Motorola Defy PLB

[John Harper]

I've been looking into a simple PLB. Since many of my friends (~67 years old) have kicked the bucket recently, I realized I probably should have some signaling device as I still travel alone on most/all of my trips in the backcountry. I initially thought of having one in case I have vehicle problems, but now I realize I could be the one with a need to be found.

The Motorola Defy seems to fit my needs, a basic emergency PLB with some texting ability. Price is around $150 and the service plan is free for 12 months and only $4.99/month thereafter.

Does anyone here have one? What do you think of it?

John

[TurboHike]

I do not own one, but I recall reading about it on Reddit a couple of weeks ago. See the link below. The youtube video (3 minutes long) seems to summarize the main issues facing the company.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/com ... ?rdt=44909

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umrd8AV9Gh4

[John Harper]

Interesting. I see them still available through REI, Amazon, etc. There's an REI in my town (Encinitas) so I may stop by and ask one of the employees about it.

John

[John Harper]

I just found this updated report on the Motorola Defy PLB.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZEMpG-TFkI

Selling on Ebay for as low as $90. Tempted to buy one at that price.

John

[bobby49]

A similar product is the Garmin inReach SE. When I purchased it, I thought that I wanted it for the emergency capability. However, after all of these years, I've never used it for that. Sending and receiving text messages can be quite handy for coordinating transportation at the end of a trip.

A friend of mine was going southbound on the JMT, and he needed one resupply near Charlotte Lake. We each had the inReach device, so he sent me a satellite message each night to show his progress. Then when he was about two days out from Charlotte Lake, I left home and drove to Onion Valley. Carrying his resupply food bag, I hiked over Kearsarge Pass and down to Charlotte Lake for the meeting.

Whatever you purchase, you need to practice with it a bit so that you understand the device limitations. For example, when underneath tree cover, how can you get a good satellite signal? If you are deep within a rocky box canyon, how can you get a good satellite signal without multipath interference?

[dave54]

T-Mobile keeps promising satellite connectivity is coming, at least good enough for a short text message. That would essentially end the need for a separate PLB. But the rollout does not seem to be happening very fast.