PLB or Spot Gen 3 in 2020?

[Son of a Beach]

I've never carried a PLB, EPIRB, Spot, InReach, etc. However, as I'm walking with my kids more often, and they are getting more capable, and for the sake of my wife's sanity even when the kids are not with me, I'm thinking that I should start doing so.

I'm more than happy using my iPhone as a GPS, so I don't feel the need to combine a mapping GPS with an emergency device (ie, InReach). They are expensive! ...and would just duplicate mapping GPS functionality I already have (and from what I've seen of hand-held GPS units, their mapping GPS software is generally terrible! Which is odd for a device that (in many cases) has no other purpose.

However, having a PLB without the ability to send out OK messages, and let others track me seems like a bit of a waste of money (unless you actually do need to get rescued of course), so I'd prefer something like a SPOT that will be of some use whether I ever need rescuing or not.

Who here uses a Spot 3? Are you happy with it? I've read of problems with Spots and their satellite coverage from a couple of years ago. Has this improved at all?

Is $219 for a Spot 3 a good deal?

Can you download your tracks later on as GPX (or other) files?

Please treat me as a complete ignoramus when it comes to Spots and similar, as I've never really looked into this before and I really do know nothing.

Please tell me anything that you think may be useful for me to know.

I suppose the main downside is the monthly subscription fee (equates to about AUD$250 a year, I think?). This is the one issue that may turn me off, and point me to a plain old PLB instead.

[warnesy]

Go the PLB. Cheap ($258 for KTI from Snowys) insurance. Don’t have to worry about subscriptions messaging and other things. Just there for the emergency that hopefully never happens.


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[wildwanderer]

Inreach mini. Knowing your message has got through is very comforting. With a plb you don't know. Plus it's good to msg family mid walk and receive weather forecasts.

If you want a plb. I have a 2 year old kti I could sell you. 10 year battery life(8 years now). $150 plus postage.

I would not get a spot. Satellite coverage for spot is not good enough in OZ or NZ I've heard from multiple people. Plus it's msging is more limited. No 2 way msging. Can't connect to mobile to type msgs or add a new contact. No weather.

[Mark F]

I have happily using a SPOT 2 for the last 9 years but have recently upgraded to the Inreach mini for the reasons provided by wildwanderer.
The choice between a plb and a communicator like the Spot or inReach is really a question of personal choice about risk (a plb has a slightly higher probability of successfully transmitting a distress call) vs the added functionality in being able to communicate re weather, changed trip intentions, delays and maintain ones significant others peace of mind.

[Warin]

I too would go with an inreach.

Hopefully the PLB/EPIRBs will be developed to have messaging capabilities, possibly only with the rescue services. This is a software matter for the satellites and ground stations, but an implementation matter on the PLBs and EPIRBs. It could save some call outs, and provide some early contact for those presently not certain about pushing the button.

[ribuck]

Inreach mini...

I would not get a spot. Satellite coverage for spot is not good enough in OZ or NZ ... No 2 way msging... No weather.

The Spot Gen 3 does do 2-way messaging, unlike earlier Spot devices.

If you are prepared to pay a monthly subscription, I recommend the InReach Mini, which doesn't try to do maps on the device. In addition to the better satellite coverage and access to good weather forecasts, it's lighter and much more compact than the Spot Gen 3.

[wildwanderer]

@ribuck. I think you might be thinking of the newer spot x?

The SPOT Gen3 Satellite GPS Messenger can send three preset messages (OK, Help, and SOS) and one Custom message that can only be modified through SPOT’s website. Communication is one-way: it cannot receive messages from family and friends, emergency response teams, or SPOT

Taken from https://andrewskurka.com/spot-messenger ... protocols/

[MrWalker]

I have had a PLB for years and still carry it. But I got a SPOT 5-6 years ago, so my family could tell where I was even when I was still OK. Then lost the SPOT when it was ripped off my pack while crawling through the undergrowth. So I switched to an InReach for 2-way messaging.

Now everyone in the family has an InReach because we are hardly ever in the same place even while on the same walk and we are often out of phone contact. This is expensive, but it seems the best way to keep in contact and to let the folks back home know what we are up to. We have two mapping InReachs and two non-mapping. If you have a phone for mapping, then the non-mapping versions are fine, but my phone is not very smart.

[Warin]

my phone is not very smart.

On occasion my phone is smarter than I am..

[Orion]

Spot X is the product that has two-way messaging. They initially had poor coverage for two-way support in Australia but it appears (on their website) that they've corrected that.

I think you will find that the choice is between a PLB and an Inreach. The 2-way messaging capability is expensive and you have to decide if it's important enough to you to pay for it.

[wayno]

i've used a SPOT3 and Inreach mini, the satellite connectivity on an Inreach is far superrior under bush canopy and in steep terrain in valleys, and you can suspend your subscription at the end of any given months billing if you're not going to use it for a while. spot you have to pay for a whole year
inreach pairs with an app on your phone for mapping and communication.. and you have full texting ability on inreach you dont get on the basic spot, you have to buy the bigger spot with the keypad

[ribuck]

I think you might be thinking of the newer spot x?

