>>822642Primarily bought it for snowmobile use. Carry it on the moto too... really, anytime i'm /out/ innawoods. Doesn't add significant weight to my pack, and it's tough enough to survive being strapped to the outside so I'm not giving up space internally.
SPOT/InReach aren't "bad" devices, just have a lot of features I really didn't care for and cost more per year than I really cared to spend for those services I don't want.
Plus, SPOT/InReach are another set of batteries I have to deal with. (Radio, camera(s), phone, GPS, flashlights...)
PLB's a 5-year maintenance-free battery.
If you've got family or whatever that wants to track your progress, or you want the ability to send messages where you don't have phone coverage, they fill that niche well.
Local avalanche forecasters use the InReach devices to get field obs back to headquarters.
They're called "PLB's" in terrestrial applications... In the marine world, they're known as EPIRB's; Aircraft nerds call them ELT's. That 406MHz system's tried-and-true, I trust it a lot more in an emergency than Globalstar/Iridium (I've used both, they're not that great).
PLB's 5-watts RF power, vs. the milliwatts that SPOT/InReach transmit at. Much better shot of getting that signal out with a PLB.
I hope I never have to use it though.
