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How many of you carry a GPS SPOT?

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    • How many of you carry a GPS SPOT?

      A friend offered to buy me one to support my hike, but I am reading there's a 1-year "service" you have to sign up for on top of the $149 unit itself! Wut?

      It doesn't seem like it would be worth it, though I would like people to know where I am. It would bring a lot of peace to my family too.
      www.appalachiantrailclarity.com - Life on the A.T.

      Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, and sometimes in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself.

    • OzJacko wrote:

      Attempting my best Tennessee accent.... "a whaaat?"
      :)


      Wow nice try... I can almost hear it.... makes bear bells jingle.

      Do you remember Mel Gibson's first Mad Max?... He never forgave Hollywood for removing his Aussie accent with an American voice over, the entire movie.

      Uh Spot.... nope. Not for the AT - Don't need it... Other hiking spots... yea - I am suspect of the AT in Maine... most electronics wont work, and Spot will. Roll the dice.

      OH one more thing... the first Spot was a dud, the antenna sucked. 2nd or third generation is what you would be looking for.
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup:

      The post was edited 2 times, last by Wise Old Owl ().

    • For what it's worth a pair of friends used the Spot's when they were in dirt bike wrecks (obviously not on the AT, one was in Colorado, the other in Royal Blue on the TN/Ky border area). Both triggered them and after waiting for hours both managed to crawl out and find help. No one even so much as went to look for them. Chalk it up to money wasted and time that could have made a difference of surviving or not. Having a decent plan in place and reasonable gear/skills will be a far more effective help should you need it.
      _________________________________________________
      The trouble with reality stems from a lack of background music!

    • I had one when I got out of college. My parents wanted me to carry one and since they were still paying for my health insurance, I carried it for their peace of mind. Now I don't. I deactivated mine because I wasn't using $128 worth of service a year. Let's face it, if you're hiking on the east coast, there's no need. There are roads everywhere. I feel confident with my map and compass method. I can usually find a place to send out a text if I'm carrying a phone.

    • Tangent wrote:

      I had one when I got out of college. My parents wanted me to carry one and since they were still paying for my health insurance, I carried it for their peace of mind. Now I don't. I deactivated mine because I wasn't using $128 worth of service a year. Let's face it, if you're hiking on the east coast, there's no need. There are roads everywhere. I feel confident with my map and compass method. I can usually find a place to send out a text if I'm carrying a phone.
      Did you say that you got a Spot when you got out of college? How old are you? I may have just lost my place as the youngest member of this site. :D
      Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    • max.patch wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      max.patch wrote:

      not necessary on the at.


      May come back to bite me, but on the AT I do not even carry a compass anymore.


      i carry map and compass, not because i'm afraid of getting lost, but in case i (or someone i may come across) needs to get off the a.t. asap because of illness or injury. i also enjoy looking at the maps for enjoyment while hiking.


      When I first started the AT I actually bought the GA & NC maps. I enjoyed looking a them too, and they make you popular with the other hikers who do not carry them. Since then I have been saving the money and weight, but they were fun to look at.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Astro ().

    • OzJacko wrote:

      Maps are not necessary for a thruhike (for the AT and the Bib as well - and I suspect, many other trails).
      They are very useful for section hikes and if you want to "take detours".


      i always have maps.ive changed destinations or routes numerous times mid hike.even on the at i always carry a compass, have never needed it on the at, but its a weight penalty i can live with
      i wouldnt buy them , however, if i were to thru hike. the companion is enough.
      its all good

    • I would carry a compass if I was going off trail using a map, maybe.
      I find that correct reading of a map and awareness of things like sun position make a compass unnecessary unless you are trying to walk on a bearing. It is normally very easy to be able to determine north south east west within a reasonable margin. Maps showing contours and features (the only sort I consider worthwhile backcountry) means you should always be able to determine your position from the features around you. Awarenes of your hiking speed and the time should be enough to determine distances you have travelled. I am not saying you shouldn't carry a compass, but if your maps and skills in reading them are any good, one is generally unnecessary. I think they have a placebo effect for a competent map reader and are a bit dangerous if relied on more than map skills.
      Resident Australian, proving being a grumpy old man is not just an American trait.

