Arva

ARVA is a well-known French brand of mountain safety equipment, founded in the French Alps. Its name is popularly used to refer to the electronic device DVA (Avalanche Victim Detector or Transceiver). The original term comes from the French acronym Appareil de Recherche de Victimes d'Avalanches (Avalanche Victim Search and Rescue Apparatus).

Origin of the Name and Brand

• Trade name vs. generic term: As with other brands, the manufacturer's name became the generic term by which the snow rescue device is popularly known (a phenomenon known as metonymy or trademark vulgarism). The correct technical term in Spanish is DVA.

• History: The company has been designing and manufacturing alpine rescue devices since the 1980s in the French Alps.

Products

DVA / Transceivers: Devices that emit or search for a radio frequency signal to locate skiers or climbers buried under an avalanche.

Complementary rescue equipment: Quick-deployment shovels and probes.

Safety backpacks: Technical models and backpacks equipped with integrated airbag systems for avalanches.