Better than a beacon?

Same principle re: larger, lighter objects generally come to the top in the avalanche debris.

Well, okay, that principle is the same -- but pretty big difference between the larger & lighter object being the cord's tail end vs. the person.

Cords can become detached, you could forget/fail to deploy the cord.  If 15 or 20 feet of cord was buried or tangled in trees

Not to mention the possibility of strangulation.  I could see an avy victim who gets maytagged, end up with a cord wrapped around their neck, or even just wrapped around their body, restricting motion and circulation. I'll stick with beacon/probe/shovel.

I guess for me it boils down to the amount of time I would have to spend under the snow. It all depends on how well the others are at locating using the beacon. I started looking at this after seeing the video of the guy who was buried in the avalanche using a helmet cam. He spent about 4 1/2 minutes under the snow. He was skiing with others who were well trained in avalanche rescue and the notes on the video said it was such a fast recovery because his glove came to rest right above him giving them the visual for him. If you haven't seen the video, check it out. Gives me the chills!
Helmetcamvideo

Even though it is used in Europe I doubt it is the primary tool. I'm guessing that the beacon is the worldwide primary tool for a reason.

as others have said nothing is as basic and fool proof as a beacon. Once you are well trained on it you can find partners quite quickly. I havent heard any stories of beacons really failing due to an avy nor have i heard of a properly worn beacon coming off a person. (there might be cases i just haven theard of them)

Tools like the ABS, this ball method, and an avylung are all good tools to have as they just increase the ease and your safety to be rescued. Avalungs keep you breathing while your partners find you. The other two try to give your partners an idea of where you are (either by the ball or by, well the abs system). that and its another thing ot remember while your mind is going "o f@#$" as you hear the crack or roar of the slide starting.

Best avalanche tool in my mind is the one that is just there and doesn't reuiqre the action of the person who is in the avalanche. And the only one like that is a beacon. everything else is gonna have its times where it just doesn't work

The other two try to give your partners an idea of where you are (either by the ball or by, well the abs system).

That's the goal of the ball, but the goal of the ABS system (and competitors) is to keep the person from getting buried in the first place. Those are two very different goals. In other words, the avalanche ball is trying to be a beacon search substitute; by contrast, the ABS system is trying to eliminate the need for any search.

thats what i meant to say i just sort of lost interest halfway through....i tend to do that a lot. See i was writing that then i remembered a movie i wanted to look up cause a commentator mentioned it during the liverpool v arsenal game and i went and looked that up and totally lost track. Maybe i should just go back to my corner and not post now