Probes - Snow safety

Whether you prefer freeride or freerando, the risk of avalanche remains the same. That's why you need to be careful and have all the necessary mountain safety equipment. First and foremost are the three essentials: the avalanche transceiver or ARVA, snow shovel and, of course, the snow probe. Only these three tools, perfectly mastered and correctly used, will enable you to intervene in the event of an accident and be rescued if necessary. And, of course, you should never hesitate to get training in the use of your equipment and your snow probe.

WHY IS THE AVALANCHE PROBE AN ESSENTIAL PART OF AVALANCHE SAFETY EQUIPMENT?

The probe is an integral part of avalanche safety equipment. It's essential for determining the exact location and depth of the victim, so you can act quickly. Because in the event of an avalanche, it's the speed of reaction that can save lives.

Studies have shown that without using an avalanche probe for final location, it takes twice as long to free the victim: around 25 minutes. With the probe, the average rescue time is eleven minutes. This means that rescue within the vital first 15 minutes is virtually impossible without the use of a probe.

What you need to know before buying a probe

• Materials

The material must be light, yet provide the necessary stability. The strongest probes are made of T6 7075 aluminum, a top-of-the-range material that guarantees optimum weight and rigidity. For greater lightness, carbon is used. It is rigid, extremely light and freezes less quickly thanks to its low thermal conductivity. For users who attach more importance to reliability and high precision than to weight, steel probes are available.

• Rigidity

For a probe to be effective, it must be sufficiently stable and rigid not to bend when in use. This is the only way to ensure accurate, error-free probing. The larger the diameter of a probe for the same material, the more rigid it is, but also the heavier it is.

• The tensioning system

These are often made of steel or aramid. Because steel doesn't stretch, it's one of the most reliable tensioning systems. For aluminum/carbon probe segments, we generally find aramid. Aramid fibers are lighter, yet offer high strength and excellent resistance to elongation, making them ideal as a tensioning system.

• The length

This is an important factor: common lengths are 240 cm, which covers the average burial depth of victims. But the probe must also remain compact and easy to store, thanks to short individual segments.

• The probe tip

A voluminous probe tip, with a larger diameter than the rest of the probe, ensures better penetration. This reduces friction during probing. What's more, the pointed probe tip penetrates hard avalanche snow more easily.

The assembly system

To save even more time, it has to be fast. Using a probe with an intuitive and efficient assembly system is therefore crucial.

Which snow probe to choose?

The principle and construction are generally the same, whatever the brand. The parameters to consider when choosing a snow probe are length, construction materials, diameter, assembly and closing system. It must be both light and robust.

Our experts will answer all your questions and give you all the information you need to make the right choice.

The snow probe is actually made up of several metal strands connected by a cable. When laid end to end, the strands form a rigid pole, locked in place by the central cable. The length of a deployed probe varies from 2 meters to 2.7 meters. In most cases, in an avalanche, you'll find yourself buried less than a meter from the surface. But since more can be less, why limit yourself to buying a small probe and saving a few grams when you can carry a longer probe that could make all the difference in some cases.

Discover our selection of probes!

A final word of advice?

Think about training once you've selected your equipment. It's important to know how to use your equipment before going out into the field. ¨Think Safety Academy with Orthovox!

Alpinstore will help you choose the best equipment on the market: Black Diamond, Mammut, Pieps, Orthovox, Camp and Arva.