Are there many SPOT users on this board? If so, what has your experience been. Is it reliable as an emergency device in the event an unfortuante event occurs?
I used it for a few trips, it pretty much appears to be working ok in the Sierra based on the tracking data received. I never pushed the 911 button, so I can't comment on how reliable that part is.
Still, I will be ending my service with them once the current contract runs out, following a pretty negative experience with customer support. The company behind that orange thing doesn't seem to be quite as organized as I'd like them to be given a life may depend on it.
My next device will be an Iridium satellite phone. More expensive to purchase initially, but also much more useful for somebody who spends weeks at a time outside of cell phone range. For me the SPOT's 911-or-nothing button without being able to get any information from the other side is a far too limited capability to looking to carry weight that gives me more: weather updates, connects me to shuttle or resupply services, lets me talk to a nurse or doctor for anything that doesn't require an extraction, let's me talk to rangers or SAR directly and give them exact location information beyond an easily messed up lat/longitude string, or just let me talk to somebody if I am stuck in a tent during a snow storm, waiting for the avalanche situation to change.