Yes you are right of course, wildwanderer. And once one has enjoyed 2-way messaging one wouldn't want to go back to one-way communication.

[headwerkn]

+1 for InReach. We do enough bushwalking and enough trips where we're starting off at different times or walking by ourselves that justifies the $40 p/m cost for each device. It's cheap insurance really.

Something to bear in mind though... the Explorer+ has fairly limited mapping functionality but great battery life - good for a week of daily tracking. The newer GPSMAP 66i has much better mapping but will drain its battery within a day or so of solid use. Something to bear in mind if you need to put it into SOS mode... my girlfriend has to factor in recharging her 66i from a power bank each night on multi day trips. The InReach Mini is probably the best option if you're mostly going to be using your phone or another device for navigation, being smaller and somewhat cheaper.

[wayno]

the inreaches have rechargeable batteries through mini usb socket. so just use a powerbank if you're worried about battery drain, also if you're enabling breadcrumb tracking , increasing the intervals between the log updates which updates how far you've gone on it will reduce battery drain, as well as increasing the interval between sending out position updates. and you can get a lot more life out of the battery...

[headwerkn]

the inreaches have rechargeable batteries through mini usb socket. so just use a powerbank if you're worried about battery drain, also if you're enabling breadcrumb tracking , increasing the intervals between the log updates which updates how far you've gone on it will reduce battery drain, as well as increasing the interval between sending out position updates. and you can get a lot more life out of the battery...

Both of ours are set to 1-min on-device recording and 10-min satellite interval tracking - the difference in battery life between the Explorer+ and 66i is still substantial, presumably down to the latter's bigger screen, larger more detailed map and vector-based navigation. Yes they can be recharged easily from a powerbank, which I imagine most of us now take to keep our phones and whatnot juiced up, but still something to be aware of. Definitely one advantage a regular PLB has - a ready-to-go battery.

[Son of a Beach]

Thanks all for the input so far.

It sounds like the InReach is a better option that the Spot. However, even the InReach Mini may be beyond my budget.

How much is an Iridium satellite subscription suitable for InReach?

I may have to go for a basic PLB.

I'm not desperate to keep in touch with people while bushwalking (in fact that's one of the reason why I go bushwalking). And these days, a phone signal can be got from the top of most mountains or high places. So emergency beacon is all I really need, I suppose.

[headwerkn]

Thanks all for the input so far.

It sounds like the InReach is a better option that the Spot. However, even the InReach Mini may be beyond my budget.

How much is an Iridium satellite subscription suitable for InReach?

I may have to go for a basic PLB.

I'm not desperate to keep in touch with people while bushwalking (in fact that's one of the reason why I go bushwalking). And these days, a phone signal can be got from the top of most mountains or high places. So emergency beacon is all I really need, I suppose.

The plans start from $20 a month, though the $40 plan offers much better value if you plan on sending messages. We primarily got ours to keep each other and our safety contacts "in the loop" and coordinate mid track meet ups etc. But if you're not wanting that and only wanting an emergency button then a PLB would certainly suffice. It won't have the ability to provide support or give an ETA on rescue etc but it would be less expensive.

[ChrisJHC]

PLB only for me.

I have successfully trained my family not to expect any communications from me until I’m on my way home.
I do leave a simple action plan if I haven’t checked in by the due date / time.

If I happen to get reception somewhere (on my mobile phone) and I happen to feel like communicating I will.

Apart from that, “no news is good news”.

[warnesy]

PLB only for me.

I have successfully trained my family not to expect any communications from me until I’m on my way home.
I do leave a simple action plan if I haven’t checked in by the due date / time.

If I happen to get reception somewhere (on my mobile phone) and I happen to feel like communicating I will.

Apart from that, “no news is good news”.

Exact same. They are also the emergency contact if the PLB gets set off.


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[wayno]

I just have to make sure my life insurance and will are up to date

[GBW]

Spot for me. I like the basic messaging functions on my status/location. Spot do offer a monthly subscription now in their Flexi Plan.

[neilmny]

PLB only for me.

I have successfully trained my family not to expect any communications from me until I’m on my way home.
I do leave a simple action plan if I haven’t checked in by the due date / time.

If I happen to get reception somewhere (on my mobile phone) and I happen to feel like communicating I will.

Apart from that, “no news is good news”.

X2

[andrewa]

X3 for family training.

I use (or don’t use) a Rescue Me PLB in Oz...

But, I hire an Iridium Go for longer trips in NZ. In NZ I also need sat phone access , as I may need to coordinate helicopter pick ups (longer fishing trips in remote areas, and I’d rather be able to communicate any specifics about anything that may require early pick up, that use a PLB and trigger a search ). I find the Iridium Go better than a sat phone, as it links my iPhone to the satellite network.

There was another crowd offering a satellite hub style thing on a different network to Iridium, which was considerably cheaper, but the network didn’t work in NZ, which became useless to me. When I looked at these satellite hubs a few years ago, they all required ongoing monthly subscriptions, but that might have changed. Fortunately we seem to have reasonably good phone reception in Oz, which is why I just use the phone and PLB. Where we fish in NZ, it can even be remarkably difficult to get satellite reception.

A