PIEPS vs Socal Ski Tours
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PIEPS
Configure, check, and update your PIEPS or Black Diamond avalanche transceiver. Train your rescue skills with your phone as a remote control and register your device for additional services.
- Device configuration
- Functionality check
- Firmware updates
- Rescue skills training
- Remote control functionality
- Device registration
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- Configure your PIEPS or Black Diamond device according to your preferences. - Check the functionality of your PIEPS or Black Diamond device - Update your PIEPS or Black Diamond device to the latest firmware. - Train your emergency rescue skills. Use your phone as a remote control. - Register your PIEPS or Black Diamond device to get additional services
Socal Ski Tours
Discover backcountry ski routes in Southern California's alpine terrain. This app provides essential information for planning winter ski tours in a region not typically known for snow.
- Backcountry ski route discovery
- Descriptions of ski descents
- Planning tool for ski tours
- Covers major Southern California descents
- Winter alpine terrain information
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Known for its beaches and sunny weather, Southern California doesn't usually come to mind as a backcountry skiing destination. When winter does decide to show its face, the alpine terrain comes to life and so do the dedicated backcountry riders. This app covers some of the major ski descents in Southern California and can serve alongside one of the many tools needed for planning a backcountry ski tour.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: PIEPS at 1K against Socal Ski Tours's 7. Socal Ski Tours's advantage is iOS requirement (13.5 vs 15.0). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for PIEPS against 5.0 for Socal Ski Tours. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PIEPS has 1K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two.
PIEPS ships an update monthly, Socal Ski Tours every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PIEPS | Socal Ski Tours |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (1K ratings) | 5.0 (7 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 63.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1K — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.5 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 191 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Pieps GmbH | Jason Panella |
Customer experience
PIEPS
Socal Ski Tours
Bugs and requests
PIEPS
Reported bugs
2 issues- App home screen going blank
- Incompatibility with certain beacon models
Requested features
2 requests- Support for more languages (e.g. Russian, Japanese)
- Improved security for app login/registration
Socal Ski Tours
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
PIEPS
No in-app purchases
Socal Ski Tours
No in-app purchases
