Why This Is Always On My Pack - RECCO Backpack Rescue Reflector
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 พ.ย. 2023
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I knew that RECCO technology was used in snow sports, but I've been seeing rescue teams use it for hikers out non-snow rescues more and more. In this video I'll show you why I use the RECCO Backpack Rescue Reflector all the time in the outdoors.
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Let's clear some things up.
1 - This is not a substitute for an inReach, good planing, or good judgement.
2 - RECCO was primarily used for snow / avalanche areas but in the last few years has been deployed as a 4-season tool for SARs.
3 - It doesn't have 100% worldwide coverage.
4 - It weighs almost nothing and I hike in areas where SAR teams deploy radars, so it's worth it for me
5 - If you think it's too expensive, a rip off, etc. you don't have to buy it
6.- Since posting, a few people in SAR aviation have told me they went through the training and it's a valuable tool to carry, and the tech works. Put RECCO in your PLB or inReach emergency info details.
7 - Being found hiking is not the same as being found when covered in an avalanche. It's not helpful to compare the two scenarios when evaluating this.
8 - I'd imagine as more SARs and hikers / backpackers use this, rescue stories will appear.
9 - RECCO invests a portion of the sales of reflectors into getting radars into SAR hands.
cool tech, didn't know this existed.
you know what would actually work just as well as a recco reflector. Not even joking, wearing a tin foil hat
@@freeskierdude_So you’re saying a 1 cent strip of foil is all that’s needed?
yes@@somestuffithoughtyoumightl6985
@@freeskierdude_ Until it falls off/blows away.
It's basically a Best Buy anti-theft tag or supermarket RFID. Brilliant use of relatively mundane technology in a new and unique way, esp. in a way the saves lives. Thanks for the heads up. I just ordered mine.
Why the hell does it cost $40 then?? Rfid tags are basically disposable now.
40 bucks on top of the rescue bill. I’ll pass
@@outcastatsabre Given the amount of money people spend on hiking and camping gear, especially the people who count the individual grams of carry weight, this is nothing. They'll spend $100 more on a walking stick if it's 4 grams lighter.
Apple phone are only $80 in parts but you need a all the engineering workers to develop it which are normally millions of dollars. If you buy a knock off tag for $5 then these new technology will end. How much is it to rent a helicopter and fly around for a few hours to test?
@@thefpvlife7785Of you need rescue its about you beeing dead or not .
Recco tags have been included in snow gear from European brands for over 15 years or so. But interesting to see them sold separately now.
I think this is very cool, but I don't understand why a strip of copper and a diode costs almost $40? Honestly, it seems like something you could make yourself for under $1.
@@ImproveConditions Yeah, it's gotta be something like that.
@@ABQSentinel It's apparently the same thing as those anti-theft tags that trigger the gate alarms. I assume it's probably set up for different frequencies though, it would be super annoying if it triggered those anti-theft gates wherever you go.
@@ABQSentinel Development, production and shipping cost, plus profit margin. And I would assume these things have to be made precise and robust.
Or they are ripping just you off, Im not a product designer.
@@ABQSentinel You've never been involved with producing a commercial product then if you think the cost of the materials are the cost of the finished product. The machinery, design, and licensing , these costs alone are in the millions of dollars, many of which are annual costs. Labor, benefits, marketing, logistics, regulatory compliance, continuous investments in technology upgrades and product improvements. At the end of the day they have to make a profit to avoid bankruptcy, and continue to innovate, retain employees, and produce a robust, reliable product, not some junk that can be made for $1. I'd much rather be spending a measly $40 on a product that can save my life that I can depend on, than the $3.99 Temu version that will fail me on the side of a mountain with -40 degree windchill.
Please carry these tags inside your clothes! You don't want them anywhere you might lose them, especially in extreme cases like an avalanche. You want the rescuers to find you, not a loose tag.
Also, I believe these work pretty well, even better if you carry more than one, with distance in between. Like one on your shoulder and one on your leg.
Well, if it's like most RF systems, if you use multiples you'll want to somehow have them at 90 degrees from each other. This is to ensure at least one isn't oriented in such a way that it can't receive the radar's signal.
