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Over the weekend, I bought a new ski jacket. When I got home, I noticed some small tags with "RECCO" on it. And looking up their website, I found this:

 

"RECCO® is an avalanche rescue system utilized worldwide to facilitate the rapid location of burials. The two parts–reflector and detector–enable rapid pinpointing using harmonic radar but are not a substitute for transceiver use. Complementary in function, the RECCO system increases the chance of being found in time."

 

The jacket had a concealed Recco Reflector: marke.jpg sewn into the lining.

 

If you're ever caught in an avie, rescue will use a Recco detector to find your jacket.

 

Now, it claimed to be worldwide, and in Japan, these resorts use it:

 

JAPAN

Alpha Resort Tomamu (Hokkaido)

Alts Bandai Resort (Fukushima)

Arai Spa & Resort (Nigata)(closed)

Hakuba Cortina (Nagano)

Hakuba Goryo (Nagano)

Hakuba Happo-One (Nagano)

Naeba Resort (Nigata)

Niseko Annupuri (Hokkaido)

Niseko Hanazono (Hokkaido)

Niseko Higashiyama (Hokkaido)

Niseko Hirafu (Hokkaido)

Tenjin Daira (Hokkaido)

Tsugaike-Kogen (Nagano)

Tsugaike-Shizenen Ropeway (Nagano)

 

Mountain rescue/fire & rescue bases

Avalanche Control Team Nagano

Gakunan Nakano City Fire & Rescue

Gakuhoku Liyama City Fire & Rescue

Hakuba Kita Alps Fire & Rescue

Hakuba Sotaikyo Mountain Rescue

 

Now, if you're in the market for a new jacket. Maybe you should consider one with a Recco System.

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My Arcteryx Sidewinder has one Thursday...problem I've heard with them is that it also depends how youre buried. If youre upside down with that facing the ground it tends to be less effective. Also, its a huge/bulky machine that they have to use to find you and not very practical. I think it gives a false sense of security and is basically just another way for patrol to find your dead body.

 

Bottom line, always use a beacon.

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yeah, agreed about the Detector bulk, but the new one seems a bit smaller.

 

detektor.jpg

 

I was thinking about a Pieps Beacon, will still need to consider one I think. But this Recco System came as a nice bonus with the super cool looking jacket.

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My jacket has one in it as well. I thought, well thats pretty cool, a free device stitched in, that might increase the chances of being found and if I want a beacon, well then I've got more protection. Then I might need a avi-lung, and well I might as well get a zorb bubble!

 

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 Quote:
Originally posted by Powderoo:
My jacket has one in it as well. I thought, well thats pretty cool, a free device stitched in, that might increase the chances of being found and if I want a beacon, well then I've got more protection. Then I might need a avi-lung, and well I might as well get a zorb bubble!

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 Quote:
Originally posted by tsondaboy:
+ dont forget that till the time the patrol reach the site with their Recco detectors it will have passed at least 30 min ~ 1 hour. Your only real chance to be found alive is a friend with a beacon.
I think the recco really give people a false sense of security. I didnt buy my new jacket cuz it has one..couldnt really give a **** really since theyre not that practical.

Beacon people beacon, its the only way to go.
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I also have a RECCO reflector on my Sessions pants - but don't particulary consider it anything to do with my avalanche safety gear at all - it is unlikely that a rescue team could get to you in time with RECCO equipment and save you in the case of being buried in an avalanche. Perhaps in an inbounds slide, but not in the backcountry - you only have 15 minutes to locate and dig a bc partner out of a slide. This is NOT backcountry avalanche safety gear. I agree, it's really for locating bodies. RECCO has a 50m range i think - so it's often used OR designed to be used at range with a helicopter over dangerous avalanche terrain to find a buried victim, either in a rescue attempt or to find a body. It's also limited to certain resorts, not all resorts have RECCO search gear... so if you are riding in avalanche terrain, get a beacon, shovel & probe and know/practise how to use them.

 

I have limited experience with RECCO. I used the search equipment last year, and was very impressed with it. I went off the south faces of Happo last year with a crew who dug a pit at the top of our drop in point. Whilst up there, i dropped my camera in the snow, and couldn't find it. Instead of messing around looking for it at the time, i returned the next day, dropped onto the south faces - and used RECCO to locate my camera. We scanned the whole area, and it started beeping, so we got out our shovels and dug. Almost 1m down, my camera was buried in snow and ice with no case on. I was just happy to have found it, and completely stoked when i turned it on and it worked as we stood there on the south faces. A miracle camera rescue by RECCO.

 

eskimobasecamp_73.jpg

 

eskimobasecamp_75.jpg

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Yes, not an alternative to avo gear but one more chance:

 

"Although similar in search procedure to transceivers, the RECCO system is not intended for self-rescue nor is it an alternative to transceiver use in the backcountry. Complementary in function, the system is an additional tool that does not interfere with other rescue methods such as avalanche dogs, transceiver searches or probe lines. The RECCO system facilitates a faster organized search for rescuers and provides skiers and snowboarders with one more chance to be found in time."

 

And

 

"Two recent trends have contributed to the increased effectiveness of the RECCO system. First, with cell-based emergency calls common, the response time of organized rescue has been reduced significantly in the mountains. In addition, the rapid upsurge in backcountry activity is extremely concentrated within a two-mile radius of developed ski areas. This close proximity speeds response time of rescue teams, which is the key to a successful live recovery. As these factors have converged, many avalanche rescue efforts now involve both self-rescue and organized rescue components. This new on-mountain reality makes the RECCO system a valuable search tool for facilitating a rapid recovery."

 

Maybe just entusiastic marketing.

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>The RECCO system facilitates a faster organized search for rescuers and provides skiers and snowboarders with one more chance to be found in time

 

>Maybe just entusiastic marketing

 

Yes, I find it to be BS. Its only good if youre buried right in front of the ski patrol..how likely is that? :rolleyes:

 

You have 15 mins to get your partner(s) out. If you have to go get patrol, then youre partners will be facking dead by the time you get back!!!

 

I hope nobody buys that thinking they'll be safe, they wont. It will make finding your body quite easy though - Ive said my piece \:\)

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yehhh man, i bought my sessions pants cause i like them, not because of some RECCO thing attached to them - they just happened to have that on there, it doesn't mean anything to me (even though i have experience of how effective RECCO is)

 

i think it's almost pointless, apart from for inbounds/visible slackcountry slides.... and looking for cameras buried in the snow ;\)

 

it almost enourages people who have no avalanche safety knowledge to go out there and think they will be able to get rescued with this stuff... totally unlikely. it doesn't help that it increasingly comes for free attached to your jacket, unlike a beacon, which is a costly, yet totally essential piece of safety equipment.

 

you should change the title of this thread, cause it's not a "beacon".

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we should also mention that the majority of people who die in slides die of trauma, not suffocation. the avalung is the same kind of thing, might as well have it, even though it will do nothing against the cliff you fall off or tree you impale.

 

beacons do little more. It is the only tool I own in hopes of never needing. And with that, your new jacket sounds rad.

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