Review: Ortovox Diract Voice Avalanche Beacon

• Size: 3.1” x 4.7” x 0.9”
• Weight: 210 g
• Stated Range (search strip width): 50m
• Antennas: 3
• Multiple Burial Marking: Flag button
• Additional Features: Voice Navigation, Group Check, Auto-Diagnostics, Bluetooth App Connection, Smart Antenna, Auto-Revert, Interference Recognition Mode, RECCO reflector in harness, Standby Mode

Features and Interface:

Ortovox’s Diract Voice has a bit of a unique user interface, compared to other beacons on the market. That’s not to say we don’t like it–in fact testers found it extremely easy to use right out of the box. Instead of a dial or switch, the beacon has a power button on the back that’s covered by a large lever used to switch modes from transmit to search. The screen is huge, and displays your distance in easy-to-read numbers on top of signal direction with a large rotating arrow. In fine search mode, that arrow goes away and is replaced by a cross icon indicating you should start a grid search.

Next to the screen is a large flag button that will suppress the signal you are locked on to. Upon start up, pressing this button will switch modes into Group Check, which shortens range to one meter and won’t lock onto a signal, allowing a guide/group leader to check their group’s individual beacons during a trailhead beacon check.

Uniquely, the beacon uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. There is a USB-C plug on the side to charge the beacon. Somewhat surprisingly, the battery life is very good, even in the cold. It's proven to last many days of use without having to charge. It’s possible to recharge the battery relatively quickly (I got it from 50 to 75 percent during a 30-minute car ride to the trailhead). However, you’re out of luck if you’re on a multi-day trip and don’t have a power source.

The voice navigation system is obviously the main selling point of the Ortovox Diract Voice. Here’s how it works: As soon as you switch into search mode, an urgent but calm-sounding female voice tells you to scan the snow surface while moving towards the last known point (“Run in 50-meter search strips and look out!” she says). Once a signal is acquired (more on that below), the voice tells you to run forward, turn around, or adjust your heading (“Run straight!” or “Keep right/left!”). Once you are within the fine search range of five meters, the voice tells you get the beacon on the snow surface (“Go down to the snow surface!”) and to find the shortest distance (“Search the smallest value!”). If you stray too far away, she angrily tells you that “You were closer!” When you flag a signal during a multiple burial scenario, the voice tells you “Next Signal!” to indicate it has switched to a new signal.

Here's a look at what the voice navigation sounds like:

During search, if the beacon senses electromagnetic interference, it will automatically tell you to adjust your search strip width to 20 meters, and flash an “interference detected” icon on the screen. Additionally, the Diract Voice offers a standby mode (must be enabled via the mobile bluetooth app) that keeps the beacon powered on but not searching or transmitting. This is helpful when you are a supporting rescuer in a rescue scenario and don’t want your beacon making loud noises at you while you are following the primary searcher with your probe and shovel out and ready. An accelerometer inside the beacon senses if it hasn’t moved in two minutes, and reverts to transmit mode in case you are buried in a secondary avalanche.

Depending on your preference, the beacon can be carried in an included harness (that features a RECCO tag), or clipped to a leash inside a beacon pocket.

Here’s how we tested beacons:

This year, we tested all our beacons identically, first in a standard range test, then in a search strip width (receiving range) test, and then in a controlled setup mirroring the PRO 1 Multiple Burial Rescue Exam (a standard test that all backcountry professionals are tested to). As a baseline for the multiple-burial test, we buried two identical Mammut Barryvox S beacons in a large flat area, under 50cm of snow.

We tested the receiving range of all beacons to see how close the rescuer would need to get before the searching beacon picked up a buried signal. We put a single Barryvox S at the far end of the field, and then walked towards it from 100 meters away using each test beacon, marking the spot where it picked up a signal, and measuring that distance. This was repeated multiple times per searching beacon with the transmitting beacon in multiple places (to account for some variation caused by the environment), and the distances were averaged.

After checking ranges, we performed the PRO 1 multiple burial test (minus the shoveling) to learn more about the efficacy of each test beacon when searching. This was performed multiple times per beacon, with various testers including myself, two AMGA ski guides, and several testers with varying levels of recreational experience. We timed each test and took notes on the specific performance of each beacon.

The Ortovox Diract Voice vs. The Search Strip Test

During the search strip test, the Ortovox Diract Voice was consistently the last beacon to pick up a signal from the transmitting beacon. Despite the advertised search strip width of 50 meters, most testers found that they wouldn’t acquire a signal until 30-35 meters out, which is much later than competing beacons that would pick up beacons up to 70 meters out. However, once that signal was acquired, the numbers never went up (unlike other beacons, where the reading would often fluctuate). Some users of the older version of this beacon noted that once a signal was acquired, the beacon would often start sending them the long way around a flux line before realizing the signal was getting weaker and switching direction. We did not find this to be an issue with the newer unit we tested.

One further thing to note is that the limited range can make multiple burials more difficult, especially when victims are further than 30 meters apart–not an unlikely scenario in the backcountry after a large avalanche.

The Ortovox Diract Voice vs. The Multiple Burial Test

When testing the Ortovox Diract Voice in the multiple beacon rescue scenario, we found a few interesting points. First of all, the voice navigation function works exceptionally well. The commands are very clear, and it’s almost like having a guide/instructor standing next to you telling you what to do. Furthermore, being able to look at the snow surface while moving quickly through avalanche debris isn’t just good for finding a victim, it’s really helpful for not faceplanting during a real rescue. Avalanche debris fields are probably the most challenging snow surface texture to move through, and being able to actively look where you’re going is a huge plus.

It should be noted that the limited reception range didn’t really affect rescue times during the multiple burial test. In fact, most testers said that it encouraged them to move much faster during the initial signal acquisition and coarse search phases of a rescue–which actually ultimately saved them time overall.

Once in fine search mode (five meters from the victim), the directional arrows disappear and the voice tells you to “look for the smallest signal.” Signal processing is extremely fast during this phase, but we found that the beacon sometimes struggled to actually show the distance/strength reading when under about two meters. In a real-life scenario, you should be probing at this point already. A human is a large (about two-meter-long object), and the difference between a reading of 1.8 and 2.2 will not make a difference.

When a signal was flagged, the secondary signal showed up right away on the screen (pending it was within 30 meters). The Diract Voice will display up to four signals at a time to be flagged, with a small "+" icon indicating if it’s picking up more than four. We did not perform extensive tests with more than two buried beacons, but testers noted that the processing would slow down and flagging would sometimes not work well if there were three or more buried victims.

How Does the Ortovox Diract Voice Compare?

Compared to the other beacons we tested this year, the Ortovox Diract Voice stood out for its unique feature set with voice navigation. It’s not necessarily a game-changer, and won’t replace actual beacon training, but it’s much easier to use for people with less experience in avalanche rescue. While the search range is by far the smallest of any beacon we tested, testers weren’t necessarily slowed down by that during our multiple burial test.

What’s missing are some pro-level features, like the ability to toggle between signals, accuracy during 3+ burial searches, and analog tones.

Who is the Ortovox Diract Voice beacon best for?

Ortovox’s Diract Voice definitely brings a unique feature set to the beacon market, with voice guidance and a really easy-to-use interface. That makes this an excellent choice for skiers with little beacon search experience looking for something that is nearly foolproof to use in simple scenarios. It’s really easy and very fast to perform both a single- and double-burial beacon search with the Diract Voice, but other beacons might be better for professional users. This would be a great beacon for guide services to have their clients use.