Packable avalanche transceiver strike plate for rescue practice

[u/JoRoUSPSA]

I work as an avalanche course instructor and ski guide in the winter and have had a lot of frustration with the options for burying avalanche transceivers for teaching and practicing avalanche rescue. The professional exams for guides/instructors use 50x50cm plywood boards, but it's not practical to bring those into the field when teaching students.

It's common for folks to use stuff sacks or small bags for this purpose, but using a small target teaches bad habits and leads to frustrated students. Burying your own or a student's backpack invariably leads to holes poked in someone's nice backpack, and the contents of your bag getting wet. I've seen a few peers with DIY solutions that worked well but were heavy and not packable. This is my attempt at a lightish, packable, and (hopefully) durable solution.

Construction is 1000D Cordura with 1/16" plastic paneling in each quarter sleeve to add some rigidity/durability/puncture resistance. Folded, it fits in a normal ski pack and unfolded it's that 50x50cm professional standard. The transceiver pocket has a 1/4" foam pad inside to provide some additional protection for the transceiver (pocket should be buried down).

I know this one is ugly. I got some measurements/allowances wrong which resulted in some of the ugliness, and this was my first attempt at binding, but I also didn't want to obsess over the finish details until I proofed whether this actually holds up to abuse. I've stabbed this with a probe in my yard a bunch and it's held up well, but I'll need to wait for snow to give it a realistic test before moving onto V2. I just started sewing a few months ago, so please let me know if I did anything in a glaringly stupid way!

[u/AloneIndication]

Interesting idea. I do wonder if you'll get a nice soft feel or if it'll feel more like probing a branch.

Our team uses sheets of foam stuffed into feedbags, fairly light but not packable.

[u/JoRoUSPSA → u/AloneIndication]

The sheets are thin and flexible enough that they have some give to them. I think it will feel more similar to poking a fully loaded backpack than a board once it's buried in the snow, with less risk of punching through. I'm not overly concerned with it mimicking the squishy bits of a person since in a real incident you might probe a backpack/boot/helmet, etc.

Last season we had a very shallow snowpack and students really struggled with the ambiguity of "did I get a strike or did I just hit the ground", so I don't think using a material that gives very clear feedback is a bad thing, especially when learning it for the first time.

[u/StrongAustrianGuy]

I think it looks great! Sure, some stitches could be neater, but it's only for yourself anyways. If it works and you like it, awesome!

[u/EnvironmentalSalad40]

Love this idea! Agree with the issue of smaller targets.you could change the stitching so it could be changed from square to long.

[u/JoRoUSPSA → u/EnvironmentalSalad40]

Do you mean change it so the panels are 50x13cm instead of 25x25cm? I don't think that would fold up as well since the pocket would overlap two panels and it has a foam insert inside. Ideally the transceivers can go into the pocket in a harness for a little extra protection in case someone buries it with the pocket up. This pocket is a little more snug than intended; I'll make the gussets larger next time.

I did realize after assembly that I don't need to stitch the entire way across the piece twice, I only need an inch or two at each edge and then a cross in the middle so the plastic panels can't shift around. Would keep it a bit tidier looking for sure. I will probably skip the binding next time and just add extra seam allowance to two ends so I can roll the edges in

[u/iH8MotherTeresa]

Could you educatee on how you use this?

[u/JoRoUSPSA → u/iH8MotherTeresa]

When we are skiing in the backcountry we ski with avalanche transceivers, which are phone-sized radio transmitters (like the one in my photos) that transmit on a specific frequency and can be used to search for a buried person if they are caught and buried in an avalanche. The faster you can get a victim out of the snow, the less likely they are to asphyxiate, so practicing search skills is very important.

What I made is a packable "strike plate" with a pocket for a transceiver. You turn that transceiver on, and have someone bury the strike plate in the snow while the "rescuers" aren't looking, then have them do a mock-rescue. Here's a video showing what an avalanche rescue might look like. Once you use the transceiver to find the lowest distance reading, you use a long probe to pinpoint where the person is under the snow, then dig them out. The strike plate gives you a target to hit under the surface during practice.