Never heard of Arva? You’re probably not alone. Ask most backcountry skiers in the U.S. and chances are good that they haven’t heard of this little French company, either. But, ask the same question in Europe, and you’ll find out that Arva is a household name with 30 years of experience in the avalanche equipment industry.
Arva’s goal is to provide solid and functional beacons, probes, shovels and other avalanche safety gear at an affordable price for the recreational consumer (as well as ultra light avy gear for ski-mo racers). We tested out the Evo4 Beacon and the Light 2.40 Compact Probe in the backcountry terrain outside of Telluride, Colorado and found there were pros and cons to both products. Here’s the full scoop:
Images via Matt Zia