    • OzJacko wrote:

      I would carry a compass if I was going off trail using a map, maybe.
      I find that correct reading of a map and awareness of things like sun position make a compass unnecessary unless you are trying to walk on a bearing. It is normally very easy to be able to determine north south east west within a reasonable margin. Maps showing contours and features (the only sort I consider worthwhile backcountry) means you should always be able to determine your position from the features around you. Awarenes of your hiking speed and the time should be enough to determine distances you have travelled. I am not saying you shouldn't carry a compass, but if your maps and skills in reading them are any good, one is generally unnecessary. I think they have a placebo effect for a competent map reader and are a bit dangerous if relied on more than map skills.


      wrong. compass is necessary with map. sun dont help on a cloudy day or at night. in fog,whiteouts or storms, its not easy to gauge the surrounding terrain and put it to the map.knowing ones pace matters little if you're forced to bushwack due to an emergency.compass and map go together.and theres no reason not to take it. none.
      its all good

    • hikerboy wrote:

      OzJacko wrote:

      I would carry a compass if I was going off trail using a map, maybe.
      I find that correct reading of a map and awareness of things like sun position make a compass unnecessary unless you are trying to walk on a bearing. It is normally very easy to be able to determine north south east west within a reasonable margin. Maps showing contours and features (the only sort I consider worthwhile backcountry) means you should always be able to determine your position from the features around you. Awarenes of your hiking speed and the time should be enough to determine distances you have travelled. I am not saying you shouldn't carry a compass, but if your maps and skills in reading them are any good, one is generally unnecessary. I think they have a placebo effect for a competent map reader and are a bit dangerous if relied on more than map skills.


      wrong. compass is necessary with map. sun dont help on a cloudy day or at night. in fog,whiteouts or storms, its not easy to gauge the surrounding terrain and put it to the map.knowing ones pace matters little if you're forced to bushwack due to an emergency.compass and map go together.and theres no reason not to take it. none.


      The difference in opinion here may be due more to geography and weather. The sun is probably more reliable in the land down under. I doubt Oz does a lot of hiking there in rain, snow, clouds, etc.. Now at night you still have the stars, but that is stretching it.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • Fair enough viewpoint.
      Fog and whiteout not conditions I hike in.
      The overwhelming use of maps is deciding which trail or road to take. If bush whacking is something you are likely to do then yes, take both. As I said, if I was wanting to walk on a bearing I would. I doubt all but a few go "off trail" to any extent. And a smartphone is more than enough backup for me. Even without a phone signal or downloaded map it can provide some basic info of direction of travel. If that was not enough then it would seem to me that finding somewhere to hunker down would be wise.
      Resident Australian, proving being a grumpy old man is not just an American trait.

    • Astro wrote:

      hikerboy wrote:

      OzJacko wrote:

      I would carry a compass if I was going off trail using a map, maybe.
      I find that correct reading of a map and awareness of things like sun position make a compass unnecessary unless you are trying to walk on a bearing. It is normally very easy to be able to determine north south east west within a reasonable margin. Maps showing contours and features (the only sort I consider worthwhile backcountry) means you should always be able to determine your position from the features around you. Awarenes of your hiking speed and the time should be enough to determine distances you have travelled. I am not saying you shouldn't carry a compass, but if your maps and skills in reading them are any good, one is generally unnecessary. I think they have a placebo effect for a competent map reader and are a bit dangerous if relied on more than map skills.


      wrong. compass is necessary with map. sun dont help on a cloudy day or at night. in fog,whiteouts or storms, its not easy to gauge the surrounding terrain and put it to the map.knowing ones pace matters little if you're forced to bushwack due to an emergency.compass and map go together.and theres no reason not to take it. none.


      The difference in opinion here may be due more to geography and weather. The sun is probably more reliable in the land down under. I doubt Oz does a lot of hiking there in rain, snow, clouds, etc.. Now at night you still have the stars, but that is stretching it.


      no stars when its cloudy.
      and try getting a "lay of the land" hiking through southern maine, where you're surrounded by dense spruce and balsam. you're on the at you're fine, off it, well , youre lost.
      its all good

    • OzJacko wrote:

      Fair enough viewpoint.
      Fog and whiteout not conditions I hike in.
      The overwhelming use of maps is deciding which trail or road to take. If bush whacking is something you are likely to do then yes, take both. As I said, if I was wanting to walk on a bearing I would. I doubt all but a few go "off trail" to any extent. And a smartphone is more than enough backup for me. Even without a phone signal or downloaded map it can provide some basic info of direction of travel. If that was not enough then it would seem to me that finding somewhere to hunker down would be wise.


      smartphone with dead battery = up schitts creek.
      its all good

    • And I will end with a plug for your side of the argument.
      LEARN THE PROPER USE OF A MAP AND COMPASS.
      There is a wealth of information in a good map.
      You should know what everything marked on your map is (this includes the one in the phone).
      Learn how to best use a compass to achieve a bushwhacking goal, i.e. how to take a bearing on a feature and then follow it while out of sight of the feature, then take a bearing on another feature etc.
      You don't take a sleeping bag that you can't unzip and get into. Don't take a tool that you don't understand how to use.

      I learnt maps decades ago. I like maps. It annoys me when people carry them and can't identify the useful information on them.
      The military guys here I am sure feel the same way.
      Resident Australian, proving being a grumpy old man is not just an American trait.