Mammut Barryvox S2 Review

The Barryvox S2 checks all of the boxes for what I want from a beacon at this price point. The previous version of this beacon, the Barryvox S, is one of my all-time favorite beacons, with a suite of features particularly suited for avalanche professionals and mountain guides. While the updated S2 is still a highly capable beacon for pros, it's also now so much more user-friendly for backcountry skiers and riders of any experience level. In particular, a new guided fine search function is more intuitive and easier to follow than ever before. For more confident rescuers, settings still allow you to switch on a full suite of professional features, including Pro Check, Pro Search Settings (which include an analog tone), and a Pro Test to check for signal drift.

Speed

The Barryvox S2 wasn't the fastest beacon in any single search phase, but rather it was smooth and easy to follow during every phase, which made the entire search process faster. The previous model, the Barryvox S, was one of my favorite beacons for its speed during the coarse search phase. The numbers on the Barryvox S never jumped around near the maximum extent of its range, which always sped up a course search. Unfortunately, the updated S2 seems to have lost a bit of this capability. While the arrows are especially easy to follow, it wasn't quite as fast to process distance changes further away from the target.

However, the Barrybox S2 has significantly improved its speed in the fine search phase. The old Barryvox S was notably slower during a fine search than other beacons, and it especially struggled when the processor was bogged down with multiple signals. The Barryvox S did have a guided fine search in pro mode, but it was much less intuitive than the new version on the S2. The new Guided Fine Search on the S2 is, I believe, one of the most useful functions to help inexperienced users improve the speed of their fine search. Any avalanche instructor will tell you, this is where most people struggle during a beacon search. With this novel function, you no longer need to maintain a single orientation to “bracket” a fine search. Instead, simply follow the arrows to the target – you can rotate your body to keep the beacon facing forward, and the S2 will walk you through a perfect bracket. I was able to search for a single burial at speeds comparable to the fastest beacons in our test, and the performance of the S2 notably improved over the original Barryvox S in multiple burial scenarios.

Interface

The new MIP (Memory-in-Pixel) display on the S2 is exceptionally bright and easy to read in any light condition or with polarized sunglasses on (which can be an issue with some screens). The button layout on the S2 is logical and well labeled, and a new, larger power slider is easier to use with gloves on than the previous model. This S2 is also slimmer and lighter than the previous model, and now operates on only two AAA batteries (instead of three).

This new model now offers Bluetooth connectivity, so if you prefer, you can set up the S2 from your phone. While Bluetooth is a nice upgrade that keeps this beacon in line with the current market, I appreciate that Mammut still gives you the option to control everything on the device, too. Using the buttons, it's easy to dive into the menus and on-screen options to navigate features and customize the S2 in the field, without constantly reconnecting to an app.

Notable Features

The Barryvox S2 has the richest feature set of any beacon I've tested. Some professionals have argued that extra features on a beacon are a hindrance, because they can distract you from acting quickly or get in the way of the essential tasks of a rescue. What I found, however, is that with a beacon like the S2, these features are only an option – they're available if you want to use them, otherwise they're in the background and out of the way. The choice to use or not to use these features makes the S2 simple for newer users just learning how to use a beacon, and powerful for professionals dealing with complex rescues.

First and foremost is the new guided fine search function, which is incredibly helpful for novices or can be turned off if you're already confident with a cross-pattern fine search. The Group Check on the Barryvox S2 automatically performs a signal strength check. It also offers a 5-meter range instead of the 1-meter range of group check on most other beacons, which is particularly useful for snowmobilers. Although some other high-end beacons also include a scroll function, the one on the S2 is my favorite because of how easy it is to scroll through multiple burials to flag and un-flag a signal.

An analog mode also gives highly competent users the ability to listen for multiple signals at different sensitivities, which is super helpful for close-proximity burials. The S2 can also detect movement of a buried victim and transfer that data to a searching Barryvox S2 via Bluetooth, which can be helpful for professional rescuers to triage a scene. Unfortunately, this particular feature only works with Mammut beacons, and for the most up-to-date version, the victim and rescuer both need an S2.

Accuracy

In my tests, assessment of accuracy begins the minute I acquire a signal. Accuracy is more than just getting close to the target within the fine search phase – I want a beacon to bring me into that fine search phase accurately, so that I have to do less work to find a target faster. In the coarse search phase, I'm primarily looking at the directional arrows. The more the arrows jump around, the harder they are to follow into the fine search phase. The S2 provides a large and easy-to-follow arrow that doesn't jump around, and its exceptional accuracy flows from the coarse search into the fine search.

In the fine search phase, the S2 consistently put me within 25 cm of a probe strike of a target buried up to 1 meter deep. The new guided fine search feature was just as accurate as doing a bracketed search. The guided fine search function brought me over the top of a buried target just as accurately as bracketing did, even when I held the beacon at my knee instead of on the snow surface.

Multiple Burials

While the guided fine search greatly helps with single burials, the rich feature set of the S2 makes it the most capable beacon on the market for solving complex, multiple-burial scenarios. I loved the scroll function, which allowed me to better see the whole scene and choose the signal I wanted to follow. I appreciated that I could flag signals within six meters, which helps with quickly triaging a scene. I also like that I can use the analog mode in conjunction with the digital search. Using both puts a bit of extra stress on the processor and slows the beacon down, but it can be very useful in certain situations. The Alternative Search Mode allowed me to switch between digital and analog modes, which was especially helpful for difficult, close-proximity burials. I could rely on the speed of the digital functions, but if that wasn't handling the situation well, I quickly switched over and listened to the analog tones.

All of these features are great to have in your toolkit, but only if a beacon can process multiple signals well. The S2 is specifically designed to handle this workload, and when things got busy, I noticed only a very minor difference in processing speed. This beacon scrolled between signals easily, and generally didn't send me in the wrong direction. In the fine search phase, the S2 still lagged a bit, but not as badly as the original Barryvox S. I actually prefer the lag over other beacons that jump around when there are multiple signals. I'm forced to slow down, which is a good thing during a fine search, anyway, and the slightly slower processing speed is easier to handle than arrows dancing around the screen.

Range

The Barryvox S2 has the same stated maximum range as its predecessor: 70 meters. Manufacturer-stated ranges are based on measurements with ideal coupling, which only occurs when two beacons line up perfectly along the axis of their short antenna. Real-world rescues rarely occur with ideal coupling, and for more of a real-world assessment of range, I recorded the distances where I first picked up a consistent signal and averaged those across our tests.

The range on the Barryvox S2 is better than the original – I regrularly picked up a signal at 65 meters with the S2, compared to an average 55 meters with the Barryvox S. That increased capability comes at a bit of a cost, as the numbers jumped up and down inconsistently until I got down to 50 meters. However, I also noticed that this issue was almost non-existent in single-burial searches with analog mode turned off. It appears that the simpler the situation, the more consistent the range values. Interestingly, I'm finding this issue exists on almost every new beacon I've tested with an extended range.

Should You Buy the Mammut Barryvox S2?

The Barryvox S2 sets a high bar for the capabilities of a modern beacon. In the past, I've often reserved my recommendation of this type of beacon exclusively to professionals. This was largely due to the fact that people would pay more for features that they ultimately wouldn't use. However, the Barryvox S2 is so easy to use right out of the box, and the new guided fine search benefits users of any experience level, from never-evers to professionals. Although it's expensive, this is the beacon I'll recommend to anyone.

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