Personal Locator Beacon

[Baffman]

I agree. I use a SPOT and have had a good experience with it. Truth be told I had discussed one with Quentinc but he didn't have much love for gadgets. I sure wish he had one for his sake.

Baff

[RoguePhotonic]

We all make choices in life. What matters is if we have considered them. I was called a fool more then once as I traveled the mountains this summer with no safety net. But I accepted the consequences of what could happen.

If you value your life then get a safety net!

[Bluewater]

I have been responsibly using a Spot II for the last two years with good results. At first it was because I travel solo allot, but now I bring it all the time in the backcountry.

[SandStorm]

Slightly off-topic, but in the spirit of the thread: Anyone carry a sat phone? I've used an Iridium in the past and it worked well. Heard good things about the Inmarsat IsatPhone. They're expensive and heavy but worth their weight in gold in the hinterland.

[mshields]

We all make choices in life. What matters is if we have considered them.

Well said Rouge; put the info out there and let people make there own well informed decision. Part of me hesitates to post so soon on this subject, when Larry is heavy on everyone's heart right now; but in the end it is probably the responsible thing to do.

I recently purchased a PLB this past February (see the below link) and thought I would share some of the factors that contributed to my decision:

http://www.acrartex.com/products/catalo ... qlinkplus/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

1) As a husband and father of four young children I feel a little extra responsibility to increase my odds in a life and death situation.

2) Unlike the Spot units, the Personal Locator Beacons (PLB's) require no subscription and/or activation fees whatsoever. Upon purchase they are registered with NOAA + require registration renewals once every 2 years; this is a very simple process and can be done online in a matter of minutes.

3) Upon activating the beacon, SAR personnell are immediately provided with your name, site specific location, and emergency contact information; all of this info is linked to the PLB when you register the unit.

4) It provides additional "peace of mind" for my wife and friends when I am out in the mountains; especially when going solo.

5) The unit I purchased weighs in @ 5.4 ounces, providing a pretty decent weight to benefit ratio.


Just to clarify, overall I am not recommending a particular brand or saying that these are necessarily superior to the Spot units but rather stating a few of the factors that influenced my personal decision to purchase the unit. If anyone does decide to take the PLB route, there are many makes and models out there to choose from. Thanks for taking the time to consider.



P.S. - In Light of Balzacom's request earlier this morning I will try to get back on the HST track and refocus on what really matters "getting out into the mountains and enjoying them"

[The hermit]

Mshields, do you have to pay to register every other year?

[mshields]

Mshields, do you have to pay to register every other year?

Hermit,

There are no fees either for the initial or two year registrations.

Thanks

[Jimr]

After my little summer adventure, my wife will not let me back into the wilderness without something of this nature; and more life insurance. Being the sole breadwinner for a wife and two kids, I guess that is the price one pays for responsibility. Regardless of my own personal preference, I will do it without reservation. Considerations like this are not only for the solo travelers, it is also a consideration when one leads the less experienced.

[BrianF]

PLBs...not just for the solo anymore... Even in a group of experienced hikers a serious accident or medical emergency can happen. A PLB can save the lost time of someone having to hike to the nearest trailhead and alert SAR, which could be days. A PLB is probably more useful in a group beacause the function requires that someone be conscious and able to access the PLB, which is not guaranteed for the soloist in a fall.
My own decision to carry one came several years ago. I am almost always solo in the backcountry and I injured myself (fortunately not too bad to limp my way out over the next several days) on day 4 of a nine day solo trip. I was miles from the nearest trail and it was early october; highly unlikely that anyone would have wandered by. It occured to me that it would have been about 6 more days before SAR would have been called and then they would have had to search for me along my entire planned route.
At that time I bought an ACR PLB since that seemed to be the only option, as said above no fees and great response, built like a tank and weighed like one too - mine was about 12oz. I have since switched to the Spot for both the weight savings(weighs about 4oz) and the ability to send an OK signal. That last is important to the folks at home, but also if done on a daily basis it creates a "last known position" for searchers to begin a search from if you go missing ( and unable to send a signal).
Personally, I send an OK when I set up camp each evening and at the summit of a peak if I am climbing, or at some convenient time during the day if I am off trail. I also always leave a note in my tent as to the day's goals if I am wandering off from a basecamp.
I carry it on all backpacking trips or long dayhikes and climbs nowadays and for me the $100/year subscription is worth it

[lostcoyote]

It looks like they will send out a signal for 30 plus hours.

this isn't very much time. if one got into trouble, lets say, 1 week before expected exit, then your battery's going to be dead long before anyone calls out a search party.
maybe some of these units can be set up with pulsed beacons to save battery life instead of a continuous beacon?? i dunno - but 30 hours doesn't cut it.

whereas with something like SPOT, it will send out a GPS coordinate to the satellite which in turn, sends out the distress email with one caveat: you must be in good visibility with the satellite.

for me, some of my SPOT messages did not get thru in the following conditions:

1. heavily forested area without a clear view of the sky
2. heavy overcast conditions even above timberline
3. down in deep canyons with clear view of sky