As mybeerbuzz.com has grown in popularity, I’ve started to expand my audience for product reviews. If you’ve followed along, you’ll know I don’t just review beer; in fact I really enjoy reviewing electronics, hiking/travel/outdoor items, personal care items, food and even other beverages. I’m fortunate enough to get a chance to check out some really interesting gadgets, but today’s review item really takes the cake.
If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know I log hundreds of miles a year hiking, exploring and photographing national and state parks…and if you’ve ever been to some of the larger and more remote National Parks, you know technology can be a challenge and a safety concern. Today I’ll be test driving a new device that I think will solve some of those problems and help keep us all safe in the backcountry.
Today I’m checking out the Spot X 2-Way Satellite Messenger with Bluetooth and we’re going to see how well it shakes out. If you’re not familiar, the Spot X is a fully functioning 2-way satellite-based communicator with loads of features. It not only has an ability to send e-mail or text messages even when you’re beyond any cell phone coverage, but it also has the ability to connect to your cell phone via Bluetooth to access your contacts. If that’s no enough to help keep you in touch, Spot X also has an SOS button that puts you in touch with 24/7 emergency services and even allows you to message back and forth with them.
Right out of the box I charged up my Spot X via a USB cable overnight (the device did not seem to charge quickly the first time but I assume it arrived on a low charge), and registered the device on their website findmespot.com. This process creates a web-based account as well as signing you up for the service required to use the device. Like a cell phone, this device requires you purchase service to activate it, and that service includes a dedicated U.S. mobile number so others can message you directly.
Once that process is complete, I downloaded software to my home computer from Spot X that allowed me to update the firmware on the device and more importantly to allow me to sync the device. While you can type in e-Mail addresses or cell phone numbers directly into the device, it’s much easier to type them into the website and then sync them back to the device.
Using the website you can also name your device, setup tracking to allow your friends to track you in real time, enable movement alerts, activate 3rd party GPS forwarding, add contacts, connect Spot X to your social media
(Twitter or FaceBook), enable message whitelist or black listing, build predefined messages, setup who will receive your check-ins, and even establish waypoints. As you can see, the Spot X has a ton of flexibility and options for keeping in touch.
I should mention here just in the name of troubleshooting. After successfully syncing my device via the USB cable, my subsequent sync failed. After a bit of trial and error, it seems like the device did not want to sync a Waypoint I had set. I have not figured that out just yet, but removing the waypoint on the website allowed the sync to work once again. I will admit that the Syncing process was a bit hit-or-miss and one failed sync even removed all of the contacts I had previously loaded to the device.
The device itself is about 6.5-inches tall with the antenna, 2.9-inches wide and less than an inch thick. More importantly it weighs just 7 ounces including the Lithium batteries (which are not replaceable). Spot X claims the device is submersible to 1m for 30-mins, but I didn’t do much beyond getting it wet in the rain. I also didn’t encounter the extremes of the Spot X temperature range of –4F to 140F.
As far as battery life, I had a good experience. Spot X claims 240-hours or 10-days of battery life with 10-min tracking mode set. In my testing, there were areas of significant tree coverage on the trail which made the Spot X work harder to catch a satellite. I was also really active on the Spot X sending messages and check-ins through most of the hikes. In the end, the Spot X easily lasted through an all day hike, overnight and through a 2nd day’s hike with no issues. I’m not sure I’d consider my testing normal usage, but at my test frequency of usage, I’d say maybe 1 or 2 busy days before you’d need a recharge. Being indoor also seems to stress the battery and again I suspect it is hunting for a satellite signal and using up battery to do so. I should also mention that a quick press on the power button activates the backlit screen and keyboard for 30-seconds. If you do that frequently, it will further drain the battery.
The Spot X comes with a USB charging/syncing cable, a kickstand to hold the device and a carabiner and strap to hang it on your pack which is how I chose to hike with it. The device itself has a power button, a 2.25-inch by 1.5-inch LDC screen, a navigation up/down/left/right/OK setup, a hike button, a go-back button, a covered SOS button (to avoid false activation) and a standard mini-keyboard built into the device. The keyboard is small, but functional and it really makes typing messages quick and easy. The buttons require a firm touch and because of their size, they were best used without gloves.
The main screen on the Spot X allow you to navigate to navigate using the arrow and OK keys and choose form the main 8-functions on the main screen.
1) Messages allows you to send and receive messages via e-mail or text. This function lets you use predefined messages or manually send messages and if that’s not cool enough, you can check two boxes to include your altitude and GPS coordinates. These messages include that data and also a link to the recipient can click and see where you are on a map. This worked really well and the accuracy was spot on, or at least within about 10-feet from what I was able to test but mostly when you had a clear view of the sky.
