What do you consider is the best PLB for backcountry?

Garmin in reach, they have a new Mini version also. Being able to text with rescue personnel/family is a great bonus.
DENNY

Hands down what Denny said.

My first generation spot messenger has performed flawlessly since I purchased it in 2010. I still use and trust it.

Another vote for In Reach.

I had a last generation SPOT, but upgraded to In Reach. Gave the SPOT to my wife and her hiking group. the annual subscription automatically renewed. After a month I noted that she wasn’t using it, and said she wasn’t going to.....so I called SPOT to cancel subscription, and asked for refund. They refused both cancellation and refund. I explained that they had renewed my subscription without my Okay. Their response was I should read the (massive) user agreement, and tough shit.

I would NEVER trust those jerks with my life. Had to cancel that credit card to ensure they don’t renew again. Piss poor customer treatment.

MTV

The SPOTs seem to work well for what they are; if all you want is one way indication of OK/help-needed and a blip on a map, they are certainly the more economical choice. Sounds like you need to read the billing agreement though as they like to keep you on forever.

Personally I have the DeLorme (the last version before Garmin bought them) and it has been great. I can text two way which is well worth it when out of cell range, even just for keeping my wife happy. If an emergency arose I could text the actual circumstances to the emergency responders, meaning I would get the right kind of response rather than a generic call for help that one-way beacons will do. The Earthmate phone app is also really nicely done. I can show my position and my buddies on topo maps, use the phone for text via the beacon for easier typing, and so on. It goes with me hunting, flying, or anywhere else I might need help and cell service is questionable.

I haven't looked into Garmin's latest iteration of the device but I'd have no qualms about buying one. Oh and I can update/change my service level and account billing settings online with absolutely no BS. I drop it to the base level unless I'm on an extended backcountry trip where I will be texting a lot just to save some money, but always have at least minimal service active.

Also remember that both SPOT and Garmin/DeLorme, I think among others, will let you sync the tracking to your Leidos flight plans. I just set the beacon to ping while I fly, and if I have an active plan going and fail to arrive, they can go pull up the tracking map and see my last reported position to within 10 minutes of actual position worst case. ELT's fail, so this is one more way to get found quickly.

Are you looking for a PLB like a ACR ResQlink or a Satellite Communicator like a SPOT or InReach?

Spot and in reach are not plbs.

https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/c ... ing-advice

cdgarg wrote:Spot and in reach are not plbs...

The SOS button IS the PLB.

They just also happen to be a tracker and communicator as well. But they do both require a subscription whereas pure PLBs do not. Since we are all pilots (or wannabe pilots) here a Tracker/PLB makes a lot more sense then just a PLB.

Barnstormer wrote:

cdgarg wrote:Spot and in reach are not plbs...

The SOS button IS the PLB.

They just also happen to be a tracker and communicator as well. But they do both require a subscription whereas pure PLBs do not. Since we are all pilots (or wannabe pilots) here a Tracker/PLB makes a lot more sense then just a PLB.

The term PLB designates a specific type of device. SPOT and inreach aren't PLBs, they are satellite communicators. Signal strength from a PLB is far superior to inreach or spot. PLB also still transmits 121.5

I carry an artex PLB and an Inreach. Inreach is for convenience, PLB for a true emergency.

cdgarg wrote:

Barnstormer wrote:

cdgarg wrote:Spot and in reach are not plbs...

The SOS button IS the PLB.

They just also happen to be a tracker and communicator as well. But they do both require a subscription whereas pure PLBs do not. Since we are all pilots (or wannabe pilots) here a Tracker/PLB makes a lot more sense then just a PLB.

The term PLB designates a specific type of device. SPOT and inreach aren't PLBs, they are satellite communicators. Signal strength from a PLB is far superior to inreach or spot. PLB also still transmits 121.5

I carry an artex PLB and an Inreach. Inreach is for convenience, PLB for a true emergency.

Your definitions are quite accurate, of course.

But, the point is that the In Reach or SPOT offer much more value in one box than does a PLB.

Something to consider with a PLB: These are NOT aviation devices, so when RCC responds to a “hit”, they have no idea what they are looking for....a hiker, a boater, or??

Second, if your airplane is equipped with a 406 MHz ELT, the PLB is redundant, though I suppose you could use it after the ELT battery dies.

But an In Reach, filed with your flight plan, gives searchers a bread crumb trail to follow to you in the event that your ELT didn’t activate, or??

In other words, In Reach offers another LAYER of information, in addition to providing that all important two way comm capability.

FAR more capability than a true PLB.

MTV

mtv wrote:

cdgarg wrote:

Barnstormer wrote:

cdgarg wrote:Spot and in reach are not plbs...

Something to consider with a PLB: These are NOT aviation devices, so when RCC responds to a “hit”, they have no idea what they are looking for....a hiker, a boater, or??



MTV

When you register your PLB, it's usage is recorded so they do know who they are searching for.

I think BOTH are essential, but it's important to understand the limitations of each.

colopilot wrote:The SPOTs seem to work well for what they are; if all you want is one way indication of OK/help-needed and a blip on a map, they are certainly the more economical choice.

