The Best Avalanche Beacons of 2024-2025

The Mammut Barryvox has an advertised search range of 70 m. In our testing, this was accurate. However, the sensitivity of this and every beacon in our test when used a proper distance from sources of EMI (such as a phone, radio, satellite communication devices, and even something like car keys or heated gloves) is crucial. Because of the sensitivity, it’s easy to pick up phantom signals or even see incorrect distance and direction indicators. Every beacon we reviewed is susceptible to this. (Please read the FAQ for more details.)

A vital point for the Mammut Barryvox is the user interface. It has an easy-to-see screen, a confidence-inspiring mode slider with a lock, and icons and onscreen directions that are easy to understand. For example, if the arrows take you one way but your numbers are climbing, it will tell you to turn around with a U-turn icon. As you get closer, the screen shows when you should be bracketing in the fine search.

The Mammut is very tenacious on a signal when it’s locked on, something called signal drag. To the point where you can twirl the beacon around, and you won’t lose the signal or swap to another signal like many other beacons will. This is both a good thing and a bad thing.

The good: no matter how sloppy the rescuers’ technique is, they will probably have a successful time finding the beacon, as it’s hard to lose a signal once you have it. The bad: when you have multiple beacons in play, especially near each other, proven techniques like three-circle or micro search strips may not work as quickly as on other beacons due to this signal drag.

Also, when doing trailhead checks, the signal drag makes it very tough to make sure partners close to each other are all sending a signal. This is easily fixed by just using the group check mode, but anyone looking at this beacon should be aware of this beacon’s tendency to get locked on and stay on.

Fortunately, flagging works well on this beacon, making it easy and speedy when practicing multiple burial scenarios. With its long range and excellent user interface, the Mammut Barryvox is a great beacon for anyone looking to upgrade an older beacon or someone new to the backcountry world.

While it doesn’t quite have the extended range of the Arva or Mammut beacons we also tested, the Guide BT is fast and sure in processing signals. During the search phase, this beacon provides some haptic feedback with vibrations when it acquires a signal. This is a nice bonus to the straightforward, mostly easy-to-understand user interface. The screen is small and sometimes harder to read with polarized sunglasses.

The Guide BT has a group check mode, though it is a bit quirky in that you must continuously hold down the flag button. If you don’t, it reverts to send mode. This wouldn’t be an issue, except the button is a little tough to hold down, especially with gloves on.

The scan mode is an advanced function enabled while searching via the button next to the flag button that can be useful when you have multiple burials. When enabled, it shows the total number of victims within 5 m, then 20 m, then 60 m. Practiced users will be able to get a better sense of victims’ locations within the debris field and deploy resources accordingly.

Black Diamond has had a history with a predecessor of this beacon and the DSP Sport, with mode selection sliders not staying put and potentially turning the unit off when slid into the harness. This beacon, along with the Recon X, has redesigned and beefed up sliders that certainly seem to have fixed the issue. In making it stronger, it’s now a little more difficult to use, especially with thicker gloves on. In direct comparison to how other companies toggle modes, the slider design is certainly our least favorite design choice.

Beyond the ergonomics issues of the slider and small screen, we found this beacon to be incredibly powerful during testing. Recreationalists who would like to go with the Black Diamond beacons are better served by saving a few dollars and going with the Recon X, where you don’t give up too much. For professionals and advanced recreationalists who like great performance and can work with the design of the beacon, the Black Diamond Guide BT is an ideal choice.

The standout feature of this beacon is voice guidance, which can be turned off in the companion app (there is also the Diract without voice assistance). Testers found the voice guidance to be useful, particularly if we were in a real rescue situation where we would be very stressed and not thinking as clearly.

For instance, if you are following a flux line and getting farther away, the Diract Voice will tell you to “Turn Around!” Simple, but effective in correcting a mistake — following a signal the long way around — that is often made by backcountry users who are learning about beacons or those who don’t practice enough.

