Comparison

Backcountry Magazine vs PIEPS

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Backcountry Magazine

Explore the world of backcountry skiing and snowboarding with in-depth articles, stunning photography, and expert gear reviews. Learn essential avalanche safety skills and discover new destinations. This app is your guide to the untracked experience.

Highlights
  • High-definition photography
  • In-depth stories
  • Avalanche safety skills
  • Unbiased gear reviews
  • Freeskiing and touring coverage
  • Destination exploration
Features
Read full description

Backcountry Magazine isn’t about defining boundaries, it’s about blowing them wide open. More people than ever are redefining their ideas of skiing and snowboarding, and Backcountry is their tool; a conduit and catalyst of the backcountry revolution. Each issue of Backcountry is packed with high-definition photography and stories, trusted avalanche safety skills and reliable, unbiased gear reviews. From freeskiing to touring, exotic destinations to backyard zones, the history of skiing to the cutting edge, we cover it all. In Backcountry, the possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Join us and imagine your Untracked Experience. ---------------------------------------------- This is a free app download. Within the app users can purchase the current issue and back issues. Subscriptions are also available within the application. A subscription will start from the latest regular issue at the time of purchase. -The subscription will renew automatically unless cancelled more than 24 hours before the end of the current period. You will be charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of the current period, for the same duration and at the current subscription rate for the product. -You may turn off the auto-renewal of subscriptions through your Account Settings, however you are not able to cancel the current subscription during its active period. -Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase and any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when a subscription to that publication is purchased. -If a subscription offers a free trial, at the end of the trial period, you will be charged the full price of the subscription. You may cancel a subscription during its free trial period via the subscription settings on your iTunes account. This must be done 24 hours before the end of the subscription period to avoid being charged. Users can register for/ login to a pocketmags account in-app. This will protect their issues in the case of a lost device and allow browsing of purchases on multiple platforms. Existing pocketmags users can retrieve their purchases by logging into their account. We recommend loading the app for the first time in a wi-fi area so that all issue data is retrieved. If your app will not load past the splash page after a first install or an update, please delete and reinstall the app from the App Store Help and frequently asked questions can be accessed in-app and on pocketmags. If you have any problems at all please do not hesitate to contact us: help@pocketmags.com -------------------- You can find our privacy policy here: http://www.pocketmags.com/privacy.aspx You can find our terms and conditions here: http://www.pocketmags.com/terms.aspx

About

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.

Highlights
  • Device configuration
  • Functionality check
  • Firmware updates
  • Rescue skills training
  • Remote control functionality
  • Device registration
Features
Read full description

- 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

Screenshots

Backcountry Magazine4 screens
PIEPS4 screens

Verdict

The call

Backcountry Magazine and PIEPS both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 63% of PIEPS's written reviews are positive against 27% of Backcountry Magazine's. PIEPS also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 10) and update cadence (monthly vs every 12 months). Backcountry Magazine's advantage is iOS requirement (11.2 vs 15.0). On price, rating, ads and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Backcountry Magazine sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $29.99 per year. PIEPS asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Backcountry Magazine against 4.9 for PIEPS. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PIEPS has 1K ratings behind it against 45, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 27% of Backcountry Magazine's written reviews are positive against 63% of PIEPS's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Backcountry Magazine ships an update every 12 months, PIEPS monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Backcountry Magazine versus PIEPS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBackcountry MagazinePIEPS
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (45 ratings)4.9 (1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews26.7% of reviews63.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings451K — better
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.2 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size72 MB46 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperHeight of Land PublicationsPieps GmbH

Customer experience

Backcountry Magazine

All ratings45 ratings
Positive97.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive26.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative73.3%

PIEPS

All ratings1,016 ratings
Positive97.7%
Neutral1.3%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews27 reviews
Positive63.0%
Neutral7.4%
Negative29.6%

Bugs and requests

Backcountry Magazine

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or 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

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Backcountry Magazine

Subscriptions1
  • Backcountry Magazine1 Month trial$29.991 Year
One-time9
  • September 2013 - 2014 Gear Guide of Backcountry MagazineFree
  • September 2012 (id:344069)$4.99
  • October 2012 (id:344068)$4.99
Show 6 more
  • September 2014 ... (id:344057)$4.99
  • February/March ... (id:344064)$5.99
  • January 2013 (id:344065)$5.99
  • September 2015 ... (id:348793)$9.99
  • 2018 Gear Guide (id:344039)$9.99
  • September 2016 ... (id:349473)$9.99
None

PIEPS

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Backcountry Magazine free?
Backcountry Magazine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PIEPS free?
PIEPS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Backcountry Magazine or PIEPS?
PIEPS is rated higher. Backcountry Magazine averages 4.8 out of 5 from 45 ratings, while PIEPS averages 4.9 from 1K ratings.
Do Backcountry Magazine or PIEPS have ads?
Neither Backcountry Magazine nor PIEPS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Backcountry Magazine or PIEPS?
Backcountry Magazine ships an update every 12 months, and PIEPS monthly. Most recently, Backcountry Magazine was updated on November 6, 2026 and PIEPS on November 2, 2026.

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