What Mammut's Transceiver Recall Means for the Backcountry Safety Market
Two Fridays ago – 8 November 2024 – Mammut issued a recall notice for its brand new line of avalanche transceivers, the Barryvox 2 and S2. Their testing process identified an “assembly fault” with the units, and is offering free repairs or replacements to affected users.
On this blog in the past and when recommending products to Ski Club Members, I have often touted Mammut as one of if not the leading supplier of avalanche safety materiel. One of the reasons for this is that their transceivers have never been subject to a recall notice, something that has affected almost every other brand on the market.
So where does this recall leave Mammut? Do they still retain their position as the ones to beat? Or does this recall notice leave them scrabbling for answers in an increasingly competitive avalanche safety world?
If you are affected by Mammut’s voluntary recall of the Barryvox 2 and 2S units, or to see if you might be affected, and to take part in the recall, please see the Mammut website here.
The Recall
So what is this recall about? Mammut this year launched their next generation avalanche transceivers, the Barryvox 2 for everyday backcountry skiers, and the Barryvox S2, designed with extra functionality for guides and instructors.
Mammut have identified an “assembly fault” with the on/off/mode switches, which leaves the units susceptible to switching from search to send mode as a result of inadvertent pressure. This leads to the unit being untraceable by another unit as it itself is searching for radio frequencies, rather than sending out a signal to be tracked.
The Swiss brand are offering free return shipping and rectification. If you are affected, or to learn more about the fault, you can head to the Mammut website here.
The Bad
So, dramatic headline not withstanding, this is pretty bad news for Mammut. As mentioned in the introduction, they are one of if not the only brand who has not recalled their avalanche transceivers previously. In the minds of many skiers, this has set them apart as a brand to be trusted with, at the end of the day, the life of you and your buddies. Whilst recalled products are fixed and pass all required safety tests, the process can cast a seed of doubt about the certainty of their effectiveness.
At the same time, Mammut’s major competitors have released their next generation units, designed to overcome any bad vibes from previous examples. Both Ortovox and Black Diamond/Pieps have issued new units to market in the last couple of years that seem to be holding their own, drawing a growing trust from backcountry enthusiasts. This recall, therefore, probably could not have come at a worse time, competition wise, for the Swiss brand.
Diving into the designs in question, I have personal reservations. Mammut have made a what could be a singificant change in the design of the on/off/mode switch from last year's model to this year's. The design changes make the switch more akin to Black Diamond/Pieps' units.
Their own recall for a wide range of transceivers came after growing speculation as to their role in a series of avalanche accidents, such as the burial of pro-skier Nick McNutt in British Columbia, and implications in loss of life.
Black Diamond/Pieps has always denied these allegations, conducted investigations where relevant, and found their units not to be at fault. Their products have always passed all industry-standard safety and manufacturing checks, and continue to do so, and their latest generation units have updated their designs significantly compared to previous versions.
The element at fault was the on/off/mode switch on these units, which was thought to be of a too exposed design, and could therefore be pushed between modes or even turning the transceiver off if the wrong forces were applied to it. In their new units, Mammut have changed the designed of the on/off/mode switch to something more exposed than in previous Barryvox models, in a similar way to Black Diamond/Pieps.
There is no suggestion in anything from Mammut that the fault is similar, or that the design of the units is at play. However, from the outside looking in, I can't help but be nervous about this, and it is not necessarily a good look for the brand.
Black Diamond have worked constructively with skiers and snowboarders in the backcountry community to resolve many of the issues that led to the recall in the first place, and have done a lot in the intervening years to regain the trust of backcountry enthusiasts.
The Good
It is worth saying that Mammut have issued their recall notice incredibly early in the product life cycle. The new Barryvox 2 and Barryvox S2 units were only released to market in time for this winter season (2024/25), meaning there has been little field use and little chance for the fault to impact use.
Contrast this with Black Diamond/Pieps, who issued a recall notice long after concerns were raised regarding the on/off/mode switches on a handful of their previous devices, and whose market perception has taken a hammering as a result, especially in North America where the brand is more prevalent.
This is, in many ways, a statement as to the rigorousness of Mammut’s ongoing research and development into their units that this was actioned before many of them got into the field. I know I will continue to use my Barryvox unit moving forward without any concerns as to its or my own safety until told otherwise, and I am confident in the design of the unit itself.
I would be very interested to see the outcome of this recall period before diving headfirst into trusting these new units from Mammut, however.
Final Thoughts
This slip up has come at a really unfortunate time for the Swiss brand as the market reaches a peak of effective competition. However, the timeliness of this recall is a testament to the brand's effectiveness and, hopefully, they can roll out a quick fix to all affected units, making this a blip in an otherwise exceptional record. There's always an element of trust that goes into breaking trail with new safety gear; whilst it is unfair to assume that all transceivers need to face teething issues to gain skiers' trust, a recall in this manner can perhaps be given a pass.
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