Spot Trace Satellite Tracking Device | Handheld Tracker for Hiking, Camping, Cars, Kids, Outdoor Activities, and Assets with Globalstar Network Coverage | Subscription Applicable

Works great!

I've had several models of Spot devices over the years, and this is the best one yet. Message transmission is incredibly fast and reliable - almost instant in many cases. The batteries last a very long time, too. I use it several times a week as I travel to remote, mountaintop locations for work, and can easily let my family know I've arrived safely and, using the custom message feature, let them know heading home.If I had one complaint, it is that the unit turns off after maybe an hour. It would be nice if it stayed "armed" to send a message for longer, so you don't have to hold the power button for 3 seconds and allow it to re-acquire GPS before sending another message. The first gen model stayed on for days and I loved that feature.But seriously, this is an awesome PLB and half the price of other brands. Go for it.

I've only tried this around town so far. Seems accurate enough. I tested the SOS and custom messages. My buddy has one and I was told it's a must have for off-road trips on my motorcycle (I often go out solo for days at a time) This will allow me to at least send a message to my wife when I set up camp. When the messages are sent it also gives the GPS coordinates so that's pretty cool. You do have to pay for a subscription, there are different levels of price depending on how many messages you feel you'll send. You also pay separately for the SOS option. Small price to pay if I break a leg out in the middle of nowhere. Or find someone else who has.

We had been robbed a few times at a construction site. I ordered a couple of these but they didn't arrive in time for the last theft... or so I thought. It was quiet a month, and then they hit us again last night.Originally they had stolen my $ 15,000 tractor and my $2100 tiller attachment, a cement mixer, and some other tools. How I wish, constantly, I had had a tracker on those, but I didn't think people stole tractors (we figure they winched it onto a trailer).So I recently bought a replacement tiller, just an 18 inch walk behind self powered one, waiting on the insurance for the big stuff still. And of course, I put a Spot Trace on it. It has been up there less than a week, and we're hit again. My builder calls me at 7:30 and say they got into his office trailer, he is totally bummed, stole a bunch of tools, stole our security cameras and dvr, office stuff, even personal stuff of no value.And they stole my tiller, so I'm not bummed, I'm excited.I check the app on my phone and I'm not finding what I want, the screen is too small, so I go out to my computer and visit the website and see that they first moved my tiller at 9:16 pm, then messed around for 3 hours and started driving home a little after midnight. Probably that is when they were breaking into the trailer. They drove maybe 5-7 miles away to their house on a deadend road. Spot Trace didn't tell me the address so I used a county tax map that is online that I often use, and I called the police to tell them. That took all of 5 minutes from being told it was stolen to finding the thieves address.The police came out, and then needed the detective. So it took some time. The detective's plan then I guess was to go and he said ask to search, and if they denied permission to wait on a warrant. It was a bit moot, the pickup truck was parked out in the open still loaded with stuff, an armed convicted felon was unloading it, another thief took off on a motorcycle and got away unfortunately. The one by the truck was apprehended, the truck was itself also stolen from some third party, and there was a meth lab inside the house.... and while the cops were still there some guy came by to make a meth ingredient delivery and got arrested too. I think they may actually be staking it out tonight hoping to catch some more meth heads.So we got my tiller back, and everything else that was stolen, but not the stuff stolen back in June. I think it must have been these same criminals, but they likely got rid of the stuff since, sold it or something.At $100 plus $100 a year for monitoring it isn't cheap, but with Moore's law hopefully it gets cheaper, it is really great insurance though. I wish they had combo deals, I own 3 now, so that was a $600 investment, the tiller I recovered was $800. Not great math there, but had it been on my $15,000 tractor, well, there you go. And $200 to put some scumbags behind bars (and when we add in the thefts, the firearms, and the meth, he won't be getting out anytime soon), is totally worth it.This does work way better than TrackR or Tile or those other much much cheaper options. Those only work if someone with the app on their phone, active, walks by your lost item. This is a true GPS tracker, it works anywhere the device can pick up a cell signal I think, and the battery life is great.Write down your serial numbers, brands, and model numbers of your equipment so if it gets stolen you can give the police that information, and for important things get these GPS trackers. Might also be good for tracking teenagers.To mount them they come with a bracket, some adhesive, and some screws. I don't like those options, I wouldn't put this anywhere that is easily accessed by a drill or screwdriver, it needs to be tucked up under something, hidden, (mine all work with metal between them and the sky), and the adhesive isn't that reliable looking.I like just tucking it loose somewhere if you can, for a vehicle it could be inside the seat bottom for instance, for a bike maybe tossed into a dummy water bottle. I've used industrial strength velcro which I know has really good adhesive because I've used it frequently, and this isn't a big commitment, I could remove it one day. Then for a permanent mount I've used some epoxy (JB Weld Steel Reinforced is my favorite) to permanently adhere the bracket to something, and then I can pop the tracker in and out of the bracket as needed.UPDATESo much for Moore's law.Spot, without really telling people (there was an email supposedly), almost doubled their subscription fees and autocharged people renewals.My first year I paid $109 for service, now they want $180. That is crazy. Technology is supposed to decrease in price. It works, yes, but a company that would behave this way I cannot recommend, minus 4 stars for poor profiteering customer service. Should I expect to pay $300 per device near year?

This tracker was perfect and did exactly what I needed it to. I experienced 2 bike thefts when I had it. The first time, I was able to recover my bike 2 miles from my house. Not sure what the footstep icons mean but somehow, when I got to my bike that day I tapped the footstep icon and it led me straight to the thief’s house by tracking his footsteps AFTER he got off the bike. I’m not sure how it did this but I was able to show it to the police and even they couldn’t believe it! Anyway, my recovered bike was still totaled, but the tracker did it’s job!The second time, I had a different bike stolen. Just the night before, I had taken the tracker off the bike to charge it overnight and that’s when it was stolen. I was highly disappointed at the timing of it all. I know without a doubt if I had the tracker on it, I would’ve recovered that bike too.I guess the lesson in all that is to just be mindful of when you’re charging it. Maybe charge it during the day when thefts are least likely to occur. Or buy the adapter cable that allows you to hook up the device to your vehicle’s battery so you never have to take it out. But that kind of takes away from the discretion of it all so use your better judgement.All in all, I love this device! I just ordered a second one for a new bike I purchased this week!

This is one of the best devices on the market. it comes with ult lithium batteries,less than 100 bucks, less than 150 for a years worth of service with no deadspots in the entire US. as long as the device is not covered by metal it works perfectly.Most trackers cost up to 10 times as much that are more difficult to use, have contracts, annoying front end programs and more.If you need to track something, or want to protect your watercraft, atv, MC, or car, this is the easy way to go. Its not for fleet management use. You can even use this on a large pet if you fasten it to their collar.5 star cause it needs no improvement.As far as the contract goes, if you don't want to renew, use an expired card or dead card after signing up. The 120 bucks a year is better than having 500 cops in airplanes looking for your missing object. This thing is cheap insurance, saves time and money. Ive installed over a thousand GPS devices in my career.The spot trace is the best performing box for the buck.