I don't have one, but I have contemplated buying one in the past. What shied me away from the SPOT was the satellite coverage in Australia and potential latency with the authorities getting the message. It's been a while since I did this research, so I will hunt down what I found and will reply in more detail.

I have one, but have only done minimal testing by sending myself some Check In messages which seemed to work well - sends an email (or SMS) to pre-defined addresses with Lat/Long co-ordinates and links to display on SPOT's own map or Google Maps. Pretty accurate. I guess the only test of the SOS function would come when you really needed it.

Cheers
Joe

I have one and use it when travelling to isolated and remote destinations. It's main purpose is to allow the family to follow our progress via the SPOT website, at any point in time, thus reassuring them we are still travelling and safe. It has also been used to check in with family, when we arrive at a destination where there is no mobile coverage. It is a means of re-assuring the family we are safe. I have also found the track data useful if I make a DVD of our trip. Much the same as the data that can be downloaded from a GPS. I have never used the SOS facility and hope I never have to.

Thanks everyons for your input

Are there ongoing costs involved with SPOT?