One of the best pieces of gear you could buy as a backcountry snowmobiler is a Garmin inReach. It's what literally saved my ass. But the second is an avalanche beacon as if the worst occurs when you're carving up some far-off bowl of powder, you want one in your pocket or attached to your backpack to help others find your butt under six feet of snow.
I actually had one when myself and Ski-Doo's Steve Martin (no, not the guy from Three Amigos) went off into the wilds of Utah and shredded the deep recesses of the mountains.
But sometimes gear fails. Whether that's because you broke it, you forgot to charge a battery, or because of manufacturer defects. And it's the last one that's of concern today, as Black Diamond Equipment has issued a recall over its PIEPS Pro IPS avalanche beacon and told customers to stop using the devices immediately.
The brand issued the voluntary recall on November 21st in conjunction with U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada. The recall concerns the brand's PIEPS Pro IPS avalanche beacon, as according to the company, "The PIEPS Pro IPS avalanche transceiver may not turn on, or if it does, may inadvertently turn off if it is impacted or jarred. This is due to a loss of contact in the battery compartment if used with AAA (LR03) batteries at the lower end of allowable dimensions. If this were to occur before or during an avalanche, the device may fail to function correctly or turn off, making it more difficult or impossible to locate a victim and potentially resulting in serious injury or death. Consumers who own the PIEPS Pro IPS should immediately stop using it and follow the recall procedures."
If you know something about avalanches, they're rough and tumble, i.e. impacts and jarring absolutely occur. So if your beacon doesn't turn on, that's essentially a death sentence unless you can get out yourself. As such, Black Diamond Equipment has stated that owners "should immediately stop using them and follow the recall procedures."
Devices affected by this recall are as follows: "All PIEPS Pro IPS transceivers manufactured and sold between October 1, 2023 and November 22, 2024 and having serial numbers with the first four digits between the range of 2326 – 2445 are addressed with this recall." So if you have a Black Diamond Equipment PIEPS Pro IPS with those serial numbers, you're going to want to listen to this recall.
As for those recall procedures, customers have two options. They can send their devices back for the company to fix them free of charge, both for the fix and shipping and handling, or request a full refund with the device's return.
According to the recall notice, customers can reach out for more information by contacting Black Diamond at 1-866-306-0865 (Mon-Friday, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. MT) or email 2024PROIPSrecall@bdel.com.
Stay safe out there and remember to have a good riding season.
