what do you think of Spot?

No not Spot the kayaker, Spot the personal Satellite Tracker.  I'm thinking about getting one of these.  Some of the places I fish/kayak are remote, so there is no cell service or other people around at times. This looks like a good way to communicate to the wife that all is OK when I am late or to let someone know if I am not.  You can track your position and mark those fishy locations on google maps.  It seems like a better alternative in an emergency to just press a button instead of trying to call someone on the cell/VHF.  Does anyone have any experience or opinions on these units?

First of all, I have no hands on experience with the unit - sorry maybe somebody else does.  But I ran into "Fishes from Tupperware" going over the unit in Fishermans a couple of weeks ago.  We got the low down from the sales person, and it looks like a neat idea.  The one thing that I didn't like was the subscription costs for the service.  I already pay for a cell phone, I don't REALLY want another subscription - I'm kinda "Subscribed out" if you know what I mean.

The world seems to be getting smaller anyways, and we seem to have gotten along fine without SPOT before, so why worry about it now.  Leave your itineary with a trusted companion (or as my girlfriend calls it "Where to look for the body"), and be prepared when you go out.  Sometimes, I'd rather it NOT be known when I go out to play. 

I wonder how long it takes for a user to get busted by his wife, by her finding him at the strip bar instead of on the water when she checks his Spot.  I bet it goes into the trash the next day. 

Of course I did just by a handheld VHF radio, so hard to keep away from all the gadgets.

As Scott said, I have no personal experience with this unit. At a wilderness medicine conference last summer, one of the presentations was on backcountry navigation, specifically looking at the latest techno solutions. Since this unit wasn't commercially available yet, the presenter had trialed a pre-production model and had some significant concerns. After getting home, I did a search and found this website that expressed similar concerns. http://www.equipped.org/SPOT_ORSummer2007.htm It has been a few months since they became available to the public but I haven't seen any further, independent reviews by anyone not associated with the product.

If you look at the cost over 5-6 years, including the subscription, handheld EPIRBs cost the same. However, it would be nice to be able to send out a non-emergency message or to have the potential for your progress to be followed by a loved one, as SPOT is advertised.
Jay

Personally, I think Spot is a great guy!

As for the techno toy, I think it's a great idea......under certain circumstances. 
I'd love to have one for backpacking or for international surf travel but I wouldn't want to pay a years worth of monthly fees for 2 to 4 weeks of use.  Maybe some entrepreneur will see the short term need and start renting these out by the week.

agrees with SPOT about spot .... and also i have to slightly disagree with steelheadr to a point.. i look at these as an "everyman" approcah/alternative to EPRIBs.. i think the initial cost of one of those scares a lot of folks away, myself included, and this unit with it's sub $200 price tag brings a lot of perceived value add to the table..

1st time i saw one, i thot "what the devil is that thing it dont look like a garmin" then started checking it out a little deeper. a $100/yr subscription, averaged out, well lets say i know people who spend more than that a week on beer and smokes.. soon as i can find a place for one in my budget and in my gear bag, yeah, i'll get one, and count it as a form of life insurance... for now it's float plan, cell phone, vhf and flares as needed. 

Richard,
  Have you checked up on the service area for the SPOT in Alaska? I haven't but I heard a rumor it was (no pun intended) kind of spotty once you got North or West of Anchorage.

no, jim, i havent had the time to do that. am currently in fairbanks and just do not have the time to get over to sportsmans warehouse off the johannssen expy. tho i pass it on the way to and from work.

given how erratic civillian gps /k band satcom can be, it would not surprise me that what you say might be true.. i mean, who lives north of anchorage anyway, right?? [ being fecicious here]

update on SPOT;

Aug. edition of Sea Kayaker magazine has a long article on a T & E of Spot operation and services. The tester used it originally for a backup to her PLB but seems to like SPOT more.  She used it on a kayaking race thru the Florida Everglades and Keys recently and it worked well for her. Seems there have been some small changes for better service, and easier use.

Tester is also going to use it during her participation in the 1st annual Yukon 1000 Canoe &  Kayak race scheduled for Jul'09. this even will require every contestant to have and use a SPOT device.

http://www.seakayakermag.com/2008/August08/Aug08_TOC.htm

and here's a link to the race;

http://www.yukon1000.com/

Spot? Spot is the current ass hat, but I understand he can find his way around just fine.

ok,ok,
I suggested it to my wife as a present from her to lessen her tension when I disappear over the horizon. But she has not bitten yet. The back track feature was appealing but my gps/ff does that just fine.

wali,
have been reading up on the garmin rhino 110.. it has a feature that lets you find all the other garmin 110s in your area, plus a 2 way radio function.. forget which band right now...

maybe the relative inexpensiveness of SPOT will bring down the cost of EPRbs so that more can be sold to every day people.. i know that ACR has been really aggressively running anti SPOT ads, basically saying the unit and service is cheap unreliable junk....
it's the old vhs vs. beta max fight all over again..

Here's a recent update from the publisher of Equipped to survive.

http://www.equipped.org/blog/?p=82

Jay

bottom line, " ya pays your money, ya takes your chances"?

i've seen the ACR ads he's talking about elsewhere recently.. but i also just read his entire post..and yeah, there is a big diference between the 2. besides the fact that the ACR units run about $600.00 or more, and dont need a subscription, i'm still leaning towards SPOT for it's affordability, 'comfort features" and ease of use. remember, this is geared towards the weekend adventurer. it should be fine for us yakfishers to keep peace of mind for our families or loved ones.

so, yeah, like i said before, i'd get one and use it, but, if i were doing a serious pelagic expedition, or trekking ngorongoro , i'll take something like the ACR PLB he's showing..

For those interested in Spot...at REI yesterday I saw that there is a $50 discount coupon from the manufacturer. That brings the upfront cost to $99 + yearly subscriptions.

Jay

i mean, who lives north of anchorage anyway, right?? [ being fecicious here]

I did for a few summers which leads me to answer your question with...None in their right mind!

I suggested it to my wife as a present from her to lessen her tension when I disappear over the horizon.

Ditto.  My wife is super cool but has serious anxiety issues that I am essentially dead until she sees me return (based on the loss of some young folks close to her including a syblling).  When I left for remote baja for 30 days I thought this might help.  It just added additional scenarios for her to contemplate...

Is he really alive or has someone stolen his truck?  Why are they they going to Punta Chivato??? They didn't plan on going to Punta Chivato? Have they been kidnapped?

For that trip it turned out that an international plan for our ATT cellphones was money.  We had GREAT signal absolutely EVERYWHERE.  That said there is zero cell alot of other places I like to play and a satellite based thingy like the SPOT but with some more enhanced communication capabilities (to keep the anxiety-based imagination in check) would be kicka$$ if they could keep the costs down...god knows there is a market for it.

Spot.. that guy's a total asshat. I mean geez anyone who can.... oooooh SPOT the EPIRB-like thingamajiggy.... sorry buddy, JK.

For that trip it turned out that an international plan for our ATT cellphones was money.  We had GREAT signal absolutely EVERYWHERE.  That said there is zero cell alot of other places I like to play and a satellite based thingy like the SPOT but with some more enhanced communication capabilities (to keep the anxiety-based imagination in check) would be kicka$$ if they could keep the costs down...god knows there is a market for it.

Man SBD, that brings new meaning to the word madness.. er the cure. The ATT intl. idea sounds good. How long are you signed up for it? And how much does/did it run you? It would work great on those runs to the far side of the Olympics. I'm sure the boss is going to worry a lot more once the little ones are here.

Z