jman
03-08-2011, 11:46 AM
I have a community question - which device would be a better safety device?
I've participated in the threads - but after reading the reviews on Amazon and hearing one friend complain about his Spot service - I'm having second opinions.
These are things I have heard about each device;
Spot:
-inexpensive device
-yearly subscription
-"horrible" coverage and "doesn't always work" are some but of many complaints logged by the consumers on Amazon.com
-battery life on the device is unacceptable to backcountry trips, my St. George friend says.
-"worst custom service" of any company, listed by Amazon.com users
PLB:
-one-time price for the device, which can be expensive.
-no yearly subscription
-uses different frequencies than Spot does, so coverage and "reliability" is better, according to a PLB device on Amazon.com
-no customer service to deal with.
-better battery life than the Spot device.
These are all things I have heard and read about what people say about the device.
I will admit the lazy factor as I do not want to research many more hours to this...and would prefer any 1st hand experience, before I decide on a device...
So from the things I have heard - and as a backup device completely - the PLB is better. But if you like updating your facebook status and pressing the OK button, than Spot would outshine the PLM, but then the Spot coverage isn't so great (so I hear...along with the other things mentioned).
I've participated in the threads - but after reading the reviews on Amazon and hearing one friend complain about his Spot service - I'm having second opinions.
These are things I have heard about each device;
Spot:
-inexpensive device
-yearly subscription
-"horrible" coverage and "doesn't always work" are some but of many complaints logged by the consumers on Amazon.com
-battery life on the device is unacceptable to backcountry trips, my St. George friend says.
-"worst custom service" of any company, listed by Amazon.com users
PLB:
-one-time price for the device, which can be expensive.
-no yearly subscription
-uses different frequencies than Spot does, so coverage and "reliability" is better, according to a PLB device on Amazon.com
-no customer service to deal with.
-better battery life than the Spot device.
These are all things I have heard and read about what people say about the device.
I will admit the lazy factor as I do not want to research many more hours to this...and would prefer any 1st hand experience, before I decide on a device...
So from the things I have heard - and as a backup device completely - the PLB is better. But if you like updating your facebook status and pressing the OK button, than Spot would outshine the PLM, but then the Spot coverage isn't so great (so I hear...along with the other things mentioned).