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They're not even expensive to buy. I picked one up for a few hundred dollars for hiking. I believe it's good for 10 years, until the battery needs replacing. I

by vosper 6y ago

They're not even expensive to buy. I picked one up for a few hundred dollars for hiking. I believe it's good for 10 years, until the battery needs replacing. I don't even do particularly intense hikes, usually not even overnight, but I read a few stories and realised how easy it is to end up in a situation where you need one. You just have to slip over and land badly, that's all it takes. Or maybe it won't be me, but someone else on the trail who needs help.

Alupis 6y ago
The history of humans, traveling totally unprepared into harsh environmental conditions, thinking they'll just "Rambo" their way through, is stunning. The "Into the Wild" bus comes to mind[1]. So many people died every year, attempting to forge rivers unprepared, and brave the harsh Alaskan elements, that they had to remove this bus! It wasn't enough that people died every year, and that most of them had practically zero harsh environment experience... Nature will kill you every chance it gets. Be prepared, or don't go. [1] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53106441 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53106441
- prionassembly 6y ago
  We choose to go to the moon!
  - Alupis 6y ago
    I'd argue they were abundantly prepared for going to the harsh moon environment.
newman8r 6y ago
yeah I've got one too (for kayaking in the ocean and hiking/overlanding), the peace of mind that they offer is worth the cost alone. I like to go places with no cell signal, and when you're hours from the nearest paved road, it's nice to know that you can get airlifted out if you get bitten by a snake, etc.
jessriedel 6y ago
A few hundred dollars seems fastastically expensive to me. What is possibly inside it that justifies that price?
- ghaff 6y ago
  It’s a satellite commS device. You also need a service for it to be useful. I do find it somewhat amusing to read a comment that a device that locates me anywhere on the planet and can communicate that information via satellite costs a few hundred dollars! to be vaguely amusing.
  - jcrawfordor 6y ago
    There are really two different options here. Some devices, variously called EPIRBs, PLBs, and ELTs depending on the exact device and application, report to a system called COSPAS-SARSAT which is a free service operated by an international collaboration. You do not need to pay any service fee for these, although you are required to register them with a local authority (the Coast Guard in the US) so that they have contact info for you. These devices tend to be expensive because most of them are manufactured to either FAA or Coast Guard standards that are pretty strict and require things like a multi-year permanent battery, water intrusion and impact tests, etc. On the other hand you can get a couple of different consumer-pointing satellite communicators that rely on commercial networks, mostly GlobalStar. Spot X and Garmin InReach are the two big ones. Both are cheaper up front but require a monthly service plan. They do tend to have fancy features that PLBs can't offer like two-way text messaging, but they're not generally built to any particular standard for durability, so you wouldn't want to use them, say, at sea or in an airplane. The COSPAS-SARSAT system also generally has better coverage than GlobalStar but there are tradeoffs, esp. depending on the different capability levels. The thought that they're pricey seems like a reasonable thing when you compare e.g. a $400 EPIRB to the $200 Spot X, but the EPIRB is tested to work in water whereas the Spot X has janky firmware that doesn't always work great anywhere (I love mine but... it has rough edges).
    - jjav 6y ago
      > ...mostly GlobalStar. Spot X and Garmin InReach are the two big ones These are different though. SPOT works on globalstar which has gaps in coverage, particularly large parts of the Pacific. A coverage map is here: https://www.findmespot.com/en-us/products-services/coverage-maps https://www.findmespot.com/en-us/products-services/coverage-... The inReach works on iridum and claims 100% world-wide coverage. Personally I carry an EPIRB for the boat, a PLB on the lifejacket and an inReach for texting. Cheap insurance.
ghaff 6y ago
I tend to push back against the “OMG how can you be out of contact with people?” take. That said, these days I’d find it hard to justify not carrying a satellite device (especially if I were solo) in something approaching deep wilderness.

by vosper 6y ago

Alupis 6y ago

The history of humans, traveling totally unprepared into harsh environmental conditions, thinking they'll just "Rambo" their way through, is stunning. The "Into the Wild" bus comes to mind[1]. So many people died every year, attempting to forge rivers unprepared, and brave the harsh Alaskan elements, that they had to remove this bus! It wasn't enough that people died every year, and that most of them had practically zero harsh environment experience... Nature will kill you every chance it gets. Be prepared, or don't go. [1] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53106441 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53106441

prionassembly 6y ago
We choose to go to the moon!
- Alupis 6y ago
  I'd argue they were abundantly prepared for going to the harsh moon environment.

newman8r 6y ago

yeah I've got one too (for kayaking in the ocean and hiking/overlanding), the peace of mind that they offer is worth the cost alone. I like to go places with no cell signal, and when you're hours from the nearest paved road, it's nice to know that you can get airlifted out if you get bitten by a snake, etc.

jessriedel 6y ago

A few hundred dollars seems fastastically expensive to me. What is possibly inside it that justifies that price?

ghaff 6y ago
It’s a satellite commS device. You also need a service for it to be useful. I do find it somewhat amusing to read a comment that a device that locates me anywhere on the planet and can communicate that information via satellite costs a few hundred dollars! to be vaguely amusing.
- jcrawfordor 6y ago
  There are really two different options here. Some devices, variously called EPIRBs, PLBs, and ELTs depending on the exact device and application, report to a system called COSPAS-SARSAT which is a free service operated by an international collaboration. You do not need to pay any service fee for these, although you are required to register them with a local authority (the Coast Guard in the US) so that they have contact info for you. These devices tend to be expensive because most of them are manufactured to either FAA or Coast Guard standards that are pretty strict and require things like a multi-year permanent battery, water intrusion and impact tests, etc. On the other hand you can get a couple of different consumer-pointing satellite communicators that rely on commercial networks, mostly GlobalStar. Spot X and Garmin InReach are the two big ones. Both are cheaper up front but require a monthly service plan. They do tend to have fancy features that PLBs can't offer like two-way text messaging, but they're not generally built to any particular standard for durability, so you wouldn't want to use them, say, at sea or in an airplane. The COSPAS-SARSAT system also generally has better coverage than GlobalStar but there are tradeoffs, esp. depending on the different capability levels. The thought that they're pricey seems like a reasonable thing when you compare e.g. a $400 EPIRB to the $200 Spot X, but the EPIRB is tested to work in water whereas the Spot X has janky firmware that doesn't always work great anywhere (I love mine but... it has rough edges).
  - jjav 6y ago
    > ...mostly GlobalStar. Spot X and Garmin InReach are the two big ones These are different though. SPOT works on globalstar which has gaps in coverage, particularly large parts of the Pacific. A coverage map is here: https://www.findmespot.com/en-us/products-services/coverage-maps https://www.findmespot.com/en-us/products-services/coverage-... The inReach works on iridum and claims 100% world-wide coverage. Personally I carry an EPIRB for the boat, a PLB on the lifejacket and an inReach for texting. Cheap insurance.

ghaff 6y ago

I tend to push back against the “OMG how can you be out of contact with people?” take. That said, these days I’d find it hard to justify not carrying a satellite device (especially if I were solo) in something approaching deep wilderness.