Your Satisfaction with Spot Satellite/GPS Messenger?

[craig333]

Very good indeed!

It has been suggested to us by several friends that we get a SPOT so they can go on line to see where we are when we don't answer the phone here. We have suggested they all go in together and get us one and pay for the annual subscription. Hasn't happened yet.

And Mr. Mumbles, a couple of bears and lions saw you on your walk, you just must not have looked good enough.

I found one vendor on eBay that looks like they are selling the older Spot 1


They may have. A couple miles into my walk I spotted a deer. I was downwind and I thought, fairly quiet. I tried to sneak up but I spooked it. At least at the time I thought it was me, now you have me wondering

 

[Chukar Hunter]

I have the old Spot and it has worked very well. I have only used the "Check in" letting people know I am OK. The one thing I don't like is the fact that you have to have a credit card on file with them for renewal. I hate things that automaticaly renew like that. It is a hundred bucks and I don't like things like that just showing up on my statement.
I have seen that the Spot2 will link to a smart phone and you can send a message out rather than a message that you predetermin online. I don't have a smart phone but looks like a cool feature. I have let my contacts know if I am out alone on a hunt trip that if you get 3 checkin's from me in a row within a hour I have got my game and heading home

 

[Gormley Green]

Spot 2 is just an updated Spot. Spot Connect is the smart phone device.

 

[MarkBC]

I saw a post on Engadget Mobile this morning referring to another option for remote-GPS-communicator, this post noting that it's now compatible with iDevices.
What makes this device different than some others others is that it can receive text messages as well as transmit.

DeLorme inReach

FWIW, reviews (very few) on Amazon are as mixed as those for the Spot family.

 

[highz]

I see the inReach is discounted at REI. Even with a discount it is a little more expensive than the Spot Connect, plus the basic yearly fee is a bit higher.

One advantage I see to the inReach is it has an LED that indicates your transmission went through.

I'll keep my old Spot for a while, but I do think the ability to text would be very nice to have. The preformatted text message is very limiting. I would like the ability to say "smoke at bearing X, at Y miles from here, call USFS dispatch" or the like.

 

[dsrtrat]

I used my Spot 2 on a 23 day Grand Canyon raft trip in April and found that it worked from all the camps we stayed at even in the most restricted parts of the canyon. I was surprised that the reception was this good. The only time it didn't work was one time I was directly behind a 400' wall on a hike and tried it to see if it would get reception. I sent only ok messages and my friends were able to track my progress.It could take up to 10 minutes to get a lock but transmitted quickly after locking on.

I do a lot of solo off route hiking and wandering around on the Arizona strip so think that this device is worth the money for an annual subscription.

We also carry a Sat phone in the Canyon for contacting NPS dispatch in case of a serious problem requiring an
emergency evac. We have found the sat phone to be hit or miss in restricted portions of the canyon with dropped calls, but it will usually lock on again when another sat comes in view.

I cary an extra set of Lithium batteries and my Spot resides in my pack at all times. If you want to spend the money a Sat phone is the way to go but for my uses I think the Spot is enough.
I have programed the assistance message to read that my truck has broken down and send assistance, about the only time I would need non emergency help.

Do I trust my life to it? No but I don't trust a GPS unit either and always carry a compass and paper map when off route.
Dsrtrat


But really, I still want input from Spot users on the performance of theirs -- preferably models still available.
Thanks.

 

[fish more]

The Spot is a great tool just to check in and let people know that all is well. Alot of camping spots have no cell reception, so it makes sense to have one. For the amount of the yearly fee, it's well worth the cost !!

 

[12valve]

I have used a Spot on a few occasions. Once a friend and I were on a long Death Valley trip and we would "check in" with our wives with it. They really liked to follow us on our journey and see exactly where we were. I again used it with my wife in Death Valley, letting a friend know our locations for safety and he also liked following us. My son used it on the John Muir Trail this Summer. He "spotted" us a few days before he hit Kearsarge Pass. This let us know where he was so we could drive to Independence, pack up and hike over to Bullfrog Lake to bring him and his friends his food for the last week of the trail. It has always worked very well, I like it a lot. Apparently there is another unit, don't know the name, and it will let you send out a text message. You cannot reply, but that bit of written communication can make a big difference.