BCA Tracker3 Beacon Review

I was surprised when I got my hands on the brand new BCA Tracker 3 Avalanche Beacon. The sleek, lightweight, NON-Bulkiness of it is amazing. BCA has done a heck of a job slimming down the Tracker3.

Three Antenna Beacon

The profile of the BCA Tracker 3 Beacon is so low that I sometimes panic on the skin track thinking ‘where is my beacon? It should be jabbing my ribs’ but that is a thing of the past.

This beacon offers easy functionality. Being a slide button and a 3 stop, turn switch, you go from off to transmitting to searching in a snap.

BCA’s Tracker 3 is a three-antenna beacon which seems to be the industry standard these days. The signal suppression is very easy to use in multiple burial situations.

I did some mock scenarios and had my buddies throw their beacons into a field while I had my eyes closed.

BCA Beacon Video

Then I progressed to time myself on a 1:4 search. With the Tracker3 they have a unique way of isolating multiple victims. They have a multi-victim signal, a multi-victim both-within-six-meter signal, and a more-than-two-victim signal. I found this useful because I had three beacons within six meters. So this made me, in search mode, go into high gear knowing three ‘people’ are within reach.

My total time on the scenario for all four was just 4.5 minutes. The ability to suppress one signal and key in on the next closest one was huge. That could be life or death in a real scenario.

BCA Tracker3 Beacon Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Sleek and lightweight design
• Easy functionality with slide button
• Efficient multi-victim signal isolation

Cons:

• Chunky design compared to other beacons
• No significant cons mentioned

Overall Impression

Coming from the Tracker2 to the Tracker3, I was really looking for some cons in the T3, simply because I don’t want to always write about how awesome every product is. Unfortunately for me, BCA did an amazing job at refining the size and making the BCA Tracker3 Beacon ($349.95) even easier to use than the T2. I would recommend this beacon to anyone in the market, from beginner to pro. I don’t think there is more bang for your buck than the BCA Tracker 2.

I have been a BCA Tracker2 owner for about 8 years. Having used it in real life scenarios, it is about as bulletproof and simple, and easy to use as they come. The Tracker2 was great in every aspect except one. It is a chunky beacon. I always felt that I had a brick jabbed into my ribs when going to tighten my straps or going for a grab off a cliff. It was a necessary evil that I know would happen every time I went to touch my board.

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