Hi NiytOwl,

My husband and I finally narrowed down the choices of a PLB to the same one - the Spot Messenger. Regarding the lack of a keyboard - I agree completely! However, if I've understood it correctly, one feature of the Spot Messenger is that you can use a variety of combination taps to send a specific, pre-determined message. For instance, tapping "OK, OK, Help, OK" could mean "I am fine, but running one day late". The combination of taps just has to be agreed upon in advance by the sender and the home unit receiving. And if I'm really running a day late, that pre-determined message combined with the daily GPS check in showing my progress less than what my trip itinerary shows, should give the home unit a good sense of my whereabouts and timing.

You make a good point about the signal (unreliability). So just have to hope one of us doesn't break a leg in dense tree cover <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> We figured we'd buy it and activate it this spring at the start of backpacking season for us. In our case, its really only for use when one of us is backpacking alone and off trail or in very remote areas. I'm also pleased about the weight - much less than just a few years ago for an emergency locator.

Since we do plan on getting it, I'll report back in on how it works. Carol