Spot

[robbie]

Wife and I have had SPOT for quite a while now. We like to let our kids know where we are and ok on a regular basis. It works real good north of the 60th parallel. In the Yukon we can get into some pretty interesting country by ourselves and satellite phones are expensive and do not work well up here.
We bought a SPOT for our son too as he guides for King salmon off the north tip of the Queen Charlotte islands. It is interesting to receive messages from him and then be able to look on google where he is fishing on the ocean.
The 7.95 for insurance I think is only for the first year. We bought it though.
Robbie

 

[leadsled9]

I don't have a SPOT unit....but I do carry a sat phone, a Personal Locator Beacon (PL and a cell phone.

 

[K6ON]

No spot for me, but I do have a full kilowatt HF radio in the truck for world wide communications.

 

[chnlisle]

I have a pencil.

 

[ScottBailey]

I have a pencil.

You'll poke your eye out!

 

[chnlisle]

I don't run with it.

 

[HERR42]

here is a recent article that mentions SPOT.

is battery life really a problem?

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/10/around-the-world-3/

 

[Barko1]

I've had it over a year and never an issue. I don't use it all that much but have had it on for weeks.

 

[Vic]

I've had my generation 1 SPOT for about 2 years now I guess. It's been reliable to date. While I wouldn't call it a substitute for going prepred, its one more tool at your disposal if things go bad. Its also very nice to be able to check in with family and not actually have to talk to them...

-Vic

 

[Argonaut20]

Note that the fellow in the article had his on constantly. It was to log his trip every ten minutes. Considering that, I don't think the battery life was that bad. When was the last time you left stuff on in your truck and expected the battery to continue forever? Then found out it doesn't work that way?