Spot vs. PLB

[jman]

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).

[ibenick]

I spent a lot of effort researching this and I went with Spot. Here are my feelings on the subject.

Spot
-Great battery life! Keep in mind it has to have Lithium batteries otherwise it may not even work properly. I go on a lot of trips and leave it on tracking mode all day and I change the batteries every few months. Tracking mode sends out my location every 10 minutes so I would think without tracking I could go 6+ months of going on trips every other weekend without changing batteries.
-Coverage has been quite good. The only time I've had issues was when I was camped under a deep alcove but if I walked out into the center of the canyon I was golden. I've also never had an OKAY message not get through when it said it had sent but I’ve heard messages get dropped now and then.
-Tracking is a great feature and worth the extra $50 per year although I was able to find a coupon code online and avoid paying for it.
-Haven’t dealt with their customer service
-Don’t care about social networking aspect but I do like sharing my tracking map with the people I’ve designated to watch out for me
-Custom message feature is awesome. If I’m going out solo and not sure if I’ll spend one night or two, I simply program my custom message to say I’ve decided to spend another night and not to worry. I also programmed my help button to clarify that I’m having a non-medical mechanical emergency and to send that type of help. That way if I’m out of cel service and my truck breaks down someone will come but it won’t be search and rescue.
-Profiles are nice. You can setup different ones so when I go with certain friends it changes the list of people who get notifications so if my friends wife wants an email she will get them but only on trips when he is with me.

PLB:
-The industrial strength and seriousness of a real PLB is very appealing but it's pretty much just dead weight in your pack until there’s a real emergency. Meanwhile the Spot gets constant use as a communicator. The PLB is also larger and heavier (in most cases).
-Battery not user replaceable, you have to send it in to the manufacturer. That doesn’t seem too bad except one of the models I looked at had a check-in feature like spot, unfortunately it would deplete the non-replaceable battery.
-It’s awesome that it transmits over the emergency frequencies but it would be nice if it did that in addition to the GPS communication that spot does.

[jman]

Thanks for the reply Nick. How long have you had your spot?

[ibenick]

I bought it in July of last year and have taken it out on about 20 good trips. One other thought: I'm a big fan of Amazon but I chose to buy mine at REI in case there were any problems with it. I would have saved a few bucks with Amazon but given the nature of the product the satisfaction guarantee seemed worthwhile.

[Alex]

There are quite a few threads on this topic. Spot is cheaper and works best for weekend warriors like us. I've used mine since they first came out. 4 years now. I am thinking of upgrading to 3rd generation now...

My spot is strapped to my life jacket when I raft, or in my pocket when I go hiking/canyoneering.