ORTOVOX ALU 240 PFA AVALANCHE PROBE REVIEW

ORTOVOX ALU 240 PFA PROBE £55 www.ortovox.com
Ortovox market this as a ‘rookie’s probe’ as it’s reduced to the essentials for quick and easy assembly and use, although that’s surely all you need in a probe whether a rookie or a professional?
Anyway, what this means is that you get a 200g aluminium probe which can be assembled and collapsed in seconds, with the tension set by simply turning the optimized adjusting screw. The large probe tip, which has a significantly larger diameter compared to the probe elements above it, ensures improved penetration even in hard packed snow.
The probe also has easy-to-read depth markers, a clear one-meter marker and there’s a plastic outer sleeve at the top for a better grip. The ease with which the Alu 240 can be assembled is the strongest feature of this probe and something that should make it appal to anyone heading off-piste.