From a distance, the voice guidance works well and is helpful for a less practiced individual. As you get closer to the beacon you are looking for, the guidance is more limited, and many testers found it almost distracting rather than helpful. There is so much potential here; well done, Ortovox, for the innovation!

Without voice guidance, this is still a great beacon with two potential caveats. First, it has a noticeably shorter range than any other beacon we tested. It’s still well within the minimum search strip width of 40 m that many avalanche courses will use, but when some other beacons have nearly double the range, it’s noticeable.

The other noticeable difference is the Diract Voice uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery versus replaceable batteries. In testing, the Ortovox lasted similar lengths of time between charges as any other beacon with AAA batteries. If you forget to charge your battery, you run the risk of being out of battery and not going skiing or going with a battery without enough charge in it to safely do a rescue. Remember, your beacon will use significantly more power in search than in the send/transmit mode.

Using the beacon without voice guidance, it processes single and multiple burial scenarios very well. The design of the beacon is well thought out, making it easy to swap between modes with gloves on.

The Ortovox Diract Voice has a lot going for it. For newer backcountry users, voice guidance could work really well to help a rescuer in a very stressful situation. We’re very excited to see where voice guidance technology in beacons can go moving forward.

This beacon, in practical use, doesn’t quite have the range of the Arva or Mammut beacons, but it sure is close enough not to be a huge deal. Once the Recon X has a signal, it will guide you with a simple user interface of arrows and distance. Like the Guide BT, the screen can sometimes be harder to see if you use polarized sunglasses, and it feels small. In testing, we did feel the Black Diamond beacons did really well in the fine search when rescuers were in the critical 5 m range. There is no metric to point to for it being any faster; it was just the impression that the processor was very fast and was harder to overrun like some other units.

For special features, you still have flagging and a group check mode. The Recon X flag button is larger than the Guide BT, and we had an easier time holding that button to use group check mode. We wish you did not have to hold it down the entire time during the group check, though.

Black Diamond has a history with the predecessor of this beacon, the DSP Sport. Its mode selection sliders did not stay put and could potentially turn the unit off when slid into the harness. Its redesigned and beefed-up slider certainly seems to have fixed the issue. However, by making it stronger, it’s now a little more difficult to use, especially when wearing thicker gloves.

Beyond the ergonomics issues of the slider and a smaller screen with some older feeling user interface icons, this beacon shone for his power and performance during testing. If you are looking for your first beacon or replacing an older beacon, the Black Diamond Recon X is a great choice if you can work with the ergonomics.

It’s a much easier beacon to find in the U.S. than our best pick (the Arva EVO BT), and it usually comes in a package with a shovel and probe. For professional or advanced recreationalists, you might like the Guide BT more.

During testing, the Tracker 4 never really stood out in any way when directly compared to other beacons, but it also doesn’t have many glaring shortcomings either. In single burial scenarios, the Tracker 4 performed well, with a recommended search strip width of 50 m. Once it acquires a signal, the processor is fast and accurate, bringing you within range quickly.

The simple two-digit display does the job of giving you direction and distance. You must absolutely learn the details about what the different two-letter designations and multiple burial icons mean in the context of a rescue situation, as it’s not always obvious what is going on.

The Tracker 4 isn’t as great in multiple burial situations as other beacons we tested. Signal suppression works by being close to a transmitting beacon and hitting the suppression button, which temporarily masks the closest signal and gives you directions to the next closest signal. This is done to ensure that a rescuer is not masking the incorrect signal. In practice scenarios, signal suppression is functional but does feel confusing and not as intuitive as other beacons that use a flagging feature.

The Tracker 4 has another mode called big picture, which cycles through all beacons transmitting within range and their rough distance and direction. This can give a good picture of the situation and how to go about deploying rescue resources. However, it requires practice to fully grasp what the display is telling you about the situation.

The BCA Tracker 4 combines a rugged case with a simple user interface to make a beacon that is easy and reliable to use for most people.