SPOT ??

[Chasin' Tail]

Another vote for the InReach Explorer.
Even though it has a monthly subscription its much more versatile than a PLB. If you find yourself outside of cell coverage and need to communicate, its a great option..

you may find yourself in a situation that you need "help" but it doesnt rise to the level of an "emergency". You can communicate with friends for the help.... ie you got your truck stuck or broke down somewhere up in the mountains. Youre really not at the level of emergency where you should press the emergency on a PLB to send out the calvary to come find you... But being able to do 2 way texting with friends to get assistance, or just check in if you're camping in the back country is a good thing. Yet it also has the "SOS" feature, which will send help..
I also use mine when beyond cell range out tuna fishing to text with friends how the fishing is, and to check in with the wife if im running late.

 

[slab tech 1]

So, I gotta ask, what happened? my father in law just had the same thing happen to him where he woke up, fell off the couch, couldn’t move and barely could talk. Luckily my brother in law found him and called 911. He was taken to hospital and they ran tests and had him flown to Spokane for surgery. He had a blood clot in his brain. What could have caused that??? Well he did get vaccinated earlier in the week.

 

[Vek]

I had a SPOT that worked flawlessly, until it didn't. Worked fine all over Alaska, WA and Montana, 2010 through 2016. In 2016, I left a trailhead status and confirmed it was received, and then disappeared into the MT wilderness near Jellystone and all of its grizzlies for 5 days. Came out, drove to cell reception 5 miles from trailhead, only to find the wife received no messages in 5 days, and had dispatched a helicopter overflight with a friend who was a local and his helo S/R pilot neighbor. I watched them fly up my drainage then got them in contact via text. $1000 for that little problem.

Abandoned the SPOT and got the Inreach, and smooth sailing ever since.

Oddly enough...that MT helo pilot's outfit uses SPOT devices to track miles flown for their FAA credentials or whatever else that's regulatory in nature that I know nothing about, and the SPOTs have worked for him without flaw for years. So there's that. He's got daily feedback that things are fine, where I was in the dark for five days.

Old-style SPOT doesn't allow for acknowledgement of receipt of status updates. I've not kept up with recent models and updates. With Inreach, three recipients of mine are charged with responding...that way I know I'm in the clear. Big distinction there. They know to dispatch help if I've not been heard from in a day or two, and I know to get out of the woods and get myself heard if I'm not receiving acknowledgement.

Costs either way are pretty modest in comparison to the peace of mind.