[pct-l] SPOT reliability

[Christopher Sussman]

Wanted to weigh in on the SPOT discussion as I carried one on my
5-month thru hike of the PCT this summer. We had the newest version of
the satellite messenger.  Our friends and family were delighted to get
our updates and we would use it again on a long journey in a
heartbeat.  HOWEVER, we let our family and friends know that the
device wouldn't work all the time and this was critical as it proved
to be very true!  We used the device every single day of the hike (156
days) to send a "Check-in/Okay" message and on specific days we had
planned for we would sometimes set up a "Custom" message like when we
summited Mt. Whitney.  Our messages went through 85% of the time.  We
always had a clear view of the sky and we were super vigilant about
our placement.  It boggles my mind that some people have had 100%
success with this device because we talked to many others on the trail
who had similar experiences and I have seen similar comments from well
respected reviewers online:

Philip Werner of secitonhiker.com:
http://sectionhiker.com/spot-ty-coverage/

Brian Green at briangreen.net:
http://www.briangreen.net/2012/09/spot-ii-gps-messenger-disappointment.html

I should reiterate, we would use the device again, especially for a
long journey, because of how our family and friends felt connected to
our progress.  That being said, one must realize that as how the
device currently stands you simply cannot depend on it to work every
time. We did a "hard reset" of the device after talking to SPOT on the
phone and all troubleshooting they offered on placement did not help.
We often sent the our "Check-in" okay two or three times in some
locations and one message would end up going through.

Cheers,
Chris