Backcountry Access Tracker2 and Float 30 Airbag Backpack — When?

by Lou Dawson
written by Lou Dawson

Please see our BCA Tracker 2 avalanche beacon review here.

And the BCA Float 30 airbag review here.

I was harassing Bruce Edgerly of Backcountry Access to give us the lowdown, so he filed the following. It looks like Edge is risking his behind by commenting under his real name here at WildSnow. Perhaps he’d entertain a few questions via our comments. But then, the guy’s job is to make beacons so don’t be surprised if he’s not switching careers to blogging anytime soon.


Avalanche safety guru Werner Münter checking out the Tracker2 at the recent ISSW-Europe conference in Davos, Switzerland.

Avalanche safety guru Werner Münter checking out the Tracker2 at the recent ISSW-Europe conference in Davos, Switzerland.

“We know many of you are interested in the status of our Tracker2 beacon and Float 30 airbag. Here’s an update from BCA: We expect to start shipping the T2 in early December and the Float in late December. We have made several limited production runs of both products and have spent the summer and fall testing (and tweaking) them to the hilt. We have locked down the designs and are gearing up for production.

It would have been nice to deliver the Tracker2 several years ago and to deliver the Float 30 on September 1. But product development is a little like mountaineering: you’re asking for trouble if you force the schedule. When you’re climbing a peak, the ultimate goal is to come home safe, not to risk it all in a dangerous summit bid. Being in a strong financial and marketing position at this time, we have not felt it necessary to risk all the marbles on a premature product release. With safety products, the bar is very high.

If you’re interested in tracking our progress, we plan to start posting updates on our blog and our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/backcountryaccess). And I’ll be monitoring Lou’s site to make sure everyone’s questions are answered. Fire away!


Thanks for your patience. Of course, there are still no promises; but we’re optimistic.”

(Bruce Edgerly is a founder and boss at the Backcountry Access sweatshop in Boulder, Colorado. When he’s not whipping workers in the shovel plant, he likes to ski powder, and was once buried in an avalanche but his factory workers dug him out.)

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