Does anyone use a SPOT messenger?
 

Hi All

I've never considered anything like a satellite phone before, but my upcoming trip will see me in very remote areas of Siberia and the Russian Far East, far from mobile phone coverage, in the depths of winter with deadly temperatures, so I am thinking of some emergency communications.

A satellite phone is too expensive and out of the question, but I've been reading about a SPOT messenger, which is cheap enough to buy for a single trip.

I have two main questions...

- Can I cancel the service subscription when I'm not using it, and pick it up again when i want to make a trip which might need it?

- Can I program in the numbers which are used when the SOS button is pressed? I'll be in Russia so it really needs to go to the local Ministry of Emergency Situations office. Sending it to 112 in Europe may not work...

Something like a Delorme InReach is not too expensive either.. would this be a much safer choice?

Grateful for any user experience and opinions

EO

I have used both and still have them both but as long as the delorme keeps working, the Spot will never see the light of day again.

Delorme is two way even with emergency alarm and you can send emails and texts to anyone in the world. Run it on continuous tracking and team it up with Spotwalla and selected people back home can see where you are every 10 minutes if you choose. Send an I'm camping here message to selected people every day and you are always in touch and don't have to worry about them being worried.
Spot does much the same things but it is basically shouting into the sky with no indication that anyone has heard you. With Delorme, you can know it was received. Spot is also much less reliable in high latitudes whereas Delorme seems to work anywhere as it uses a different satellite arrangement.

They both offer an addon rescue insurance policy - 20 dollars a year which might help you get action in countries that don't have full free rescue services.

The SOS on both units triggers a response in a situation room in the USA i think and they coordinate with specific country search and rescue. Spot response will be bells and whistles, while with delorme you can get a tailored response according to your situation and of course you can communicate with any phone or email whereas the spot can only send preset messages to a couple of selected people.

I bought a Spot a few years ago. I was on a trip through the backcountry of Colorado in 2013, and every rider in my group had one . . . except me.

The service cost has increased quite a bit in the last year. Today, I believe the Delorme is a better option, and you can buy the service that you need as opposed to the limited and expensive Spot options.

Tracking
 

The points raised by the last two riders are correct. A couple of years ago i looked at both and spoke to users of both. I chose the DeLorme for a couple of important points - two way communication (and I have used this via mobile and email) and the the fact that the Delorme used the Irudium satellite network.

This network is very reliable and of more importance has better signal strength. I have used mine on long trips (including outback Australia) and also when I have shipped my bike to New Zealand (which can be very cloudy so signal strength is important and mobile coverage is patchy in South Island). I invited family to link into my maps with drop points shown. The DeLorme did not miss a single drop point or message all through the mountain areas of NZ (or the Snowy in Aus).

Also if you are not wanting to use the tracker for a few months you can stall the use and it only costs $AUD6 per month to keep your registration.

You can get various plans (from about $AUD30/month upwards). Plans go up in cost if you want more messages and more drop points. Have a look at the web site.

Hope this helps.

Mal