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| ARVA Axis |
Summary: The ARVA Axis is the little brother to the
ARVA Link. This follows
the trend of the Pieps Tour
(the little brother to the
Pieps DSP) and the
Mammut Element (the little brother to the
Mammut Pulse). I
have used, but not fully tested, the Axis.
(Don't confuse the ARVA Axis which is
an all-new avalanche transceiver that was released in 2011 with the
ARVA 3Axes
which was discontinued in 2011.)
The easiest way to describe the Axis it so say that it is identical to the
ARVA Link with these exceptions:
- When searching, the Axis can point in 5 different directions while the
Link has a freely-floating arrow that is based on a compass.
- When searching for multiple
transmitters, the Axis always takes you to the nearest victim whereas
the Link allows you to select from a list of victims. And the Link allows
you to "unmark" a specific victim whereas the Axis requires you
to toggle between search and send modes to unmark all victims. (The Link's
additional options do add a little complexity.)
- The Link, but not the Axis, uses data that is transmitted on the "w-link"
frequency by the Link or Mammut Pulse to improve marking when searching
for multiple transmitters.
- The Axis has a neoprene case with thin harness straps while the Link
is stored in a large, semi-rigid holster with a wide shoulder strap.
- The Axis is white and the Link is black.
- The Axis is priced $90.00us less than the Link.
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Using the big-brother little-brother analogy, it's notable that ARVA chose
to keep many more features in their little brother (i.e., the Axis) than Mammut
and Pieps chose to keep in the Element and Tour. For example:
- The Axis can be toggled between analog and digital modes whereas the
Element gave up this feature from its big brother.
- The Axis retains two buttons whereas the Element and Tour eliminated
one of their buttons.
- The Axis (and Tour) retained its lighted display whereas the Element
gave up this feature.
- The Axis senses motion before reverting from searching to sending whereas
the Element gave up this feature. The Axis also lets you specify how many
minutes must elapse before it auto reverts whereas this feature is found
in the Pulse but not the Element.
- The Axis retained its earphone jack whereas the Element didn't.
- The Axis retained the ability to customize its startup screen whereas
the Element didn't.
Many of the features that were retained in the Axis, such as the customizable
startup screen, the lighted display, and the earphone jack, add benefit without
adding any complexity. Even the ability to toggle to analog (by pressing and
holding both buttons) adds significant power yet can be completely ignored.
The one feature that was retained in the Axis and which does add a complexity
is the two side-buttons. Whereas the Mammut Element and the Pieps Tour have
one off/send/search switch and one "mark" button, the Axis has an
on/off button, a search switch (with an "Enter" button in the center
of the switch), and two side-buttons. It's easy enough to learn how to use the
Axis, but it isn't quite as easy as the Element and Tour. The trade-off is that
the Axis does include more features (the most notable being the ability to toggle
to analog mode).
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