[pct-l] SPOT messenger vs McMurdo PLB

Sun Mar 27 15:34:05 CDT 2011

Hillary, 
The spot is 100$. And sub. Is 99$

A traditional PLB is about 500$... So I thought spot was amazingly cheap for what it does.

I certainly wouldn't say they are 'really expensive'. If 100$ is a stretch for you;  youre in for a hard thru hike.  That's less than the cost of one zero.

Just talked to two couples I hiked with last year and both spent over 16,000 ... That sufficiently scared me... I'm even considering skipping Warner springs.

Sent from my iPod

On 2011-03-27, at 3:36 PM, Hillary Schwirtlich <hillary.schwirtlich at gmail.com> wrote:

> I think this comes back to the central question of heavy trucking vs light
> vs ultralight hiking: how do you mitigate risk? It's a question that doesn't
> just have to do with weight though. If you are concerned about being
> prepared for everything, you're going to bring more options for bailing
> yourself out of sticky situations.
> 
> I don't have a SPOT and I don't plan on getting one. That's because they're
> really expensive and they aren't something I think is 100% necessary for my
> style of hiking. Partly because I'm almost never alone, I rarely stray off
> trail, and I always have a map. In other words, I'm usually as prepared as I
> think I can be, I have enough experience to know how to deal with most
> common backcountry situations (i.e. cold, wet weather, etc), and I'm not
> like the guy was in 127 Hours - I see the need for human companionship and
> letting someone know where I'm going.
> 
> What happened to your friend's uncle was definitely unexpected and very sad.
> But that was also a very rare case. Maybe it's foolhardy of me to say that I
> doubt I will be having a heart attack soon (I'm 23, female, have always been
> active and eaten well, and have no family history of heart problems). But I
> feel that the risk of that or something else like it happening to me, where
> I don't have someone who can go hike for help, is small enough not to
> warrant needing a SPOT. Just like the likelihood of me developing an
> allergic reaction to a bee sting on the trail when I've never had an
> allergic reaction to one before is possible, but unlikely, and so I'm not
> going to go get a prescription for an EpiPen just in case.
> 
> That being said, I don't think you're over prepared if you do decide to get
> a SPOT device or something like it. I can see that having that extra safety
> would make someone feel much more comfortable, especially if they spent a
> lot of time alone. But I certainly don't think that you're a terrible person
> for not having one. If everyone who every went hiking absolutely needed a
> signaling device, 1. people wouldn't have gone hiking until the last however
> many years since those signaling devices were invented, and 2. only people
> who could afford the device would experience outdoor sports. And I'm all for
> as many people as possible exploring and appreciating the natural world.
> 
> I guess it's also a question of HYOH. :)
> 
> On Sun, Mar 27, 2011 at 12:00 PM, Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com>wrote:
> 
>> Jim,
>> I always advise people to "expect the unexpected"- and try to be prepared
>> for
>> it. Trees can fall unexpectedly, for no obvious reason - even on a nice day
>> with
>> little or no breeze. Boulders can come down, starting slides, as snow and
>> ice melt from high above the trail. Anyone who has spent a lot of time,
>> hiking,
>> climbing, and riding, in the back country, as I have, has experienced the
>> unexpected. You don't have to be taking foolish risks to have the
>> unexpected happen. While I lived in Mendocino an uncle of a close friend
>> tragically died while hiking in the Yola Bolies alone.  He was a healthy
>> and fit
>> guy and knew the area well. He died of a Cardiac Arrest. he had no way
>> of summoning help. This happened about 15 years ago. If he had along a way
>> of
>> summoning help he might have survived. Now that the technology has become
>> available I hold that it is foolish not to take advantage of it. It might
>> be the
>> life of someone else that you save.
>> 
>> MendoRider
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ________________________________
>> From: "enyapjr at comcast.net" <enyapjr at comcast.net>
>> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
>> Sent: Sun, March 27, 2011 11:12:17 AM
>> Subject: [pct-l] SPOT messenger vs McMurdo PLB
>> 
>>> ...only a fool would not bring one, or some other reliable rescue
>> signaling
>>> device.
>> 
>> Sorry, MendoRider, but I definitely have to disagree with that statement!
>> With a moderate amount of experience, sufficient or adequate gear for the
>> conditions
>> expected or possible, and the common sense to know when to hunker down or
>> bail
>> out or
>> 
>> not try something too 'extreme' - one wouldn't have any need for
>> "rescue"...
>> Not having a SPOT or PLB does not necessarily mean that one is stupid or a
>> fool!
>> 
>>> The successful TV program "I Shouldn't be Alive" would not exist if all
>> of
>>> those
>>> 
>>> people had had a way of calling for rescue.
>> 
>> And how did many of those people get into such 'situations' that they
>> needed
>> 'rescue'?
>> Sometimes it's the opposite - one goes ahead and does something one
>> normally
>> wouldn't
>> because they do have a rescue device with them...  Plus ask some SAR folks
>> what
>> they
>> honestly think of these rescue devices - too many times that 'rescue'
>> button is
>> pushed
>> without THINKING over the situation first - or developing skills needed
>> ahead of
>> time...
>> The most important piece of 'gear' one carries? - the gray matter in one's
>> skull
>> - it's
>> seems amazing that so many people nowadays don't use it (but makes for
>> "successful TV"
>> programs, however)...
>> 
>> There's also another 'popular' TV program - "A 1,000 Ways to Die"; and
>> let's not
>> forget
>> about the annual "Darwin Awards", either...  I doubt a rescue device would
>> have
>> helped
>> the majority of those people...
>> 
>> What was my 'rescue device' carried many years ago (before 'electronics') &
>> never once
>> 
>> used as such - the mirror in my small sighting compass...
>> All that said - I'll probably carry a SPOT - but as a COMMUNICATION device,
>> NOT
>> as a
>> 
>> 'rescue' device...  It will be for the family & friends 'peace of mind',
>> and for
>> me in
>> the sense of 'sharing' my trek with them daily...
>> YMMV, HYOH, ad infinitum etceteras......
>> 
>> Happy trails!!!
>> Jim (PITA)
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