Owners of the above beacons will want to run a safety check. Photo: Black Diamond
On Friday, April 15, Black Diamond and Pieps sent out an official press release, asking owners of all of its currently available models of avalanche beacons, as well as some older models such as the Pieps DSP Pro and Sport to perform a safety check on their device. The release describes an “electrical malfunction” observed in a small number of Pieps and Black Diamond beacons that prevents the devices from switching from “send” to “search” mode.
If you own a Black Diamond or Pieps avalanche beacon, click here to see if you need to run a safety check on your device and instructions on how to do so. We reached out to Black Diamond for comment: “If a customer has questions or concerns about the Safety Check, our customer service team can walk them through the process or have the customer send their device to BD/PIEPS and we will conduct the test.” Should a device prove to be affected, Black Diamond/Pieps will repair or replace the unit free of charge.
“A device check is sufficient to confirm whether the unit is affected,” they continued. “However, we recommend you follow best practices and always check your safety device prior to use. As we continue to investigate the issue, we will honor the repair/replace program in perpetuity and adapt recommendations and communication to new findings accordingly.”
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The announcement comes almost a year after Pieps and Black Diamond ordered a full recall of three Pieps beacons (now no longer for sale) that could inadvertently be switched from “send” to “search” mode, especially with an appropriate amount of force (like the user being caught in an avalanche). The faulty beacon design has been mentioned in at least one fatality in the backcountry in 2017, as well as a couple of close calls, including one with pro skier Nick McNutt.
While the implications of this most recent problem seem a bit less dire than the potential of being buried under the snow with an unresponsive transceiver, no one wants to head out into the backcountry with someone whose beacon could fail to find them. We were told by the Black Diamond representative that this most recent safety check has nothing to do with the recall from last year, and was caused by a “material handling / assembly anomaly in manufacturing” of a “very small” number of units.
In addition to issuing the safety check and notifying consumers, Black Diamond told us that they “have pulled all current inventory and are performing a thorough inspection on every single unit,” and have worked with their manufacturer to correct the problem for all units moving forward.
“There have been no incidents in the field where anyone has been hurt as a result of this issue,” the Black Diamond representative stated. “We will continue to provide updated information and answer all questions in real time.”
