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John Evans - Flight Instructor

|2009-02-09 20:10:42

I'm an instructor at a flying school and some time ago we purchased a SPOT for
each of our aircraft. As part of Private and Commercial flight training, the
students are required to do a number of long cross country flights. Previously,
we had no way of knowing where the students were and simply relied on a flight
plan to know when to expect the students back. Now, thanks to SPOT, we can
track their progress and know exactly where they are and have the peace of mind
that if they get into trouble, they have an alternate method of summoning
assistance.

Thanks for a great product.

John Evans
Nanaimo, BC
Canada

Brett Keyes - Bike Round Oz

|2009-03-20 14:40:08

A friend and I did a 24,000km motorcycle tour around Australia. We used a SPOT
to track out position and keep family and friends updated with our progress.
After 18,000km I hit a Kangaroo traveling at over 100kmh in a remote part of
Northeastern Australia. We used the SPOTS 911 feature and within hours I was
airlifted 400km to the nearest hospital. I will never do another adventure
another without SPOT.

Cameron O'Keefe - Mrs

|2009-03-20 15:37:04

HI their
My Spot has made my life a lot more easer and safe.Living in ,NWT
Yellowknife Ca, most of the area i travell in got no cell phone coverage.So this
is the only way i can let my friends and famly know that i made it to my
location safely.My cabin is about 40 miles north of yellowknife i travell their
by snowobile and alot of time alone.Before SPOT my wife was allway worried about
if something might happen to me on the way to the cabin and at -40 c i would not
last long.Since the SPOT the worry is gone,Thanks.
Cameron O'Keefe

Robert Hemming - Flying

|2009-03-20 15:53:00

We have a Cessna 182 seaplane.
I fly mostly northern Manitoba Canada and my
wife worries about me when I am on a trip up north. The only way I can contact
her is with a sat phone which seems to be very unreliable. I bought a Spot and
it is one of the best investments I have ever made. Now she knows exactly where
I am and that all is okay. It performs beautifully in the 182. I have never had
occasion to use the emergency buttons and hope I never do but it gives me peace
of mind knowing they are there.
Robert Hemming
Manitoba Canada

barry

|2009-03-20 16:32:53

i spend a lot of time outdoors by myself and the ability to send an okay or help
message to my wife to let her know where i am and that i am okay gives us peace
of mind.

Cavin

|2009-03-20 17:56:03

As a mountain snow plow driver who works alone I find the spot gives me some
back up if truck gets stuck or breaks down. My truck travels to fast to track
properly all the time. Mostly because of steep mountains and high speed plowing
a fix is hard till I stop. But once I am stopped I know a signal will get out
with in 20 mins.

Edwin Gaucher - Plane and helicopers crashes

|2009-03-21 07:45:07

The government of Canada spends fortunes trying to locate planes that crashed.
Did you proposed them to install spots in planes so that the exact spot where
the plane crashed is known rightaway. A helicopter with 15 persons crashed
recently in the sea and it took several days before they found it.

Best of
luck.

I own a spot.

Adrian - Plane and Helicopter Crashes

|2009-03-27 10:50:09

From my understanding of that incident the crash was sufficient that none of the
beacons, neither those installed in the helicopter nor those on the survival
suits, worked.
I heard there was a great deal of concern regarding why none of
the beacons worked...since they were supposedly designed to work in precisely
those conditions.

Not sure what SPOT can endure before it doesn't work...and I
don't want to find out 'cause I'm sure I'd endure far less.

Steve - Aircraft Crashes

|2009-05-23 13:49:56

Spot is an invaluable tool for pilots in trouble, it however cannot replace an
ELT, which generally goes off automatically. SPOT relies on activation by the
individual, which is not always possible when the crew is injured. SPOT also
will not stand impact damage in a crash. I would not however travel without my
SPOT, nor would many of my fellow aviators and SAR colleagues. No aviator nor
anyone venturing into the back country should be without.

