T.F.M. Approved - SPOT Messenger

Throughout a week in Wyoming Mike Carlson and I used a SPOT Messenger GPS that was sent to use during the Cuttie-Thon event. I had read just a little bit about the SPOT Messenger and it wasn't until we got it "out in the field" that I became truly impressed with this little orange device.

The SPOT Messenger allows you to send three different kind of signals. First, an "I'm OK" message that is sent to your list of contacts by email or text messege. This allows your friends and family to follow your progress on a hike or fishing trip down a river by the Google Maps link that shows your exact location when the message was sent. The second message is an "I need help" message that will be sent to your emergency contact. This pre-programed message will notify your emergency contact, spouse or friend, where you are and that they need to come and get you at the location on the map link in the text or email. The third message type is a "911 or I am hurt and need a rescue team to find me". The emergency message will be sent to the emergency responders who will then send a team out to find you at the GPS coordinates sent in the message.

For the Cuttie-Thon event we used the SPOT Messenger to send messages to our wives, friends, and one of the moderators of the Fiberglass Flyrodders message board who plotted our course and kept the board informed of our location with detailed maps of our progress.

After a week of hard use in the wilds of Wyoming I can honestly say that the SPOT Messenger GPS device is really worth the initial cost of $150 and then yearly subscription fee of $99 for those anglers that travel in the backcountry to find water less traveled on a regular basis.

Check out SPOT Messenger at www.findmespot.com