John W. from United States, MT Public Profile

I bought this based on the Outdoor Gear Lab, other favorable reviews, and a friend's recommendation. I had a chance to try out a BCA Tracker II during an avalanche training field session and wasn't impressed with its speed or accuracy. When the Mammut arrived, I read the short manual and headed out to the local beacon park to try it out. I found every beacon in under a minute and on 2 out of 4, my first probe hit the target. The directional arrows and distance indicator are incredibly accurate, and once you're near the target, and the fine search is near perfect: if you draw an X in the snow with the center at your minimum distance read-outs, you're right over your target (these were buried 1-2' down, so accuracy will probably fall with deeper burials). Multiple burial features are also outstanding. The beacon immediately senses how many targets there are, and once you mark a beacon, the Mammut ignores it and directs you to the next nearest beacon. You owe it to your buddies to get this beacon.