Adrian - Keeps Me Connected to Loved Ones

|2009-03-27 09:58:44

I purchased the SPOT Messenger with the intent that it'd provide me some
additional safety during my solo backpacking/hiking activities, as well as
helping me when I'm doing activities with non-SPOTers.

I enabled the tracking
website and during a road-trip I told my mother about the site. She kept an eye
on us as we drove to visit her.

I forgot she had a link to the site. A few
weeks later I was doing idle errands around town and brought SPOT with me.
The
next day my wife and I went to a nearby town for breakfast, and then went to
some nice locations we know for photography, and then off on a snowshoe hike.
All the while I still had SPOT with me.

The next day we again went out for a
coffee with SPOT.

When we came home my Mom called me. She'd been watching us
using the website. She was tickled because she felt almost like she was a
direct participant in our lives.

She's been alone a while now, and we kids
long si...

Spencer Hoffer

|2009-03-29 12:08:44

I use my spot when I travel into the British Columbia backcountry snowmobiling.
I send O.K messages back to my wife so she worry about me. I also have it incase
there is an avalanche and help is needed since there is no cell service, Spot is
the only way to go!!

Debbie

|2009-05-10 17:54:43

We bought a spot last fall, love the outdoors. We were snowmobling in Jan and I
lost our spot, came hometo see where the last tracking was, from the computor.
Went back the next day to look for it, but with all the deep snow, no luck. But
had the area. So we bought a new one. We just love it, feel more safer, love to
see where we have been with the tracking. We just went out on our quads to the
spot of the last track position and there it. Brought it home, put new batteries
in it and it worked, after 4 1/2 months in the snow and weather. Makes us feel
confident having this along for the ride with a extra set of batteries.

James Fine - president

|2009-05-21 14:48:41

My wife and I just returned from a 5 month sailing sabbatical to the Caribbean.
During the trip we were at sea for periods of up to 10 days. We used SPOT to
regularly inform friends and family that we were still alive and
happy.
Although there is no shortage of communication gear aboard to call for
help(EPIRB, SSB, VHF, Iridium, BlackBerry) SPOT gives us the unique ability to
easily check in with a reassuring OK email. Knowing that there are 2 other
buttons (that we hope never to use) is also reassuring.
One thing we did learn
is to randomize the times we send SPOTs. We would not want to create a panic if
a regular 6pm SPOT was not sent or received for any reason.
SPOT will always
have a place aboard "Q".

Troy - just a guy

|2009-05-21 15:01:22

We used the SPOT last march to summon S&R to our location in the Clemina Creek
snowmobiling area south of Valemount. A rider in our group had accidentally
driven into a 40' creek bed and compressed his spine upon landing, a chopper
landed at the location within 2 hrs of pushing the "911" button. After
that incident, all that ride in our group have since purchased a SPOT device to
carry with them. Thanks for a great product.

Guido Tigvareark - less worries

|2009-05-25 12:22:02

Over a year ago I bought a SPOT Finder, took us about three week to find out
how they work, later when my boys go hunting they take it along , If I get
worried I check my laptop, find out where they are , up here when you are
out on the land , if you break down , you have to wait for hours before you
get rescue. With Spot I know where to look. since I become a dealer and sold
over 30.

Paul Bourdage - Professional

|2009-06-15 16:24:18

I am a avid daysailer and did get in trouble a few years ago. My boat capsized
and my cell got wet making it useless.

I spent 5 hours swimming in the
October waters of Canada. When I got out at midnight, I collapsed from total
exhaustion and had nothing left. Had I not swam, S&R would not have found me
and I would not have survived hypothermia.

Never want to do that
again!

That is why I have a Spot strapped to my life jacket

Richard Trawick - SPOT rules the high seas

|2009-07-08 23:47:53

Last summer and buddy and I sailed from Vancouver to Hawaii and back on
frighteningly small boat. I bought the SPOT for the trip and was able to update
my family and friends where I was and that I was OK regularly. SPOT worked
consistently across the Pacific to within 200 miles of the Hawaiian islands.
Definitely the best piece of gear I have bought in a long time and just about
the most reliable thing on the boat. I heartily recommend the SPOT to anyone who
is active in the outdoors. This is a perfect piece of gear for anyone who
regularly does coastal sailing and does not want to pay the ridiculous
$700-$1200 price tag of a single use EPIRB (I still had mine for offshore
though).

