ARVA avalanche beacons

ARVA have been making avalanche equipment since 1984. We are super happy to be able to offer their products because New Zealand climbers, skiers and boarders have been crying out for such high-end safety gear to be made available at reasonable prices.

All ARVA beacons have three antennae, which is crucial if you are going to find your mate in the quickest possible time. This is because three antennae can point you directly to the victim (i.e., they give you a direction) and are more accurate in locating the victim when you get near, whereas one antenna can only tell you if you are getting nearer to or further from the victim (in which case you may not be walking directly toward the victim) and it then suggests you start digging at a point not directly above the victim. Essentially, if you were to purchase a single-antenna model, you would be expecting to be the one requiring the rescue (because your signal only needs to be transmitted by one antenna irrespective of the model of beacon), rather than being the rescuer.

ARVA Evo3 avalanche beacon

The ARVA Evo3 is a digital beacon that automatically searches for the nearest signal (remember, there may be more than one victim buried). The beacon will let you know if there are multiple victims. As you find each victim, the beacon will mark their position and begin searching for other signals.

The ARVA Evo3 has an LCD screen that indicates the position of the victim through an angle of 140 degrees, has a search range of 60m, has a search band width of 40m, operates on the international beacon frequency of 457MHz, runs on 4 AAA batteries, weighs 220g, has dimensions of 135x76x28mm, and has a 5-year warantee.

ARVA 3 Axes avalanche beacon

The ARVA 3 Axes has both digital and analogue modes. The digital mode is what you ideally use because it points you to the victim, but the analogue mode (which indicates the distance to the victim by the loudness of a beeping sound, like all beacons once did) has a longer range, so you may use it when you are far from the victim. In addition, the analogue mode can be used if the screen is damaged in the avalanche. The ARVA 3 Axes automatically searches for the nearest signal (remember, there may be more than one victim buried). In the case of there being multiple victims, the beacon will let you know if there are (a) two victims or (b) three or more.

The ARVA 3 Axes has LEDs that indicate the position of the victim through an angle of 140 degrees, has a search range of 60m, has a search band width of 40m, operates on the international beacon frequency of 457MHz, runs on 4 AAA batteries, weighs 220g, has dimensions of 135x76x28mm, and has a 5-year warantee.

ARVA Link avalanche beacon

The major point of difference of the ARVA Link, other than its rubber exterior, is that it broadcasts and receives additional information about the victim(s). In particular, the ARVA Link can detect if its wearer is moving, even if that movement is as little as a breath or a heart beat, and this information is transmitted on an additional broadcast frequency (867 MHz; W-link) that is received by other ARVA Link and Mammut Pulse beacons. The point is that searches will first dig for those victims displaying a sign of life since they have the greatest chance of survival.

The ARVA Link has both digital and analogue modes as for the ARVA 3 Axes. The ARVA Link automatically searches for the nearest signal (remember, there may be more than one victim buried). In the case of there being multiple victims, the beacon will let you know how many ('one, 'two',..., 'five or more'). The ARVA Link will alert you in the case that you are searching in the wrong direction (i.e., it will tell you to turn around).

The ARVA Link has an electromagnetic compass that allows it to automatically adjust for the Earth's magnetic field when reading the electromagnetic signal coming from the victim's beacon. The benefit of the compass correction is that the arrow on the display will take you more directly to the victim.

It is possible for the ARVA Link to quickly check the operation of all beacons being used by a group of skiers/boarders/climbers. In its group check mode, the ARVA Link indicates that a signal is being received when it is held close to the beacon being tested.

The ARVA Link indicates the position of the victim on a graphic screen through an angle of 360 degrees, has a search range of 80m, has a search band width of 50m, operates on the international beacon frequency of 457MHz, runs on 4 AAA batteries, weighs 220g, has dimensions of 135x76x28mm, and has a 5-year warantee.

Remember that having an avalanche beacon isn't enough. Locating your friend will take 1–2 hours using only a beacon, 25 minutes using a beacon and shovel, and 11 minutes using a beacon, shovel and probe (average times based on a study of 302 accidents). The survival rates for those times are 91%, 34% and 30% respectively (rates based on the same study). So, continue scrolling down to read about ARVA shovels and probes.

ARVA snow shovels

The ARVA shovels that we are offering have metal blades. Seriously, we don't want to sell light-weight shovels with plastic blades because they greatly compromise your ability to dig your way through hard avalanche debris.

ARVA Snow Eco

The ARVA Snow Eco is the snow shovel for anyone who is expecting to do some serious shovelling. Both the blade and extendable shaft are made of aluminium, the blade is 28 x 21 cm, the shaft is 36 cm, and the weight is 590 g.

ARVA Shark shovel

If we were snowboarders rather than alpinists, we would say something like "The ARVA Shark is a bigger, burlier shovel, great for professionals and ski area staff, or freestyle skiers/snowboarders who are going to be making monster cheese wedge booters, and need to move a lot of snow on a regular basis".

Both the blade and extendable shaft are made of aluminium, the blade is 25 x 27 cm, the shaft is 43 cm when packed and 64 cm when extended, and the weight is 750 g.

ARVA avalanche probes

ARVA 240 Light avalanche probe

The ARVA 240 Light is six sections of Al7075 tubing with a diameter of 10.2 mm. The probe is 240 cm in length and 46 cm when folded and has markings every 5 cm. The weight is 200 g. The tip is designed so that the probe can be used to study a snow pack for layering, with the user being able to feel slight resistance changes as the probe is withdrawn from the snow pack. The probe has a grip. The sections are linked with a Kevlar cord, which has the advantage over a wire that it does not develop a 'memory' (permanent kinking) that slows down assembly. Furthermore, assembly is quickened by plastic inserts in each section that align the sections when the cord is pulled.

ARVA 240 Pro avalanche probe

The ARVA 240 Pro is six sections of Al7075 tubing with a diameter of 11 mm. The probe is 240 cm in length and 46 cm when folded and has markings every 5 cm. The weight is 200 g. The tip is designed so that the probe can be used to study a snow pack for layering, with the user being able to feel slight resistance changes as the probe is withdrawn from the snow pack. The probe has a grip. The sections are linked by wire, and the probe, with its extra thickness, is designed for regular use by professionals.