It really boils down to how the device will be used. I carried an ACR ResQLink when I was flying, but that was dedicated for emergency only, much like the aircraft’s ELT or a ship’s EPIRB. We flew over blue water outside 100 miles from the coast and in the unlikely event we ditched, I wanted a very reliable link to the SAR system to back up the aircraft ELT.

The Garmin InReach is a very nice communicator with 2-way text capability. That’s the system you want when you’re sailing a TransPac on your sailboat and you want to stay in touch. Your boat’s EPIRB has the dedicated SAR requirement covered. Add a satellite phone and you’re totally connected. Just wait for them to add a wifi feature wink

A nice middle ground is the SPOT Gen3 Satellite Messenger. In addition to the the SOS function for life threatening situations, it has tracking and check-in functions so it can be used when times are good. For times when it’s not so good but a less than life threatening situation, you can reach out to friends for assistance rather than calling in the professionals. It has a nice range of options.

No affiliation with any of the above other than a customer of both ACR (for the PLB) and Garmin for my numerous GPS receivers. I do not have a SPOT satellite messenger.