WHat you guys think? I like the idea of Spot and lower initital investment with coolness factor (tracking, ok signal, etc). But ACR equipment seems like it's more of the pro-rescue type thing.

I ocean kayak, backcountry ski, hike, scuba and climb. I never been in the situation when I needed it but you never know. I got stuck few times kayaking where it would have been nice to have a piece of mind just in case.

Polak187,

Take a close look at Doug's review of both items. It may help you more clearly define your needs and what each product can/cannot do for you.

My 2 cents

I read them mate. I just still cant decide. Story of my life. Was looking for more of the actual field, prolonged use feedback.

No field experience here. Wasn't sure if you had had the time to look it up. By the looks of your photo I'm guessing that long days are the norm for you.

As a side: Thanks for your public service.

I like the fact that the Spot has functions which are 1/2 way. You can call for help, call home and let your wife know you made it OK, show your progress on Google maps, or call in the cavalry if things are really bad. An ACR is all or nothing and always pulls out all the stops.

I have been swamped, so have still not written the update. It is high on the list... But, in summary, I would not yet bet my life on SPOT. SPOT offers a lot of nifty features, and commercial distress alerting with these many features, in generic terms, has the potential for offering advantages to many, but in terms of robustness and reliability in my testing and that associates who have tried it, it has not proven itself to be as good as a 406 MHz beacon. We've numerous instances when it should have gotten though in tracking mode, but didn't and for long periods of time. We have numerous instances where in alerting mode it did not go through. Difficult, but not terrible situations, and ones I am confident a 406 M<Hz signal would have been picked up. The reliance on GPS for position is another significant downside. If you know the GPS will not be challenged where you travel, this may not be a factor.

Moreover, their GEOS call center is still not integrated adequately into the SAR system, IMO. I will be attending a SPOT press day at GEOS early next month and will perhaps have a better feel for this after attending.

This is not to say that SPOT won't likely work in most distress instances within its design range. It will save lives (has already) and with a low price point for initial purchase is bound to get better market penetration, which will also result in lives saved. This is all good. It may well be adequate for many people. However, I'm not yet willing to bet lives on "may be adequate for most" at this point. So, for the present time, my recommendation continues to be for a 406 MHz PLB unless you are confident that your use won't be very challenging to SPOT. In that case, SPOT may be a more affordable (at least in the short term) answer and/or the tracking and other features SPOT offers may be worthwhile in and of themselves.

I am not convinced that the HELP feature (a call to friends instead of SAR) has all that much real world utility as currently implemented. In many situations, you cannot go out, get into some sort of undefined trouble, then hit HELP, and expect it to solve the problem. May work OK on a road trip, but perhaps not so well on a backpacking trip. It will take some significant planning on your part to make that a practical option. And, the Check OK thing can be handy, BUT what happens when your mom doesn't get the expected OK signal from you because SPOT didn't do its thing? Because it is one way comm only, this has the potential to create unintended consequences.

I was in your situation and elected to get the ACR Microfix for many of the reasons stated by Doug above. The deciding factor for me was my frequent trips to the canyonlands of Utah where getting a GPS fix is extremely difficult.

I'm also waiting for what I call "Spot 2.0" which should include text messaging capability. The technology is already in place and should not be expensive to implement. When they do that, I will get one and carry it beside my Microfix.

+1 for the PLB with the on-board GPS.

As I'm sure you know, the two cost almost exactly the same, so cost isn't an issue.

When I carry my PLB (the older, slightly fatter ACR AeroFix with the TerraFix connector - long story) I carry it for its rescue capability.

I don't feel a need to check-in or be tracked. As a matter of fact I don't like that thought at all. As long as I'm carrying the PLB my family and friends know I'll bet help when/if I need it.

From a design perspective I like knowing that the PLB is designed to be tough as nails and that it treats battery life as if it were gold ... as if my life depended on it (and it would, if needed).

Ken K.

ACR Microfix it is than. Thanks Guys.

I'll second the vote for the ACR. I'm part of a team that did an evaluation of the SPOT for another publication (just out this week) and our consensus was that it had serious shortcomings, and none of us would trust our life to it at this point.

Issues included poor GPS reception and performance, erratic transmission of requests, and a very poor UI (that is, blinking LEDs that require memorization or carrying a reference card, and even then aren't particularly clear or useful, combined with less-than-ideal buttons and command sequences).