Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Final verdict on "Spot" please

I am a solo hiker, not getting any younger, and feel real confident about my survival skills. I am considering getting a Spot for my family's (and mine, I guess) peace of mind. Do the big boys (and moosetracks) of the board use this device? I guess I am probably just looking for a simple yes or no on whether I should get one. Thanks in advance.

I haven't used one (but don't feel the need), but I have been impressed with the number of people in your situation, particularly who want to give reassurance to their family/friends, who have used the SPOT to great effect. While it has limitations, I think those are outweighed by it's utility.
I say "yes".

I don't currently have/use one, but I like the concept (even though the voyeuristic aspects of it kind of wierd me out a bit). I think I'll wait to get one until they come out with the next generation and work some of the bugs out.

If you do a search here there are some good threads/conversations about SPOT's use, accuracy, and so on.

-L

I don't own one and have read reports here and elsewhere. Based on that reading, I'd be more inclined to buy a Personal Locator Becon, if I were to buy anything.

I like mine, and I am glad I had it this summer on a 7-day backpack. Family and friends could see we were making progress and were ok.

However, it has its limitations: It does not work in deep canyons, and occasionally sends inaccurate locations, probably due to deep canyon locations. And it does not work in forested areas, the trees block satellite access. For best reception/transmission, it needs to be mounted on top of your pack. I mounted mine to the top of my shoulder strap.

And then there are the stories of the false alarms. NEVER put it inside your pack where the buttons can be activated accidentally.

I have used a SPOT for 2 years with no problems (I use the OK feature, not the "Track"). I always go solo - and for the first time in 22 years, my wife (whose idea of nature is a good motel with a tree in front) feels she has some knowledge of my location and control of emergency situations.

I used to be leary of rugged off-trail travel (if you get killed, you get killed - but if you break your leg, your screwed)but have developed more confidence knowing that there was at least a possibility SPOT would work if I got into trouble.

All things considered, one of the best equipment investments I have made.

I thought SPOT first hit the market last fall.

I think the jury is still out.

But maybe everyone can agree that it's better than nothing and it can give you a chance you would not have had without it.

I have one and used it for the first time this past summer on a solo hike.

Right off the top, I agree with Steve C..... there are limitations and you and those receiving the signals need to understand those limitations and not overreact.

On my trip, I gave everyone on my list an itinerary of travel and added a caveat that unless you receive a 911 or "help" do nothing until 2 days after I am scheduled to hike out. I set my email message for "Help" to say, "I am okay, but running into some issues. If you receive this email 3 times then I need help (not 911).

My trip was aborted and I hiked back out the same way that I started. When I got back to the car, there were phone messages from my brother frantically asking what was wrong. I never sent a “help” signal. My brother assumed the worse when I started to retrace my route.

During the 5 days, I sent 8 signals..... only 4 were received.

My thoughts are that the SPOT offers some security, but the information can also be miss-interrupted. I guess, sometimes, a little knowledge can cause "over thinking" on those receiving the signals.

Will I still use it? Yes, but only if I go solo.

paul

On my long trip, I wrote up a page explaining that I would send a "Send help" message the evening before we hiked out -- no matter where we were, even if on-time and on-route, we would send the "Send Help" message. The idea was, that if we were going to bail out early, someone should drive to the nearest exit trail head and wait for us.

But when our pick-up driver received the message, he got worried. ...He had not read the page.

Correction - I used the SPOT on two trips this past summer. Sent an OK message 21 times from 21 different locations. All but the first - from below Mahogany Flat going over Shepherd - were received. In iffy terrain I had to wait nearly 30 minutes for the message to be sent. In flat terrain, it was gone in less than five. Just depends on the Iridium satellite constellation, and unfortunately I ddid no homework beforehand to determine projected satellite positions.

To the extent that peace of mind comes from knowledge of safety issues, you can determine for yourself if the SPOT will make you better off. Ask yourself if there are any places you would go to if you had a Spot that you wouldn't go to if you didn't. If there are such places, carrying the SPOT won't make you any safer.

Dale B. Dalrymple
http://dbdimages.com

My final verdict on SPOT is it's "OK". I have had problems sending messages, mainly because I took so long to read the manual and because we don't ever wait for them to go through (gotta keep moving). Now I just turn the tracking on and forget it. It doesn't give me a "warm fuzzy" that I'm protected and rescue is a button push away. I don't do anything different now than before I had it. Pretty much same hiking partners, same type of trips. My family likes to follow along and it's pretty decent for that. If I did have a problem and needed help, I hope that the signal gets through, but I COUNT on my partner/partners and my training/experience. Every day I take bigger risks just driving 140 miles round trip from southern Riverside County to Naval Station San Diego. With the proper planning and skill set, the back country is probably the safest place there is. So, SPOT is a neat gadget and I'm happy with it, but if something goes wrong, it's not the only thing I'm counting on.......................................DUG

I used it on my recent JMT thru-hike. It worked reliably well. The only time it didn't transmit was in the Yosemite Valley campground, but could've been because I would turn it off shortly after I thought the OK message went through.

Once I left it on constantly, all messages were sent. Another Spot user told me you can leave it turned on for one full year before the battery runs out.

I'll be trying it in Patagonia next. Good luck!

I've had a SPOT since I solo-hiked the Grand Canyon in 5/08, with great success. I opted for the tracking feature, which costs a bit more, and prior to the trip emailed friends and family the link to the SPOT website, where they were able to track my progress in real time. The only downside was that I also decided to use the "non 911" help feature as an indicater to people that I was either running late, or was experiencing some minor, but non life-threatening situation. Upon receiving the "help" message, they were confused as to whether I was really in trouble or not (even though we'd discussed it previously). Bottom line: The biggest benefit is that if a true emergency arose, I could push that "911" button, and would presumably be rescued. That's a lot of peace of mind for my family and for me. By the way, the only place it didn't work for me was in "The Box" canyon north of Phantom Ranch in Grand Canyon, and in heavily forested areas, neither of which exist on Mt. Whitney. I don't know if the shadow of the switchbacks would be a problem though. I didn't have it when I hiked Whitney last Oct., but will definitely have it for the next trip. By the way, the batteries last over a year, and the unit flashes red when you have 48 hours of left.

My wife bought me a SPOT back in March due to the number of solo trips I do. It's worked flawlessly so far.

I used it on the JMT back in September. I sent 62 "Ok" messages and my wife and family received all 62 messages.

It gives them great peace of mind and I'd definitely recommend it.

After looking at SPOT and Personal Locator Beacons, I opted for a PLB. While SPOT probably helps in many situations, I think a PLB is the better tool for real backcountry emergencies. If you want the best chance for a fast SAR response, a PLB is purpose built for that job.

If anyone is interested, between now and Dec. 1, SPOT, Inc is offering a free SPOT Messenger if you purchase basic service plus tracking.

I'm not sure, but it may be offered only to existing SPOT owners, but you might get an owner here to help in that department.

Pricing for service and tracking is here: http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=1300

Existing owners can purchase the service plans for up to 3 people. The SPOT unit is free.