Rich Trawick

Chris Hansen

|2009-07-29 16:48:03

Dear SPOT Team,
Thought you might be interested in the newspaper story linked
below....
It relates how two groups of hikers, lost on a local mountain a few
days ago on the same day but in separate incidents, were found through
activation of the SPOT trackers they were carrying.
A fine endorsement for your
product I must say!
I'm a SPOT user myself (used in my aircraft) but apart from
that, have no personal connection with the incidents.

http://www2.canada.com/comoxvalleyecho/news/story
.html?id=ab8ae4af-6052-4566-8145-e413ccba271c

If for some reason the link
doesn't work or you need to get in touch with people directly involved, let me
know and I'll try to help.

Thanks for a fine product,

Chris Hansen
Comox, BC

Reece Tomlinson - G.M.

|2010-01-25 06:42:03

We recently purchased several SPOT units for our construction crews working in
remote, fly-in and ice-road only, locations across Western and Northern Canada.
Previous to using the SPOT units we relied on satellite phones, which were
expensive, bulky and not entirely useful in emergency situations as they often
take time to find a signal.

Utilizing the SPOT units has allowed us the
ability to ensure that our crews are safe during all times by allowing us the
ability to monitor our crews’ positions with minimal effort.

Thanks to the
SPOT units we are substantially more confident in the ability to extract workers
during emergency situations, in our northern and remote operations.

Reece
Tomlinson
General Manager
M&L General Contracting Ltd.

Dave Glendinning

|2010-04-11 20:10:05

Yesterday April 10, our group was off- roading about 10 miles from the nearest
main road. One of our friends was riding his side by side when it rolled down a
75 foot embankment. When I arrived, he was suffering major pain from a shoulder
and groin injury from the rollover. As a trained first aid attendant, I knew he
required evacuation immediately before shock set in. We activated the 911 Spot
message, and were glad to se a helicopter arrive soon after activation. Our
friend is recovering in hospital today. ALL the members of our group will be
purchasing Spot's this week!

Greg Rice - Spot Works

|2010-05-21 07:37:15

On April 17, 2010 my wife and I were on an ATV adventure in rural Central
Alberta with 11 other riders. When going down a sharp incline that 6 units had
already traversed my wife lost control of her unit and rolled to the bottom and
the ATV landed on her causing some very obvoius injury to her hip, pelvic area.
We activated our SPOT Messenger and within 12 minutes we recieved contact from
the local RCMP and the rescue centre. We were 46 km from the nearest community
and 14 km in the back country. The local rescue team arrived at the scene within
1 hour and the helicopter evac 10 minutes later and my wife was in the hospital
in Calgary Alberta within 2 hours. Spot was absolutely life saving allowing my
wife proper care in the shortest possible time. We will be lifetime subscribers
and will be purchasing a second unit. 1 for each of us to wear when doing our
outdoor activities

Greg Rice
Spruce Grove , Alberta

Stephen Nishio

|2010-08-23 13:59:05

I just thought I would let you know that I used my SPOT to send OK messages back
from the high Canadian Arctic. We were operating two autonomous underwater
vehicles north of Borden Island and SPOT worked 100% of the time at latitudes
around 80N, amazing!

I have also sent messages with 100% success from
offshore of Kyushu, Japan and the southern end of Okinawa. I have the device on
me at all times when I am working on a ship at sea. I figure to clip it to my
shoulder and hit 911 if I fall overboard.

My bonus tip is that you can use
SPOT to send your location back from a secret lake you have found to a
latecomers phone. They can pick up your latest messages on their way in every
town with cell coverage and plunk them into any old GPS to find their way to
your campsite!

Aside from the obvious uses this is one of the most useful
things about SPOT. I'm a huge advocate for SPOT now.

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