"If you're planning on using your Spot as a fallback for lack of backcountry navigation skills, you might want to send it back to the manufacturer first. Spot has issued a voluntary recall for new models of their SPOT Satellite GPS Messengers issued after Oct. 1, 2009."
Before spending money on Spot with its irregular performance, I think I would bite the bullet and get a satellite phone even with the somewhat higher cost.