2) Create Message allows you to jump directly and create a message to send to one of your contacts or an e-Mail or text address you manually enter…again allowing you to include GPS coordinates and altitude.
3) Contacts allow you to view, update or add to your contacts.
4) Check-In allows you to press one button and send a check in to anyone you’ve defined in your list of check-in recipients. That message arrives with a predefined message as well as your GPS coordinates and altitude including a clickable link to view your position on a map.
5) Track/Fetch Intervals allows you to set tracking intervals from 10-mins to 60-mins (for more efficient battery usage). You can also control how often the Spot X checks and fetches new messages from Off/Manual to up to 24-hours. See the map below for an example of a hike I recently did with 2.5-min intervals on tracking.
6) Fetch New Messages allows you to instantly (assuming you have a satellite connection) fetch your new messages.
7) Navigation allows you to display a detailed compass (lat/lon, distance to destination & heading), display or setup Waypoints to navigate to, display trip information (lat/lon, destination, distance to destination, heading, bearing, course, elevation & speed) and configure your GPS format, north reference and calibrate your compass).
8) System Settings allows you to display data usage, set time/date, set language, set distance units, display Spot X info and display regulatory info.
I did quite a bit of testing on the functions that were important to me. I will mention that some of the functions didn’t apply to me (I don’t have a secondary GPS unit). I should also mention I did have two significant device freezes, but holding the OK and Power buttons together for 12-seconds (yes a full 12-seconds) quickly reset the Spot X and I was back in business.
Message success is really dependent on Satellite signal and even with windows, the device doesn’t want to be indoors. It does sometimes work indoors, but the window arrangement has to be facing in a direction where the Spot X will see the satellites. Outdoors the Spot X really improves, especially in open sky areas free of tall buildings and large trees. I did note some heavily wooded areas and areas down in valleys where satellite signal dropped, but the Spot X made up for that by working long after cell phone signals faded out.
I didn’t use the cell phone app very much because I found it to be fussy when connecting via Bluetooth to the Spot X, even at close range. With most functions built in to the Spot X, I simply found it easier to just directly use the Spot X and not use it indirectly through my cell phone.
The Spot X 2-Way Satellite Messenger With Bluetooth is a really cool device and more importantly a really useful way to stay in touch when you’re hiking, traveling or when you’re deep in the backcountry. The ability to easily communicate via text and e-Mail with friends and family makes the Spot X a vital piece of hiking and camping gear. The quick check-in feature that sends your GPS coordinates and altitude with a link to display your position on the map makes staying in touch literally a one-button solution. Quick links to allow friends to follow your travels on Twitter and FaceBook are really fun and most importantly, the SOS button makes the Spot X and indispensable safety device for anyone hiking, camping, traveling or backpacking.
Overall the Spot X devices helps with not just communicating when you’re off the grid, but it really helps with peace of mind for you and your hiking companions as well as your friends and family members at home. I’ve visited my share of National Parks and I can tell you that very few have cell phone service even on the main trails let alone in the backcountry. Carrying this additional 7-ounces in your pack will not only help you keep in touch, but also make your travels much safer.
Be sure to check out the Spot X 2-Way Satellite Messenger With Bluetooth for yourself. And when you do try it, be sure to let us know what YOU think.
UPDATE: The map above shows a recent hike I completed with the Spot X Tracking feature turned on. The hike included the 2-mile loop on the left side of the road and the 5-mile loop on the right side of the road and tracking was on for the entire time at the 2.5-minute interval. As you can see there were only 5 spots on the trail where the tracking was successful. What’s even more concerning is that the left hand loop follows an open road to a fire tower and cell phone tower with an unobstructed view of the sky on a high mountain in the area….yet there were no tracking points. Some of the trail was tree-covered (with no leaves) but it looks like the Spot X struggled to find a satellite. I also did 7 check-ins on the hike, only three of which came through. Over the course of 7-miles the Spot X used 2-bars of battery on a fully-charged battery. Perhaps it was the constant search for satellite signal, but this seemed excessive for a unit claiming 10-day battery life. I would only agree that the battery would last 10-days if you’re not tracking, messaging or checking in. On a related concerning note, the Spot X has now had to have a hard reset several times in the last few weeks. The Spot X appears normal, but when you go to use a function, the screen is frozen and you have to hold the power and OK buttons for 12-seconds to reset. From a practical standpoint, I would likely turn the Spot-X off when not in use, limit my check-ins/message fetching and not use tracking at all if you want your battery to last more than a day or so.
0 comments (click to read or post):
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment...I do moderate each comment so it may not appear immediately...and please be nice! You can also comment using Disqus (below) or even comment directly on Facebook (bottom).