Personal Locator Beacon (PLB)

[GK5188]

Hi All,

I like to hike alone, not all the time, but enough or when my friends are busy. I am over 50, and was wondering if anyone is carrying a PLB? I have been researching several brands, and like everything else, there are many to choose from. I would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks, G

[bfayer]

If you are 3 season hiking on the AT, and you don't have any serious medical conditions, I would say you don't need one, but if you are willing to carry the weight, or hike in winter, or more remote areas...

ARC ResQLink+ is the one to get. IMHAPO (in my humble and professional opinion)

The rescue me from Ocean Signals is .6 oz lighter (and smaller), but it has not been around long enough for me to recommend it.

Both are small enough and light enough (~4 to 4.5 oz) to carry if you feel you need one. That is the weight of a half a cup of water.

[Shutterbug]

Hi All,

I like to hike alone, not all the time, but enough or when my friends are busy. I am over 50, and was wondering if anyone is carrying a PLB? I have been researching several brands, and like everything else, there are many to choose from. I would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks, G

PLB's are pretty much out dated. They are basically Vietnam War era technology. My own choice is a DeLorme Inreach. There are two big differences.

1) A PLB only sends out a message that means "I need to be rescued now." With a DeLorme InReach you can send a message that explains your situation and what you need. There and many instances where one might need help, but don't need to call out the Air Force.

2) With a PLB, you don't know if you signal was received. With a DeLorme InReach your communication is two way. When your message is received, you will get a response.

I will share an embarrassing story that illustrates the point. I was hiking in the Grand Canyon and accidentally triggered my "SOS" feature on my InReach. If it had been a PLB, a rescue would have been initiated. With the DeLorme, the command center replied and I was able to tell them to disregard the "SOS."

[bfayer]

PLB's are pretty much out dated. They are basically Vietnam War era technology. My own choice is a DeLorme Inreach. There are two big differences.

1) A PLB only sends out a message that means "I need to be rescued now." With a DeLorme InReach you can send a message that explains your situation and what you need. There and many instances where one might need help, but don't need to call out the Air Force.

2) With a PLB, you don't know if you signal was received. With a DeLorme InReach your communication is two way. When your message is received, you will get a response.

I will share an embarrassing story that illustrates the point. I was hiking in the Grand Canyon and accidentally triggered my "SOS" feature on my InReach. If it had been a PLB, a rescue would have been initiated. With the DeLorme, the command center replied and I was able to tell them to disregard the "SOS."

PLBs are not "Vietnam war era" in any way shape or form. You need to do a little more research before posting stuff like that.

The only thing they had in Vietnam is 121.5/243 short range beacons with pitiful batteries that weighed a ton. Have you ever tried to DF a 121.5 beacon or EPIRB? If you have you would not compare it to a modern PLB.

PLBs today are 406 MHz SARSAT with built in GPS (GPS did not exist in Vietnam) and about as small a deck of cards. You might as well say cell phones are Vietnam era because they had walkie-talkies and repeaters back then.

A PLB is received by government agencies on government owned equipment. The InReach goes through commercial equipment and is monitored by minimum wage folks that worked at a collection agency the week before.

The InReach and the Spot are not PLBs and even with the InReachs Two way texting, I would never trust my life to one...EVER. Using an InReach over a PLB is like calling your home alarm company instead of 911. Who would you trust to save your life?

They are cool for keeping your friends and family from worrying, and the SOS is good to have ( better than nothing) but they are not something to trust your safety with.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

[Tipi Walter]

I suppose I should carry a locator beacon reach-me help-me doodad thingie whatever but so far I have not needed one. I probably need something more than my cell tracfone as I approach my mid sixties but then again I probably also need to bring a portable defibrillator and maybe a medical tool for performing a tracheostomy and certainly a suction snake-bite kit and maybe a freon air horn or pepper spray for bears and maybe an ems leg traction splint or wait, let's explore my options for an in-field brain transplant.

I mean, where does the fear anticipation stop? Maybe I should just stay home. Wait, sitting on a couch all day leads to an early death so maybe I need to stand more??

I respect Doug Peacock's opinion the most---from his book The Grizzly Years---

"GRIZZLY YEARS: "By midmorning the next day I was moving, and by afternoon I had arrived at the ford: chilly, but no real problem. I had to cross the road, which I had been pretending did not exist. I waited below the edge of a high bank hidden behind a small grove of young pines, watching the sporadic flow of Winnebagos strung out along the highway. I did not want to be seen."