A German mountain rescue team handed these out at a event last year - had it with me on each hike since then because it basically weighs nothing. They also used the RECCO detector under a helicopter when a girl went missing while hiking the Black Forest.
They use cheaper versions as well to locate infrastructure below snow. When dropping avalanche bombs it is even mandatory to stick a RECCO reflector onto the bomb to be able to locate a dud. Unfortunately, these much cheaper versions are only sold to commercial customers, not consumers.
Search and Rescue will always first search using an avalanche beacon. If you're in avalanche terrain, wear a beacon. Once SAR deploys the RECCO receiver, it's a body recovery.
source: trust me bro
I've pretty much always heard that RECCO basically stands for RECoverCOrpse
They're not worth much in avalanche terrain, but if you're backpacking (the summer months) your survival time is significantly longer as you're most likely to die from exposure than anything else.
You only have 10-30 minutes before you suffocate in an avalanche so unless you have someone on hand in the immediate area you're done anyway.
@@bitzie7195 Cool story bro. Don't make shit up.
Friend of mine worked as a guide and told me there were only 2 recco locators in all of Norway, you know, prime avalanche country. The army had one, and I think the red cross had the other. He said they were heavy and a pain to drag around and to wear a beacon or whatever its called in English, don't belive the recco will save you in an avalanche. This was probably a decade ago, so take it with a grain of salt. That said, we all had to sow these recco patches into our uniforms.
These were popular about 25/30 years ago. Nevica made ski jackets with them built into the sleeve. They became fashionable because of the bright colours. They would set off alarms in shops.
There is also a Recco Belt, with reflectors sewn in (one in front and one in back), that sells for about $50. The California Highway Patrol now has an airborne detector for use by their helicopters.
I am wondering what California Highway Patrol uses them for.
CHP is actually a pre-eminent search and rescue operator. Think about it this way - in an emergency, wouldn't you want to call the helo that's probably already in the air doing traffic enforcement, has thermal/night vision cameras and whatnot, and piloted by someone with extensive knowledge of the local area? It's also sort of hard to justify aircraft solely for traffic enforcement, and keeping current on SAR training helps to prevent CHP air crews from becoming complacent. Kind of a win-win situation.
@@manp1039 In San Diego, the Shariff i believe also has one equipped on one of their helicopters. The county has two helis, named Astria and Able. If i remember correctly, Astria is a common Bell style police helicopter that you see in GTA and in the movies. Used for chases and such. Able on the other hand, is a FAT FAT girl. Its mainly used for search and rescue. Its first response in terms of searching for people. It has the tools needed for search and rescue, including cable hooks to get people out of there and larger fuel tanks to be able to stay up way longer. I believe she is also capable of putting out small fires if needed. The SD Shariff is always first response when it comes to that and Able is always used. Astria isn't equipped with any of those tools and can aid in search as long as its not too far out, but that's it because its range isn't that far and is used in the cities a lot more.
Once located, CalFire or another agency is often used to help aid the people out of there. its a pretty common in CA.
This will be added to my hiking gear. As my wife and I get older we worry a lot about this, so Thank you for brining it to our attention.
I personally think you’re just an amazing resource. As a former Sierra mountain guide, I thought I knew everything evidently not this is terrific. Thank you so much you know you are just you’re just terrific. I absolutely value your take on things, your knowledge respective and your gentle way of sharing things thank you.
Big big thank you, appreciate that. 👍🏻
Thank you for this video. I need to get one of these for myself, my Wife, and each of our children.
Great practical and helpful information. Really appreciate this. Take care fella.
Thanks for the info! Just ordered mine and a few holiday gifts for my hiker friends.
Man thank you for sharing I can’t believe this exists and I didn’t already know about it will be adding it to my Amazon list and what a great Christmas present for the stocking for my kids
Wow, what a super little device, thanks for sharing this info. Stay safe and take care
Thanks for the great suggestion.
Thanks for the heads up, you're always ahead of the game! The key factors for this in my mind are the low entry price for users and the passive operating mode, there's no use training required and many users can afford this for the added margin of safety.
