REASONS TO BUY
Easy to use interface
Low profile design
Excellent multiple burial design and features
REASONS TO AVOID
Takes practice in the bracketing stage of the search
Beacon stays on if you don't hit the flag button when you turn it off
ARVA Evo5 Review
An intuitive beacon with a slim design, good features, and a great price
Credit: Backcountry
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Our Verdict
Arva's most popular beacon has been updated again. The newest version of the Arva Evo5 is one of the slimmest triple antenna beacons on the market. Its interface is more intuitive than previous versions and quite easy to operate. The Evo5 has reliable and easy-to-understand multiple burial functions and is one of the most straightforward models to use. It barely missed out on an award but boasts decent range and a more intuitive multiple burial function.
Our Analysis and Test Results
One of the better-priced triple antenna beacons on the market, the Evo5 is an easy-to-use beacon that is one of the lowest profile models on the market. We appreciated how easy the Evo5's interface was; one of its drawbacks was it took a little more practice to dial in the fine search and bracketing portion of the search (search and bracketing under four meters).
Performance Comparison
The Evo5 is an extremely intuitive beacon with a bunch of sweet features. One drawback is it takes a little more practice in the fine search and bracketing stages than other models. Pocket wearing users will love its tiny profile; it's unquestionably one of the best possible beacons for the price.
Credit: Ian Nicholson
Single Victim Seach
A feature that will help newer users is the “turn around” icon that becomes illuminated when the rescuer has gone too far. While it should be evident when the numbers are getting bigger, panic or lack of practice could lead people to travel in the wrong direction. If traveling in the wrong direction for more than five meters, the turn-around notification flashes in the lower right corner of the screen.
We liked a lot of things about this beacon; however, the fact that its directional arrows disappear at three meters instead of two meant it took a little more practice with newer users while in the fine search/bracketing stage of the search. Below three meters, it shows arrows pointing in all directions (ass seen in the photo), as well as the distance, to help cue the user to start bracketing.
Credit: Ian Nicholson
Speed
Moving the Evo5 from Send to Search is super easy; you just press the button at the top of the slider bar and pull it down from Search to Send. Once our testers acquired a signal, the Evo5 did an excellent job through the “coarse search” and kept us on the flux line very efficiently, thanks to its audible tones and directional arrows. Further than 10 meters from the victim, we never felt like we truly had to slow down with this beacon.
Fine Search
Once we were 10 meters away and we moved the beacon to the surface of the snow (as you should with all beacons), the directional arrows and changing audible tones of the Evo5 continued to be intuitive and easy to follow. During the final stage of our beacon search, both moving into and starting to bracket portions of the search, we had to be slightly more thoughtful and move slightly slower than with the fastest models in our review. As the Evo5's directional arrows disappear at three meters — instead of the previously listed beacons two meters — we had to make sure that we were moving between three and five meters with care. All of our testers noted that compared to some in our review, it took more effort to come in directly over the buried signal.
We were impressed with the multiple burial function, especially considering the price. It rarely missed flagging two closely buried beacons and labeled them clearly on its screen. You can see in the bottom left this model sees three buried signals and it has flagged one, as indicated by the “flag” near the furthest left “person”.
Credit: Ian Nicholson
Multiple Burials
When multiple signals are being picked up, the Evo5 has multiple burial victim icons displayed on the bottom of the screen with 1, 2, or 3 people-like icons — there is an additional + if it is picking up more than three burials. Once you wish to flag/mark/suppress the signal of the closest beacon, simply press the button down. It will display OK and then give you the distance to the next closest beacon; a small Flag next to the person icon (at the bottom of the screen) will let you know it happened. We found this model flagging function was reliable and could flag beacons, even with a decent amount of overlap reliable from three meters away.
The Evo5 is easy to jump between signals when in multiple burial situations. This makes it better for concentric circle and micro strip-searching techniques, but it means you need to pay closer attention if you happen to have two people very close together (sub two meters).
The Evo5 had a group check mode that can be used to help perform a function check, which should be performed before every backcountry outing. It jumped between signals and was nice for checking a group bigger than around five people, where there was a lot more signal overlap.
Credit: Ian Nicholson
Range
Arva reports a 50-meter range/search strip width. However, during our repeated testing, we did not pick up a signal that far away. Instead, our findings with the signal acquisition were more like 45-48 meters away — never once did we hit 50 meters. While there are models with longer ranges, we didn't find the maximum played nearly any role in speeding up overall rescue times; this is because most people are taught to use a 40-meter search strip in their avalanche courses. While some beacons have slightly wider search strip widths, most people simply play it safe (which is a good thing) and stick with 40 meters.
This beacon scored above average for its speed at finding a single buried signal, regardless of user ability. It features a fairly intuitive design and slightly-faster-than-average processor, along with five directional arrows that can be used in combination to help its user stay on the flux line.
Credit: Ian Nicholson
Features
The Evo5 features a “group check” mode to assist the user; this allows them to efficiently facilitate a function check — something that should be done with any beacon every time you head out into the backcountry.
Credit: Ian Nicholson
To access this function, simply wait until after the beacon has displayed battery life; the only thing it starts displaying is a flashing group check. To activate this mode, hold down the “flag” button while in group check. In this mode, the beacon's max range is three meters and gives distance numbers and audible sounds to let you know it is picking each person up.
The Evo5 (red, second from the left) is one of the smallest beacons on the market, with only the Pieps Micro BT being smaller (furthest left). This made it a favorite for people who prefer to carry their beacon in a zippered pants pocket. The other two beacons in this photo are the Tracker3 and the Tracker S, which round out the lowest profile beacons currently on the market - both of which are larger than the Evo5.
Credit: Ian Nicholson
Value
The Evo5 is one of the better-priced beacons on the market. While it was a contender for our high-value award, it lost out to the Backcountry Access Tracker S, which was just a little faster, consistently offered better precision in the bracketing stage, and was a little cheaper. The Evo5 does have its advantages — it offers slightly better range and an easier-to-use flagging/marking function, especially if there are more than two signals.
Conclusion
The Arva Evo5 is an intuitive, simple-to-use beacon. We liked the flagging/marking function, and it comes in at a strong price point. It remains a solid, well-rounded beacon that will perform well for beginners and seasoned backcountry travelers.
—
Ian Nicholson
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