"Whatever transcendence I had gained watching the grizzlies the day before slipped away as I crouched nervously below the road grade for fifteen minutes. I sank even lower into the trees as a ranger car passed. I didn't want to let them know I was about. If I got into serious trouble, I didn't want to be rescued. My considerable carcass could feed the bears." DOUG PEACOCK(page 148)

[Coffee]

I would opt for a PLB if I was concerned about my safety but I'm not, at least where I go hiking, and I'm willing to take certain risks. But I did carry a Spot last year for the peace of mind of my family. I am undecided between the Spot and Inreach for this year. I do have to carry something to let jittery family members (who already think I'm nuts for backpacking) know I haven't been mauled by a bear, lion, chupqcabras, etc.

[Wise Old Owl]

PLBs are not "Vietnam war era" in any way shape or form. You need to do a little more research before posting stuff like that.

The only thing they had in Vietnam is 121.5/243 short range beacons with pitiful batteries that weighed a ton. Have you ever tried to DF a 121.5 beacon or EPIRB? If you have you would not compare it to a modern PLB.

PLBs today are 406 MHz SARSAT with built in GPS (GPS did not exist in Vietnam) and about as small a deck of cards. You might as well say cell phones are Vietnam era because they had walkie-talkies and repeaters back then.

A PLB is received by government agencies on government owned equipment. The InReach goes through commercial equipment and is monitored by minimum wage folks that worked at a collection agency the week before.

"The InReach and the Spot are not PLBs and even with the InReachs Two way texting, I would never trust my life to one...EVER. Using an InReach over a PLB is like calling your home alarm company instead of 911. Who would you trust to save your life?"

They are cool for keeping your friends and family from worrying, and the SOS is good to have ( better than nothing) but they are not something to trust your safety with.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

Odd I don't disagree with you and if you drop dead tomorrow and don't hit the button - They will say it didn't work... You don't trust your life with these devices. You family feels better that you are carting one... You do it for your family because they give a damn about you...

Don't be so harsh on Shutterbug. His post wasn't harsh- one of the few positive posts about InReach. Mine was. Lets all try to get along. By the way I have successfully DF'ed a 121.5 beacon on a downed Helicopter.

[bfayer]

Odd I don't disagree with you and if you drop dead tomorrow and don't hit the button - They will say it didn't work... You don't trust your life with these devices. You family feels better that you are carting one... You do it for your family because they give a damn about you...

Don't be so harsh on Shutterbug. His post wasn't harsh- one of the few positive posts about InReach. Mine was. Lets all try to get along. By the way I have successfully DF'ed a 121.5 beacon on a downed Helicopter.

You are right I was unreasonably harsh and I apologize.

PLBs are certified lifesaving equipment. Personal messengers are personal messengers and nothing more.

The need to carry one hiking is a personal decision, but if they decide to carry one, the decision on what to carry needs to be made with accurate information.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

[chiefiepoo]

I have the ACR ResQLink PLB. I selected it for the durability of the unit, 406MHZ government supervised net structure, and lower life cycle cost when compared to subscription based services. Messaging updates to family is not a priority for me. This is a rescue device. Use on the AT or any relatively busy trail is incidental to my activities of open water kayak trips, and wilderness travel in the western mountains. Usually done solo. I was a Navy AT back in the VN era and have some experience with the PRC's and beacon devices. PLB's are an entire different DNA.

[Wise Old Owl]

Thanks bfayer! Hey I have made the same posts many times in the past and kicked myself in the morning... a kind of... what was I thinking? moment. Still a great discussion and thread!

[peakbagger]

I carry a PLB in my daypack as I hike solo and do AT boundary maintenance where few ever go. Over the years in the whites various folks will do multiday hikes where they use spot like devices to show their progress, inevitably the tracks are spotty due to tree cover and battery issues end up causing them to turn them off.

Spot and In reaches both have their use but they are not a substitute for a PLB.

[GK5188]

All, Thanks for the replies and great discussion. I agree that it really boils down to what your comfortable with as well as deciding what functions best fit your needs. The information posted here has given me somethings to think about as I do a little more research. This site is great. Thanks everyone. Cheers, G

[colorado_rob]

I suppose I should carry a locator beacon reach-me help-me doodad thingie whatever but so far I have not needed one.....

Well, I've been wearing my seat belt since 1972 and so far I haven't used it once. Sorry, couldn't resist....