Thank you Hiking Guy!👍😊
Whoa! I need to get one. Thanks so much for sharing!! I could use it hiking, backpacking, or snowboarding.
There was a rather well covered rescue attempt in Alaska where a friend was found buried in snow pack through recco. What was unique is that they use a helicopter mounted unit like you described (mainly because of weather restrictions and difficulties of search area). Not something that was really done much before but is more and more common as techniques evolve.
SAR here in British Columbia also have night vision capable helicopters and thermal imaging drones used as recently as this weekend to find someone in the north shore. It's interesting how all this tech and toolkit for rescuers is evolving. Hopefully someone's worse day of their life can end on a good note with these continued advancements.
Great info on the RECCO backpack reflector. Just ordered one via your link. Appreciate your channel and its educational and practical recommendations. 👍
Thank you!
That is absolutely brilliant!
Very cool piece of safety gear, thanks for the info!
Thanks for this vid, adding to amazon shopping list.
Cool video! I know many companies produce packs, footwear and garments with this tech and I have an Arc'teryx Alpha SV from a couple years back with it as well. Neat to see the visual how it can work and they are available to purchase separately (when I don't carry my heavier shell)
Very interesting, thanks for sharing. Always good to be prepared
So cool! Thanks for the video.
Awesome another peace of mind tools and thank u for sharing, On the other hand I watched your channel on cactus to cloud … and finally did the hike .. OMG the hardest of all .. ur guides made the image in my head clearer.. I should have started 10 pm .. as I did took my time.
Ha yea that hike is no joke. Glad the guide helped out and congrats!
What a great idea thanks for bring it to my attention
Seems like a no-brainer... great suggestion!
Cool that it's being used for hiking now! I have it built into my snowboard jacket but would love to have it while out backpacking.
Thanks, Cris! I didn't know such a thing existed, even though I have a hard shell jacket Recco reflector embedded in it. Hood of jacket has RECCO print in backwards, like a backward AMBULANCE on rescue vehicles.
First time hearing of this. Thanks for the info!
Might be good to pin a reminder on this to remind people not to throw these in anything that's designed to block RFID like so many pouches and pockets and such these days since people have all these tap-to-pay credit cards. Those will render these completely worthless, so just keep them attached outside your pack or somewhere else that's not protected from or designed to block radio frequencies. As a techie, that's obvious to me. But having family who aren't techies, I know for a fact that people do often put things like air tags and cell phones inside RFID blocking purses and fanny packs etc., without realizing that these will make them basically not work at all.
That's GREAT info. Thanks for sharing.
It is mainly used for reCCOvery of the dead body in an avalanche because you must be very close and the sender / receiver equipment is never on the spot early enough for rescue...
thank you! just bought one
Good info, thanks!
That is really slick!
This has been in hardshell jackets etc for many years, didn't know it's also available stand-alone. Nice find!
That's a really cool simple design.
Really interesting piece of tech, thanks!
Great 2-minute video!
Thanks, great tip!
Excellent tip.thanks
Cool, Thanks!
Excellent!
Pretty cool. Learn new stuff everyday
Great tip thank you
No Brainer. Thanks for letting us know. I never heard of them
Thanks Bud.
This is really cool.
Thanks for the recommendation. Radar is an under appreciated tech these days. Also remember to bring a radio. Radios are underrated, easy to manage, and can be used for other things in the event of an emergency. Some radios can even text. I've been really impressed with radio over the years. Radios can get heavy but newer ones are much much lighter, and very useful. Ideally, if you are solo you should always bring a radio, as solo hiking is much much more dangerous. I recommend also having a buddy with a radio if possible, this allows you to to communicate consistently. Simply having something which can send out emergency signals is very valuable. Radio can do this over prolonged periods.
Wow incredible
That's some clever tech right there!
Thank you so much for turning me on to this potentially life-saving technology
Really great info thank you. I'm assuming that's 5.8 grams. This should be the next must for gear videos safety must. I hiked the pct and it seemed most had a plb of some kind but I think this in addition would offer even more reassurance. It would also be good information to tell your contact person before heading out.