Apples to apples (or as close as possible) in terms of subscription tiers, the cost difference was only $5-7 a month for my use case. That assumes a five year amortization of the difference in device cost.

Of course, and as you point out, for that price difference one gets a tremendously more capable device when buying the InReach. It's also more reliable due to being on a better network.

Similarly, the cost of the PLB should be amortized. I bought mine for about $220 (McMurdo) and have had it for six years. So, at this point, it has cost me $3 per month for that extra layer of protection.

Given my flying profile, it is a no brainer to support the costs associated with the redundancy and carry both.

I'm jealous of your flying profile.

JMust placed my order for the new Inreach Mini.

Something to consider with a PLB: These are NOT aviation devices, so when RCC responds to a “hit”, they have no idea what they are looking for....a hiker, a boater, or??



MTV[/quote][/quote][/quote]

When you register your PLB, it's usage is recorded so they do know who they are searching for.[/quote]

Again, true, but do you use one for only one type activity? Hiking, biking, flying, boating, etc.......the registration, if I recall doesn’t limit you to one activity. So, yes they know WHO they’re looking for, but they may not know WHAT they are searching for.

Not a huge deal, but again, my 406 ELT fulfills that role for me. The InReach fulfills a different function, including that all important two way comm.

My primary concern these days about PLBs in Aviation is that there are aircraft owners out there who carry a PLB INSTEAD of equipping their Aircraft with a 406 ELT. That is a poor approach, in my opinion.

MTV

rw2 wrote:

colopilot wrote:The SPOTs seem to work well for what they are; if all you want is one way indication of OK/help-needed and a blip on a map, they are certainly the more economical choice.

Apples to apples (or as close as possible) in terms of subscription tiers, the cost difference was only $5-7 a month for my use case. That assumes a five year amortization of the difference in device cost.

Of course, and as you point out, for that price difference one gets a tremendously more capable device when buying the InReach. It's also more reliable due to being on a better network.

Similarly, the cost of the PLB should be amortized. I bought mine for about $220 (McMurdo) and have had it for six years. So, at this point, it has cost me $3 per month for that extra layer of protection.

Given my flying profile, it is a no brainer to support the costs associated with the redundancy and carry both.

Really? When I looked into the inreach it was at least $30/ month. I pay $159/year fo my spot. Big difference in price. Theres a good chance I was missing something though.

A1Skinner wrote:Really? When I looked into the inreach it was at least $30/ month. I pay $159/year fo my spot. Big difference in price. Theres a good chance I was missing something though.

The cheapest plan is 11.95/mo under annual contract, or 14.95 if you want the ability to move your rate plan around at will. The latter is what I do since it changes depending on what I'm doing that month. Some months I use a higher-cost plan if I think I'm going to burn through a lot of texts.

The note about PLB's being tied to a "who" and not a "what" is also accurate. They may know your name and address, but have no idea if that PLB ping is because you crashed an airplane or fell off a cliff, or just ran out of water (no joke, people use it for that). An ELT instantly tells them "I'm an airplane" which is why they are hands down a better option for aircraft. I didn't realize people were opting not to mount a hard ELT and carry the personal device instead, that's stupid IMO. But to each their own.

Good clarification that the beacons are not technically PLB's though. In my opinion they are far better, they still have the "who" aspect but can convey far more detail, especially if the breadcrumbs are left on. Even if the device breaks in the crash (which ELT's do as well), they don't need to look over your 300 mile flight path, they just see where the last ping was and extrapolate from your flight path and plan a small area you're likely to be in. Ideally it still pings post-crash and they just drop right on top of you.

I went back and forth on this and ultimately decided that the beacon was a far better idea. It still has the emergency button like a PLB, it still transmits to a 24x7 EOC, but has a lot of other features useful to people who fly in places where airplanes are hard to find in the trees. The ancillary benefits (hiking out of cell range, etc) are also useful.

I will never knock someone carrying any device - true PLB or beacon - because it's a conscious choice to stay alive. ANY of these devices could make that difference. If you don't care about live tracking or text features, a PLB can be far more economical over time since they have no monthly fee. If those things are important to you or you want to add them to your flight ops, more advanced devices are available with reasonable recurring costs.

This is a great thread! It really shows a lot of people thinking this through. Too many pilots fail on that part and die probably wishing they had.

So when I fly I've got an inReach, a PLB, a 406 ELT, and a Sat phone.

PLBs (like ELTs) have batteries that need replacing from time to time. The replacement battery in the one I have is pretty pricy, around $110 installed and I've also got to pay for shipping. The PLB battery expires in August of this year and I've decided not to replace it, the 406 ELT and the inReach will be my "PLBs".

Out of all this technology if I could only afford one for me it would be the inReach hands down. I know of too many plane crashes where the ELT never activated. I never go in the air without the inReach being on so I'm leaving tracks every time I fly.

YMMV

The bigger inReach devices are reputed to have clunky user interface. It seems reasonable to assume your phone might get lost or broken in a crash, so you wouldn’t be able to use the app. How’s the UI on the Mini?

Speaking of clunky, the SPOT website is just terrible.