Weight: 210 g
Size : 115 x 67 x 27 mm
Battery Life: 300 hours send mode
Search Width: 70 m
Maximum Range: 70 m
Power Supply: 3x AAA Batteries
Price: £350

Website: mammut.com

First launched in 1968, the Barryvox VS 68 was one of the first transceivers to come to market. It soon became a success, with over 100,000 Barryvox units produced for the Swiss army.

The Barryvox takes its name from ‘Barry’, a big St Bernard who was notable for rescuing over 40 people from snow and ice burials between 1800 and 1814. During his life Barry was, unsurprisingly, well known for his exceptionally sensitive sense of smell and an “almost supernatural ability to sense approaching danger.” 

“During his life Barry was, unsurprisingly, well known for his exceptionally sensitive sense of smell”

Whilst we can’t guarantee that the Barryvox is going to wag its tail or sense oncoming danger like Barry could, we can confirm that it’s got one of the “best sense of “smell” out of the current transceiver line-up (it has a fantastic 70 metre search width).

An excellent search range, however, doesn’t mean much if the transceiver is a pain to use. Many found the older Pulse Barryvox to be a tad on the confusing front, so it’s great that Mammut have sought to make the Barryvox S as intuitive as possible. 

This simplification has led to a single flag button on the front of the transceiver, just like the Ortovox 3+. With the send, search, and off all accessible from a tab at the top, you’re able to cycle quickly between send and search. 

As easy as it is to switch between send and search, Mammut have built in a “safelock” function that blocks you from accidentally switching the transceiver from search to send modes. This is an issue we found frustrating with the Black Diamond Recon BT, so it’s great to see it addressed with the Barryvox S.