I got this built into my rain jacket, pretty cool
I WILL get one for me and my son and his wife. He loves to camp and hike too. Brilliant idea and works. Best ever.
Good lord this is a fantastic idea.
Orientation really matters with these, having a couple in various positions can be the difference between being found and not. It’s good to see them being used in more applications.
The heli slung recco units are sick.
Thanks for this valuable information. I see from the list you linked that our local ski area uses a RECCO detector. I'm going to get the reflectors for friends/family who ski. I may also check with the local SAR to see whether they ever use the detector.
If the search people know you have one, they can deploy it in the search.
I use to maintain and test airport radars
Now that is clever tech !
My daughter is studying forestry management and I think I am going to buy her one of these for xmas
Nice!
Good job
Damn Its too good!
Great idea. May I also suggest another analog tool.
A whistle.
Put on around your wrist be it boating, hiking, skiing etc and around your kids in case you get separated. A $2 whistle might save your life before helicopters fly over heard up to a mile.
If you are with kids and kids do what they do like wander off to have fun and they see a bear or some other emergency they can just blow a whistle. Same with boating accidents. MUCH easier to blow through a whistle while overboard than scream all night.
PLEASE carry one. Cheap insurance.
This was definitely new news for me! Thanks for providing all the great information about it. Seems like it would be a good thing to invest in due to its low price.
Hi Frank!
@@Briluvr Hello!
I had a RECCO snow jacket I donated but regretted not cutting out the reflector. Thanks, I didnt know they sold them like this.
Thank you for the video.
I was unaware of this product.
NICE catch sir.
thanks
That is super cool! I always carry a super compact satellite transponder for emergencies and I always go out alone. The big question is if I get hurt will I be able to access my transponder and deploy the antenna and pull the SOS trigger. I have never seen this device before. Thanks for the great info.
Thanks for this informationb and content. I ordered 2. A bit frustrated as I'm sure this tech isn't used as much in the US but mabe it will in the future. Good insurance in anycase.
Some of Helly Hanson hiking , skiing and mountaineering jackets come w RECCO . 👍🏻😃
Excellent, A few years back my wife and I did some canyoneering with a group of six including myself. After the second repel I had dislocated my finger but we were already too deep to turn around so we continued total waterfalls we ascended 11. After our 11th repel it was time to head out of the canyon at that time it was getting darker and so we were going to do a shortcut which is essentially going straight up a ridge not your traditional route otherwise the other option was a 4 mi hike out of the canyon. Long story short a few of us were getting cramps even though we were around water we didn't have any filtration system we were getting very tired so I used my in-reach SOS. SAR which was the Orange county sheriff's helicopter were looking for us in the wilderness based on the GPS coordinates it take them some time to locate us we used are headlamps to help get their attention in the thick brush. I think this device may have helped speed up the process of them locating us. I'll certainly be considering to purchase this device.
Ever since my accident in 2016 I have had an in reach with me and I do take a lot more precaution. My SOS device has helped others on the trail as well so I understand the importance of being found in a timely manner.
Here's my story. I will have to know that when I was interviewed I did not know or understand the significance of my accident until a year later which I found later from my rescuers that I fell over 2,600 ft. www.backpacker.com/survival/out-alive-sliding-out-of-control/
Update. I just purchased four one for myself and the others is an early Christmas present to a few of my hiking friends.
Thanks for introducing this product to us. I'm quite familiar with this technology in the form of RFID tags which we use in retail shops (passive harmonic radar reflectors). These tags can be purchased for $0.15 to $1.50 depending on which manufacturer's system is in use. Therefor, I can't understand why the RECCO tags cost as much as they do. It is the same technology with the same components in them (but adjusted to a lower frequency). It is simply two tiny foil strip antennas connected together by a diode in parallel with a tiny inductor. RECCO is making a HUGE profit on this! This market is ripe for someone to manufacture similar reflectors at a cost of less than $2.00 and would still work with the RECCO system and not infringe on the RECCO patent.
