Photo by Egor Myznik on Unsplash

GT: What’s the deal with personal locator beacons?

If you’ve logged enough time in the backcountry, you’ve probably seen someone toting around a digital device they could use to summon help in an emergency. You might have even been party to such an emergency yourself (eek and sorry). While all love the feeling of being off the grid, whether on a ski tour, a backpacking trip, or a mountain bike ride, there are times when you urgently need to be back on the grid. Eventually, someone in your party—or a party you come across—will suffer a scary injury, have a serious medical emergency, get lost, or simply get stuck. And then, your lack of cell reception will swiftly go from being a nice thing to a nightmare. This is the exact reason gadgets like personal locator beacons (PLBs) and satellite messengers were invented. They’re not full-fledged phones by any stretch (although satellite messengers have more smartphone-like features depending on which model you get). But all of them give you the ability to call for help from almost anywhere, including some of the most remote corners of the world. The devices are also getting smaller and lighter with every new iteration, so you can justify carrying them even when weight and space are a concern. We’ll explore the types of devices below. Once you know what you’re interested in, you can start keeping an eye out for a good deal on one. We often have personal locator beacons and satellite messengers here UnNew on Geartrade, so it’s simply a matter of monitoring our listings and snapping up the desired one when you see it.

Why have an “SOS” gadget to begin with?

In short, if you’re lucky enough to spend time in the woods, mountains, rivers, or desert, you’re eventually going to have something unlucky happen—even if you were a great planner. Someone will take a lead climbing fall and break their leg, someone will puncture a lung in a mountain bike crash, someone will go into anaphylactic shock after an insect sting, someone will be buried in an avalanche, or rockfall will inflict a gnarly head injury. You might also have a non-life-threatening issue arise and need to let people know you’re actually okay in spite of being delayed getting home. Perhaps you got lost but then re-oriented yourself, or had a piece of broken gear you managed to mend and limp along. In those instances, you need a way to let loved ones know not to summon search and rescue. In all these situations and countless more, it’s a godsend to be able to communicate with the outside world. Below are the devices that will let you do it.

The difference between personal locator beacons (PLBs) and satellite messengers:

There’s lots of gadgetry out there, with some items being far more expensive than others. Some require a paid subscription, while others don’t. Some give you bare-bones “SOS” signals while others offer full back-and-forth communication via satellite connection. Here’s the skinny.

Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs)

PLBs are simple yet mighty. These small gadgets basically have one button: “Help!” You leave them turned off till you need to use them, so the batteries stay good for years. Once an emergency arises and you need rescue, you go ahead and press the SOS signal, notifying emergency teams of your exact location—and telling them you need rescue. The PLB is kind of a one-trick pony. There’s no fancy messaging capability—you can’t text rescuers details about your situation, and you can’t cancel your call for help. But, when the proverbial poo has hit the fan, and you need rescue, this magic button is literally a life-saver. PLBs usually have a super strong signal that can access help from nearly anywhere. And you don’t have to pay a subscription fee—just make your one-time investment purchasing it. If you’re looking for a PLB, check out SPOT beacons and beacons from the brand ACR.

Satellite Messengers

Satellite Messengers bring in the bells and whistles! If a device is called a satellite messenger, it will do more than just a one-time, one-way SOS call. It can send additional and follow-up messages too, including non-emergency ones (like check-ins to let the fam know you’re okay mid-trip). The options run the full gamut here, ranging from fairly simple and small to very expensive and robust. Most brands work worldwide (or nearly worldwide), have batteries you’ll need to recharge before a trip, and require a monthly subscription fee to keep your communication service up. The simpler satellite messengers will let you send text messages—which you might have to pre-program, and some devices only send them one-way. (You can tell your family hi, but won’t be able to receive a response from them.) More complex and expensive models will let you send and receive texts. One massive benefit here is in ongoing communication with rescuers in the event of an emergency. As the situation unfolds, as you have updates on your injured patient’s status, and as the search operation progresses, it’s really nice to be able to communicate with rescuers. A few models will brilliantly pair your smartphone with the device, almost using the device as a hotspot that lets your phone text and view maps in the backcountry. This is incredibly rad, with the one obvious downside that if your phone battery dies, you’re screwed. One more item to note is that satellite messengers do require a good unobstructed view of the sky to work. There are a number of excellent satellite messengers on the market, including quite a few models from Garmin, SPOT, ZOLEO, and ACR. Some are incredibly tiny, weighing in at just a few ounces, but they pack a real punch capabilities-wise.

Which device is best for you?

It totally depends. We suggest by starting with a few questions:

What kinds of outings will you be using it for?

Is this something you’d stuff in your pack for day-to-day ski touring, or are you dragging a sled on multi-week expeditions deep in the wilderness? Depending on your answers, you can consider how robust of features you want—do you really just need a simple SOS button, or do you want to be able to send back-and-forth check-ins with loved ones back home?

What are your budget limitations?

These devices do require an upfront investment of anywhere from $200 to several hundred dollars retail (which is why we advocate finding UnNew deals). Then, if you choose to get a satellite messenger, you’ll probably need to pay an ongoing subscription for the service. Most of these subscription fees are fairly low month to month, but they sure add up over the years.

What features sound most appealing?

As you research and compare specific models, certain features will sound super appealing—maybe you really want to be able to hear from your spouse back home that your young family is doing okay, in addition to being able to tell them that you’re okay.

Is size/compactness crucial?

For some types of trips, like a river rafting trip, you don’t need to be quite as concerned with compactness. For others, of course, fast’n’light is crucial, in which case you’d gravitate toward the tinier models.

Do you like the idea of the device connecting with (and using) your smartphone?

As we noted above, some of the messenger devices will bluetooth-pair with your phone. This is fabulous for making typing easier—now you can use your phone keyboard rather than tediously scrolling through and punching in letters on a minimalist device. There are a bevy of other possibilities that come with linking the satellite communicator with your smartphone, like mapping and location-broadcasting to loved ones. But the obvious downside is that if your phone dies, you’re out of luck. Feeling stoked and safety-conscious? Us too. Have a look at the devices now available here on Geartrade, and happy trail communications to you! Beth Lopez is a seasoned writer and creative director who loves to tell tales of adventure and discovery—and finds writing a powerful way to give a voice to people, causes, and places. Beth runs amok in the Wasatch mountains when untethered from her computer. She believes there’s no such thing as a bad ski day and considers animals her favorite people. Don’t tell her mother about her Instagram mountaineering photos. Follow us on Instagram + Facebook: Tag us @geartrade with the hashtag #unnewoutdoor #wearitout on your post or story for a chance to be featured on our page.

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