SPOT GEN4
The most affordable PLB of 2021.
Lest you become a cautionary tale on our Out Alive podcast, have a plan for emergencies in the backcountry. Carrying a personal locator beacon is a good start, and the Gen4 provides a comparable level of security at a fraction of the price of most competitors. This device is about as no-frills as the category gets: You can’t receive texts, but the Gen4 can send unlimited pre-programmed messages to a designated number of email addresses and phone numbers, or send an SOS message to alert and provide coordinates to local authorities for immediate help. It uses the Globalstar satellite system, and we were able to successfully send a check-in message from the base of Colorado’s Lone Eagle Peak in less than a minute. The device also provides tracking at a wide range of intervals that can be viewed in real time on a companion smartphone app. Weight lands in the middle of the PLB spectrum.