Founded in 1983, RECCO is commemorating 40 years of searchability and innovation in the search and rescue space. The RECCO system has changed drastically since its first iteration, but the brand’s mission has stayed the same — to make more outdoor enthusiasts searchable to rescuers, no matter the activity, location or season.
The RECCO system was created after founder Magnus Granhed was involved in the rescue operations after a tragic avalanche in Åre, Sweden in 1973, where one of his friends was buried. Frustrated by the primitive methods at the time for locating buried victims, the idea for RECCO was born.
His frustration after the accident motivated Granhed to start speaking with professional rescuers in the Alps to better understand how the search process worked in case of an avalanche.
“I understood early that an electronic solution was the way to go,” he recalled.
Development started as part of a research project at the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology. Tests were carried out with professional rescuers such as Bruno Jelk, Head of Mountain Rescue in Zermatt at that time, and Beat Perren, founder of Air Zermatt.
Their knowledge and experience from hundreds of avalanche accidents provided input to develop the technology behind the two-part system consisting of a detector that sends out a signal and is used by professional rescuers, and a reflector that bounces back the signal and is integrated into outdoor products.
The prototype was finalized in the early 1980s. In 1983, 40 years ago, the company called RECCO was founded.
The RECCO system offers a solution to locate outdoor enthusiasts equipped with rescue reflectors. Both detectors and reflectors have been refined and improved over the years. The first detector, the R1, had a weight of about 44 pounds. Today’s detector, the R9, weighs about 1.9 pounds.
In 2016, RECCO created a helicopter-carried detector designed to search large areas faster. The same technique that had been used only for avalanche rescue is now used to locate people that are lost or in distress while participating in several outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, hunting or trail running.
The evolution from a winter to a year-round system has spurred additional investment in the testing and the introduction of new reflectors. Durability requirements are very different if you compare hiking shoes and ski pants, for example.
Testing in the lab and the field has always been important for the development of the RECCO system, especially as the technology has broadened in scope from winter to year-round activities. There is also a strong focus and commitment to sustainability when developing new reflectors.
Sustainability is paramount when choosing materials and production methods. To be a reliable partner for rescue teams worldwide, the development of user-friendly detectors will remain important in parallel with making more people searchable. These two elements remain as equally important today as they were 40 years ago.
To learn more about RECCO’s history and technology, check out this video or learn more at at recco.com.
