My overall impression is that the Onyx appear very solid, therefore should be quite durable. The new features seem like a good improvement towards user friendliness, however, that caused an addition of many more parts over the very simplistic design of the Dynafits. With all those extra parts the Onyx design seems quite “exaggerated” to me, kind of overdone or unnecessary.
The price point (about $400) is very similar to Dynafits and other bindings, it only depends what models you are comparing it to. So there is no advantage or disadvantage when it comes to your wallet.
As you can see I am a Dynafit fan and that’s why I wanted someone else to make a case for the G3 Onyx. With that I hope to give you a more honest picture of a new product.
I believe, that in the next couple of years G3 will improve the Onyx more to my liking as well, thus I would finally have more choices on the alpine touring bindings market.

More about G3 Onyx bindings

There is a website dedicated by G3 to their new product with videos and all the specs – visit Onyx bindings at http://www.g3onyx.com.
Also, you can read more answers and reviews at  Backcountry.com.

Any questions? Share your experience

If you are thinking about buying the Onyx bindings or just simply have more questions you can ask in the comments below and Melanie, I or other people will try to answer them.
It would be valuable to hear from people that are using or have tested the Onyx bindings. You are welcome to share your experience in the comments below.

With some plain luck, I found this YouTube video that introduces the new LaSportiva Stratos carbon ski boot.
Before, there were only some images available along with some technical information. Now the picture gets clearer. The ski boot seems quite sophisticated, therefore the expectations will be high.
Take a look at the video and some basic information about the LaSportiva Stratos that were posted on SkinTrack couple of weeks ago.
You are welcome to post your reactions in the comments below. Mine is – WOW.