While they can be made cheaper, you're not going to get them deployed in the field worldwide without a serious investment of capital - that's what you're paying for. That and the fact that these will pick up the tag from a helicopter thousands of feet away from you. Your store sensors and tags won't do that and neither will anything else. These are _fundamentally_ the same technology, but they are not _the same_ thing. It's likely that another thing you're paying for here is the infrastructure on the back end that supports these things in the first place. Search and rescue outfits all over the place are largely operated by volunteers, because they don't have huge budgets to buy equipment all willy nilly just because someone has a good idea. I'm betting the $38 price tag on these is also funding the deployment of those radars, because all the tags on your person in the world won't do you any good if there's no one out there who knows they exist and has the ability to detect them.
The item in the Helicopter cost $450,000 So carry your $2 tag and hope they are looking for a store looter.
cool...my pants have it built in apparently haha. thanks for the info
Yes, I have two. One on the front of my pack and one on the back.
sorry to break the bad news but recco is really only meant for recovering your body. I guess it would work for a lost hiker. They can not be deployed fast enough so save you from ana avalanche. They are also very prone to false negatives. The angle of the reflector when reciving the signal matters, if the reccor reflector is sideways it might not reflect. The reflector can also be shielded by anything containing metal like your phone or foil in your bag. It should be noted that this is NOT a subsititute or replacement for an avalanche beacon
Recco with a Garmin Inreach mini would be an excellent combo
Fantastic video and reco, ;) You got a sub from me.
Great reccomendation! The link to the services using this is gold - immediately know if it would be useful for me! Thanks!
i've never heard of this technology before, but im not surprised it exists.
i am surprised however, about the sheer number of agencies that use it in Canada.
This tech looks pretty amazing. Especially since it requires no input from the victim or trapped. May be good to imbed in everything for standard rescue recovery. Fires. Exc.
I have ski clothing with RECCO but was not aware of this product. I purchased one with your link, thanks for the info!
THANKS FOR SHARING!
Big thank you for your support!
Really interesting, Its basically a single strip of chaff like what airplanes use.
I use two, the self-adhesive one on my ski helmet, the second one as a luggage tag on onto my backpack. Under-rated tech, along side my Garmin Inreach mini WITH the active rescue plan for a mere $30/year.
Please make sure that the Recco tags won't come off, even in extreme cases. Best to carry them inside your clothes, or at least inside your backpack.
A knife and a 2 year course from the John Wick school of attack.
@@aaronmoore3050 False. knives are ineffective in bear defense.
at least they'll find your backpack when it gets stripped off of you in an avalanche
@@tehKap0w cool story, bro. Why would such pessimist like you go outside?
My jacket came with one of these sewn into the back right below the neck.
Learn something new everybday, i only thought this was for avalanche beacon
Oh wow I had no idea this was even a thing!
My mid range jacket from Mountain Warehouse in UK has RECCO. A bit over spec for the English Cotswolds, but you never know...
How did no one think of this until now
THANKS for spreading the word on this! Had not heard of this capability. It seems that SAR should be trying to spread this far and wide.
It a protrietarty technology which a very high cost for the radars both handheld and helicopter mounted. This is the problem with them. Thermal imaging is much more useful in a SAR especially from a helicopter. Recco is mostly for body recovery
@@freeskierdude_ I didn't know it can be used in the open. In Switzerland, special radar has been used to find bodies in an avalanche for a long time. It works without reflector. But it is much faster, if a reflector is attached to the body.
I always have a bottle of KY in my pack.
Military has been using radar reflectors for years. Pretty awesome stuff
This isn't a radar reflector, it is an RFID tag like the ones you find on packages to set off an alarm or in your credit card for wireless pay. It has an antenna that receives a signal that is turned into electricity and transmitted back. But it does have a military price tag
It's a SART. Search and Rescue Transponder. It's widely used in nautic operations.
My hiking trousers have a Recco reflective sign on them .
Interesting little gadget. Seems to only exist around areas where possible avalanches/high amounts of snow fall take place. Designed for skiers mostly? The list linked doesn't have anywhere on the east coast of North America.