Arva, the European avalanche transceiver company, is making a big push into the U.S. market, and evidence of this is the brand new Neo, an intuitive, user-friendly, and affordable beacon that will appeal to the average backcountry user, which is pretty much all of us.
The Arva Neo is packed full of features, including:
- 100% digital display
- Bright screen technology
- Maximum range – 70 meters
- Search band width – 60 meters
- Frequency – 457 kHz international standard
- Marking function for multiple burial situations
- Multiple victims icon – 1, 2, 3, 4 and + victims
- Automatic switch back to transmit mode with timer
- Functions – primary search, secondary search, final search, victim list
- 3 AAA / LR03 alkaline batteries
- Battery life – 250 Hrs. (Transmitting) / 40 Hrs. (Receiving)
- Clip & safe holster
- Weight – 230 grams
- Backlight
- U-turn alarm
According to Arava, the Neo is the first beacon to feature what they call Isotech Technology. You see, most beacons have three receiving antennas, with two of them being used simultaneously in the primary search. Also according to Arva, the 2nd antenna’s performance is less than that of the primary, affecting the search band width. But the Neo equalizes the performance of both antennas and is the first beacon to achieve a 60 meter wide search band width.
To really test out the “user friendliness” of the thing, as soon as I got the Arva Neo, I tossed away the user guide, and didn’t read any instructions. So the first time I used it, I performed a multi-burial beacon drill in a parking lot below the Abajo Mountains, using Ortovox and BCA transceivers as “buried victims” that were hidden away by friends. Sight unseen, I found 4 beacons in under 4 minutes. The LCD displays, buttons, and audio cues were totally intuitive and finding the buried signals became a no-brainer. The flag button worked flawlessly as, after I ticked off a found beacon, the Neo promptly picked up the next-closest signal and away I went.
The search mode is pretty standard, really. An arrow at the top of the display points in the direction of the strongest signal, and a number beneath it indicates the distance to the buried victim. The lower left-hand corner displays the number of victims from 1-4+. The search mode also has an audio indicator that is really loud and gets even louder and more rapid as you get closer to a signal. I think the Neo’s search mode is among the most simple and easy to understand that I’ve used thus far.
One issue I did have with the multiple-burial test is the U-turn function. I would be close to honing in on a signal, but then the display would beep loudly and tell me to turn around. This function worked great when looking for a single victim, but in multi-search, it would sense buried beacons behind me and tell me to turn around, forcing me to stop and rethink my search pattern, which was a loss of valuable time.
Also, if I didn’t find a buried beacon within 2 minutes, the Neo automatically switched back to transmit mode after a countdown warning, which was annoying. But I was able to go into the menu settings and with Auto Revert, change it to active at 2, 4, or 8 minutes. Also, if the countdown starts, I simply pressed the flag button and the search continued without interruption. In the menu, you can also set the maximum distance where you can flag a transceiver during a multiple burial at either 3 or 5 meters, and whether you want to enable or disable the group check mode on startup.
As far as the cosmetic stuff, the Arva Neo is a really nice size. It fits well in hand and is hardly noticeable when in the harness. Like most beacon harnesses, it has two loops, one for the shoulder and one for the waist. Each is color-coded so there is no confusion about what goes where (red goes around the waist, black on the shoulder.) There’s even a diagram on the back of the harness if you still can’t figure it out.
The Neo is simple to turn on with a plastic plug attached to an elastic cord that fits into the side. The beacon is turned on when the plug is turned. After it is activated, it runs through a startup sequence that includes showing the battery life. According to Arva, that battery life is 250 hours, though I haven’t tested this assertion.
Switching to search mode is also super easy. A grey switch on the right side that is labeled switch/send is simply pushed up into search mode. While this sounds simple, I did find that it was hard to use with gloved hands as it takes a bit of muscle (so it never accidentally switches into search mode I suppose) and gloves slid right off the switch, especially when cold.
Overall, the Arva Neo is a user-friendly beacon that is packed with features not normally found at the $350 price point. It has super-long range, is intuitive, and finds other beacons with ease, even during multiple burials.