SPOT

[foxvalley]

I had a chance to use the SPOT. emergency gps. unit last year on my solo elk hunt as I don't get a cell phone signal where I am.
If your not familiar with this, it's an emergency gps. unit, that if you find yourself in a life or death situation,you simply push a button and a helecopter is sent to your gps. location. It also has a "help" button,where it sends a less urgent message.
What I really liked is you can send 2 different preprogrammed messages to a bunch of different people. For example,my first message read"everything is fine,having a great time." I would send this to my wife, hunting partner that couldn't go,and my parents every day. It also shows the gps.location of where I was when I sent the message on I believe google earth. My partner loved this as he knew right away what drainage I was hunting that day from his pc at home. My second preprogrammed message was" I killed an elk! Packing out meat." Everybody at home now knows I was successful before I even start to break the elk down.
I was concerned about the gps. signal in the dark holes I usually end up in, and never had a place that it didn't work. It gave me huge peace of mind, and also everybody at home every day, not to mention instant news when an elk went down. This is a great life saving unit,and also a way to communicate back home if there is no cell service where you are.

[Broken arrow]

What was your total cost?

[Calibowhunter]

Good stuff, thanks for sharing! I hope to get one for this fall. I think it would be a wise investment since I hunt alone most of the time.

[Freebird134]

We started using one about 3 years ago. It's great peace of mind. I had hoped to upgrade this year to the one that lets you send text messages from your iPhone, but it seems to get really spotty reviews. It seems less reliable. I guess we are sticking with the regular spot and 2 pre planned messages.

[foxvalley]

What was your total cost?

It's on sale at cabelas right now for 99.00 The basic sevice plan is also 99.00. There is additional insurance available to cover the cost of the heli ride, I believe last year it was 6.00 per day, and you can buy by the day. Looks like this years renewal is 138.00.

[ElkNut1]

I too think it's an awesome piece of equipment & definitely can give peace of mind to various loved ones at home! Great review & use of the unit Foxvalley, I enjoyed it!

ElkNut1

[Freebird134]

Here's an option for guys that would only use it once a year, say during elk season. I haven't used them yet, but check out Lower Gear rentals: http://www.lowergear.com/product.php?id=261. If you'll only use the Spot once a year, this is a cheaper option. For example, rent it for 14 days for $69 + shipping (total about $100). But that includes the transmitter, the $100 basic service fee, and the $50 tracking service fee. Even renting it for a whole month ($95) works out much cheaper then buying it new.

[foxvalley]

Here's an option for guys that would only use it once a year, say during elk season. I haven't used them yet, but check out Lower Gear rentals: http://www.lowergear.com/product.php?id=261. If you'll only use the Spot once a year, this is a cheaper option. For example, rent it for 14 days for $69 + shipping (total about $100). But that includes the transmitter, the $100 basic service fee, and the $50 tracking service fee. Even renting it for a whole month ($95) works out much cheaper then buying it new.

That would really be the way to go, mine sits in my drawer all but 2 weeks out of the year.

[foxvalley]

I too think it's an awesome piece of equipment & definitely can give peace of mind to various loved ones at home! Great review & use of the unit Foxvalley, I enjoyed it!

ElkNut1

Thanks Paul!

[Broken arrow]

I am checking into the rental! No reason to pay for yearly service I only need for a couple weeks.
Thanks!!!

[stringunner]

My wife and I too purchased a spot unit three years ago. I hunt alone several times throughout the season, scout alone most of the time and ride my horses alone as well throughout the year in the mountains. My wife and I also do a lot of packing on horses throughout the summer. One great example of it working for us was during a spring bear hunting trip this past April. My brother and I got my truck REALLY stuck in a bog that we tried to drive around. I have the custom message set on my spot unit that reads something like this: I'm either stuck or broke down, bring diesel, gas, tow chains, jacks, tools, etc... This message goes to 10 different people whom I know will get in touch with my dad pronto and make a plan as to who is coming to get me. As stated, it sends google earth pics and gps coordinates. Anyway, we sent this message and yes, we had to wait 3 1/2 hours for my dad to get there and we did hike up to the main road but not a single vehicle came by in that time, we were pretty remote. It was great to have the spot in that situation, I knew someone would come for us eventually I did send the message 3-4 times in that time frame just to ensure I was continually on someone's mind! Thus the reason I have the spot as opposed to just an emergency locator beacon. It would have been a really really long hike back to the highway on foot.

One thing I always do when sending messages is send two. That way in the event the first one doesn't go through (I would say 95% of mine have gone through on the first time in the three years that I have had it and I send a lot throughout the year) the 2nd one hopefully will.

My general ok message says "all is well, I'm doing great", My custom emergency message says "I'm injured, it is not life threatening but I need help asap." The 3rd custom message is set as mentioned above "I'm broke down/stuck...." And then there is the direct to emergency service button.

[Freebird134]

For anyone interested in renting from the lowergear.com website, here's some more info. I still haven't rented from them, so I can't vouch for them yet. But I did just reserve a spot for 2 weeks for my elk hunt in september. I used the online reservation and it was really easy. But, I did have a question so I called their phone number. The guy (eric maybe?) said they were pretty relaxed about the rental dates. For example, I asked to have it by Sept 11. he said they try to be a day early, so I should get it on Sept 10. Great! With a 2 week rental, he said I should ship it back Sept 25, but he said if something happened and I couldn't send it back until the 26th or even 27th they don't "ding you" for being late. Shipping to and return from Twin Falls, ID was $10.18 each way, so the total cost of renting a Spot for me will be $89.36. can't complain about that!

[elkaholic]

I have a SPOT and love it. Great peace of mind for the wife. I use it several times a year with scouting, hunting, and being in the back country. I have a checkin message, help I'm stuck message, and a 911 which goes directly to dispatch and my wife.

[WindedBowhunter]

It does give piece of mind to loved ones, plus they can see where you are physically at on Google Maps, on your trip. I have used them for several years, with great success.

I do not leave the tracking on when I am on 5+ day backcountry hunts, just to ensure I have good battery life.

Highly recommend using Energizer Lithium batteries, you will get more that your money's worth using them in your SPOT, GPS