Anyway, my wife carries along a SPOT locator for two reasons: for "just in case" (yes, the InReach would be better, but we own the SPOT, will upgrade one of these days), and to let our four kids know where we're at on our adventures. They get a daily email with a link, click it, and a nice topo map opens showing our progress on our big climbs and hikes. They love it (well, the girls do, at least).

[bfayer]

Well, I've been wearing my seat belt since 1972 and so far I haven't used it once. Sorry, couldn't resist....

Anyway, my wife carries along a SPOT locator for two reasons: for "just in case" (yes, the InReach would be better, but we own the SPOT, will upgrade one of these days), and to let our four kids know where we're at on our adventures. They get a daily email with a link, click it, and a nice topo map opens showing our progress on our big climbs and hikes. They love it (well, the girls do, at least).

That is why I carry my SPOT. It is much more about my wife and kids than it is about me. I think personal messengers and trackers are great products, and well worth the money for me. But they are not PLBs, and they serve a different function.

A few note on PLBs vs. Personal Messengers:

PLBs put out 5 watts on 406 Mhz which is not only detected by satellites but also by ground based and mobile DF equipment. The 5 Watts gives up to 100 miles line of sight DF capability, and 406 is a very clean part of the spectrum. There are very few places in the world where a 406 distress message will not get out. They also put out a .5 watt 121.5 signal that can also be DFed. Most ranger stations and local SAR teams are equipped with portable DF gear. 121.5 is still monitored by aircraft both civilian and military. So what you have with a PLB is a multiple redundant system that is monitored by multiple agencies worldwide. PLBs are also built to a standard spec to earn their certification. PLBs with built in GPS (the only kind you should buy) send out your position which can also be received by more than one source, and the position is broadcast multiple times.

Personal messengers are built to whatever spec the manufacture wants to build them to, and the system only transmits to the satellites the manufacturer subscribes to. The signal is only received by a privately run civilian maned call center, and the signal cannot be received by civilian or military aircraft, and cannot be DFed by standard portable or mobile equipment. In short they are great communication tools with some value for emergency situations, but they are not a replacement for a PLB.

One day I will upgrade my SPOT to a two way personal messenger, but for now the SPOT works fine for what I need. I do like the features of the InReach, and it is tempting.

[nu2hike]

I carry a Spot Gen 2 for my family's piece of mind! I have never had it fail to work! That being said I find that I'm carrying way to many electrical devices! Spot, GPS, iPhone. Occasionally I carry a charger for the iPhone along with additional batteries for the Spot! It all adds up! At one point I even carried a prepaid Verizon phone for "emergencies" were I had no ATT service! Crazy!
I wish someone would design a GPS unit with a built in PLB, SPOT or InReach capabilities!

[bfayer]

I wish someone would design a GPS unit with a built in PLB, SPOT or InReach capabilities!

Add a Sat phone and an eBook reader to that, keep it less than 5 oz, and I'd buy it


Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

[fwish]

I carry a Delorme Inreach and it has always performed well. I have never needed it in an emergency situation but it does give the family some sense of security when I ramble by myself out in the Ozark mountains near my home. I do like the ability to send and receive text messages if I should ever need to explain an emergency situation.

[QiWiz]

Hi All,

I like to hike alone, not all the time, but enough or when my friends are busy. I am over 50, and was wondering if anyone is carrying a PLB? I have been researching several brands, and like everything else, there are many to choose from. I would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks, G

The AT gets enough traffic that you will have someone coming along pretty quickly in many seasons of the year, but I do carry a PLB when hiking solo on trails that are not as well trafficked as the AT. I have an ACR PLB; there are some lighter ones out there you could look at. I like the ACR because there are no ongoing expenses after the purchase.

[The Old Boot]

Anyone else looking at satellite phones instead of a PLB or Spot unit.

Where I live and play I can drive 10 minutes and be out of cell phone range. A half hour drive can put me on old logging roads where there would be no traffic for the next week.

I'm just as concerned about mechanical breakdown as I do about needing assistance on a hiking or canoe trip.

I've decided the logical way for me to go is to a satellite phone.

[Coffee]

I've thought of sat phones but the cost and weight have kept me away so far. My guess is that in ten years there will be sat equipped devices that resemble today's smart phones and service costs will be way, way down. One reason I haven't purchased a Spot or InReach is how archaic those devices are compared to even low end smart phones. The technology is there but the niche market probably makes the idea less than attractive for larger players, but that will change in time.