Despite the mixed reviews I figured I’d buy the device and try it out myself for one month, given that Cabelas will allow me to return it within 30 days. So, i'll be out $25 for activation and $14 for one month's use.
The device seemed to work OK when testing around town, as long as I was outdoors and away from buildings …. Like in a parking lot. However, as soon as I was up on the mountain it became much less reliable. Ironically, I was in the alpine for the opener and it really can't get any more clear and open for sat connection than that!
Some messages would be sent and tell me they were delivered, others would be delivered but tell me they weren’t so I would send multiples for no reason. I didn’t get many replies to my messages only to find my email flooded with messages that friends/family sent to me but that could not be delivered to my device …. Lame. The device seemed better at delivering my messages to friends/family than it was at delivering theirs to me.
Overall, SpotX has issues and I can’t recommend this as a reliable back country communications device, despite the attractive pricing.
I am returning it to Cabela’s and trying the InReach mini now.
Pros:
Great screen. The devices has a simple, black and white screen that is very easy to read. It’s not reflective, very much like a Kindle e-reader type screen.
Dedicated keyboard is SO nice. It is very quick to type out custom messages, unlike inReach devices (unless you're typing on the phone over blutooth of course)
Cheapest freedom plan is $12 compared to $15 from InReach.
Syncing the device through the computer to your Spot online account (where you edit all your contacts, preset messages etc) is very simple. It would be great for people that weren’t very tech savvy.
Cons:
Some icons are hard to decipher at first
Some messages will display (?) telling me they weren’t delivered, but then I’d get a reply so you can’t ever really tell if the message was delivered or not.
Doesn’t seem to work indoors. It really wants you to be in the open like in a field. Forest canopy is an issue as well.
Battery life is not that great at all. I had it on less than my cell phone and by the end of 3 full days the device was dead.
Incosistent turnaround times. Sometimes i'll send a message and get a reply within 1 minute. Other times the reply comes back in 20mins and sometimes never only to find it in my email 3 days later when i come back home.
Antenna is about the size of a shotgun shell. It does get in the way a little.
You will love the inreach mini. I bought this before my solo northern Rockies hunt this year. Every msg sent quick. You can also Bluetooth it to your phone and txt with your iPhone. The Topo maps is awesome too on your phone.
100% recommend this product to anyone. Very impressed.
I bought the mini last week and after some limited testing it seems to work great. Takes a minute or so to send a long message but they go through reliably.
You will love the inreach mini. I bought this before my solo northern Rockies hunt this year. Every msg sent quick. You can also Bluetooth it to your phone and txt with your iPhone. The Topo maps is awesome too on your phone.
100% recommend this product to anyone. Very impressed.
Giving this thread a bump and shout out to twoSev.
Recently made the decision to upgrade to a two way device from the current Spot Gen3
Spot X was tempting given the device is approx $250 cheaper and the plans are cheaper and come with more, after hours of reading/watching reviews, this was the last item I read before going with the inReach Explorer.
Technically don't have it yet (should have it by Wednesday or Thursday) but very much looking forward to the peace of mind of having a reliable two way device. Much better than "check in! Im OK but if you get this 3X in 90mins plz come help packout bear"
Oh another thing, silly me was paying like 200USD/year for the basic spot gen3 plan. When I went to cancel, they pointed I can be paying half that, I just had to ask lol ... thanks SPOT (tho i dont blame them, they are a business, thats fine, my fault as a consumer, but good remember to check any kind of plan you have with anything and see what it's actually selling for today)