It’s the end of 2013, and cell phones are so ubiquitous that you sometimes forget there are still a lot of wild places where a phone won’t work. That’s when satellites come into play, and namely this month for me it meant communication via a SPOT device deep in the mountains and woods.
GearJunkie staff and athletes have used SPOT satellite trackers for years. Our test this winter and fall were of the brand’s new version, the SPOT Gen3 Satellite GPS Messenger.
Like its predecessors, the Gen3 has features to allow for simple communication and emergency response from a device that is the size of a hockey puck. (We previewed the Gen3 device in a post last summer and outlined its upgrades and unique features.)
One major difference between the Gen3 and other SPOT devices is that in its tracking mode the device does not send pings to satellites when you are not moving. This is thanks to an onboard motion sensor, and the result is the unit saves on battery (the company claims twice the battery life of the previous generation) and also doesn’t repeatedly auto-place a waypoint if you stop for an hour at lunch.
Once in this “suspended” mode, tracking will automatically resume after the vibration sensor detects the unit has begun moving again.
I put the Gen3 through some paces on several uses over the past couple months, including in the mountains of Colorado as well as during a trip to British Columbia. In all places — whether in cell range or off-grid — the device worked perfectly as advertised for me. Here’s a further breakdown below. —Sean McCoy
The Gear: SPOT Gen3 Satellite GPS Messenger
Price: $169.95 msrp; $149 per-year service subscription
Available: Now
Where To Test It: Anywhere satellite signals reach the Earth and you need to share your location, check in with friends, or contact emergency first responders.
