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| Brand: SPOT Inc.
Category: Sports
List Price: $169.99
Buy New: $119.99
You Save: $50.00 (29%)
New (80)
Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 490
Color: Orange
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.9
Dimensions (in): 5.9 x 5.9 x 5.5
MPN: SPOT
Model: SPOT-1
UPC: 893049001059
EAN: 0893049001059
ASIN: B000YTZV74
Release Date: November 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 wouldn't trust my life to this... September 23, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
i recently used the SPOT for a 3 week hiking trip in the sierras. it took me a few days to get used to setting it up for tracking. i'm not a big fan of "press once for..." and "hold for 5 seconds for..." button use. especially when there is no feedback other than a few blinking lights. some sort of audio or vibration feedback would be comforting in addition to the indicator lights. or an lcd display that told me exactly what the status was, if the signal was received, if the tracking mode is indeed on, etc...
in tracking mode, i was surprised at the end of my trip to see where the gaps were. it inconsistent with the terrain and tree cover. hours of blank spots where tracking waypoints should have been marked, sometimes above the treeline with open sky all around. the limited ability to function properly when tracking leaves me doubtful that this would do the job if i had a serious emergency.
i don't understand the lack of provision for some sort of tethering cable. the belt clip is entirely insufficient for keeping the device in place... i wanted to keep it on top of my pack so that it would have the best satellite visibility but didn't want use anything that would cover the case and impede the signal.
as this is the first year of release, i'll be curious how many false-alarms occur due to the exposed buttons. steve howe, the editor of backpacker magazine, had his send a distress signal by mistake when something in his pack pushed against the button. seems like there should be some sort of secondary protection, like a slide cover over the HELP and 911 buttons. to be fair, the 911 button has a raised edge surrounding it, making it difficult to set off inadvertently, but not impossible.
a small gripe that i have, is that at the end of my trip, the website didn't make it clear where to find my tracked path. it's under a tab labeled "messages"... mmm not very clear kids.
i like the premise for the SPOT, i just wished it was more reliable. i'll be curious to see how this product develops in the future.
 Very unreliable service, especially tracking. September 10, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I won't touch on the technical issues -- I want to focus on our groups real life experiences trying to use this product.
A group of us (pilots) bought the SPOT Satellite Personal Tracker and have been completely horrified by its lack of performance. The idea and promise is very compelling, however, the stability of their system is truly absurd. Keep in mind that this is supposed to be your emergency tracking and notification system. The problem is that their website is always crashing - which they call maintenance (never posted on the website beforehand though). Also, many of the messages sent from the Personal tracker never show up on their website. We've done several test where we lay a SPOT out in the middle of the ramp at our airport, press the help button, and about half the time the messages are never delivered. Our hope, for the longest time, was that this company would eventually get their system working correctly, or at least predictably, however that has simply not been the case. In fact, when you contact them by email their responses are very caviler.
Put your money into a system that doesn't have an annual subscription and is run by a very reputable group (the US Air Force) Buy a PLB!
 Good product, works as advertised September 6, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Acquires satellite (GPS) bearing pretty quickly (few minutes), reliably sends OK messages. I haven't had to try 911, thankfully, so I don't know how that whole experience would work.
Carries a bit of heft, but not too large or heavy to take backpacking.
Relatively easy to set up on their web site.
 It does a decent job September 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
For the last 4 years I have been using a GPS for my hikes and I was quite aware of the limitations these products have. I signed for the Track Progress so my family can follow my progress in real time.
On the parking lot they were able to get a signal, but once I went into the forest they "lost" me for couple of hours. Once I arrived to the last part of my hike (an open alpine meadow with clear views of the sky) they were able to track me for the next hour.
Back to the forest I was "lost" for couple of hours but on the parking lot a new "track" let them know I was on my way home.
I always carry my GPS and now my Spot on top of my backpack, otherwise I think will be quite hard to have these devices connected to the satellites.
Just for fun I decided to test Spot while driving, I put the device next to my stick and I got three "tracks" before arriving home (almost 100 miles, two hours drive). I am thinking in getting a portable dash mount so I can put the Spot closer to the windshield.
My only complaint is that I would like to know when the last check in or track progress was sucessfully send because I don't expect miracles for this device to work below trees or middle of downtown.
Always take a screwdriver with you if you need to replace the lithium batteries. Hopefully a second generation product will fix these annoyances.
FIND ME August 4, 2008
I've been out with this device on a number of trips, although I'm still on my first set of batteries. I set it to track and when I come home I download to google earth and smile as I look over my tracks from a heavenly perspective. It's a great lifeline.
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