SPOT Satellite Personal Tracker

Yes, busy bee I am, but slacker? Ouch! Good thing I LOVE burpees. By the way, I too give the Syngery Vest a 5 out of 5 rating.

For my birthday last year (yes, my 29th or so) my husband bought a SPOT for me. A what, why?

My gear maven partner and I spent many weekend days of the 2008 summer going on trail running/hiking adventures in the Wasatch. We'd each spend time searching Google Earth satellite images of the Wasatch for new routes. This is how we devised the infamous "your house to my house by hooking into the Black Mountain trail" adventure. The mileage seemed doable. It should've only taken a few hours. Any idea where this story is going? There really wasn't a trail (code for no FRIKIN' trail) from the far northeast end of the Black Mountain ridgeline to the Smugglers trail - where we decided to end the Black Mountain ridge bushwack and drop into City Creek. The first 5 miles of our route took about 1 1/2 hours. The next 5 miles took us about 3 hours! This is understandable, though, progress slows considerably when you have to bushwack through a dark primeval forest, nasty leg-shredding scrub oak, and scramble over rocky outcroppings. Before leaving for our adventures, my husband would ask me, and rightly so, if I was bringing my cell phone. Well, I could, I'd say, but I don't think I'll have coverage. In comes SPOT.

SPOT is about the size of my hand and is a handheld satellite communication and safety device. You buy the device, then activate it and purchase a service plan. The basic yearly service plan includes these features: Alert 9-1-1 (notifies emergency responders of your location and indicates you need assistance); Ask For Help (notifies your contacts of your location and that you need assistance); and Check In (lets your contacts know where you are and that you are okay). You can also upgrade the service package to include other features like SPOTcasting, (allows your contacts to follow your route in real time or you can save waypoints for review later). I don't have this because it's an additional $50/year and I already have a GPS.

We took SPOT with us on several adventures last summer. At first I thought of it as another thing to carry, but I'm glad I have it - and my husband is too - for the peace-of-mind it offers. I have yet to experience, however, consistent performance. On any given excursion, at least 1 to 2 out of 5 or 6 "Checking In" messages I sent were not received by my contacts. Granted, some messages may have been sent from within a canyon. These are canyons like City Creek, however, not narrow. You are instructed to follow the precise directions in terms of device position, time holding the button, etc. Regardless, I have had inconsistent performance. One time Sue brought her husband's SPOT and we sent messages from the same locations at the same time. All her messages were received, not all of mine were. Operator or device error? To be determined. Of note, an email to SPOT customer service about this inconsistency yielded no response.

Do you buy it? You can plan and prepare, but not for everything. S--- happens. If your excursion will take you out of cell coverage, you will be on your own and/or the location doesn't see much foot traffic, or getting help could be a challenge, this could come in handy. Another bonus is that it may help to mitigate the "spousal worry factor". I would recommend purchasing SPOT if your excursions are anything like ours - and ours are really benign compared to what many others do. It doesn't come with a stupid meter (code for don't go on an excursion without water, food, appropriate clothing, etc...). But as Sue says: You can't fix stupid. I hope I'll never need to use it for help, but what if?

According to GPS Business News a newer version of SPOT has been introduced at the 2009 Summer Outdoor Retailers show. The newer version offers enhanced features and is 30% smaller and lighter than the original device.

I give it a 5 out ot 5.

Rating: 5
Where to buy: Check out the Dealer Locator or Buy on Line on SPOT's Website
Price: ~$150 for the device (check for coupons) and ~$100/year for the basic service plan (not cheap, but, what if?)

Nathan Synergy Pack

Well, Martha the slacker had plenty of time and she didn't write her review. Honestly. She is just such a busy person that she couldn't find 10 minutes to write something. Since my time is OBVIOUSLY less important, here I am, writing a review.

And, yes, she's been working on her burpees.

I purchased a Nathan Intensity vest pack a few years ago after trying other options for carrying lots of water for long runs. I almost chucked my Camelback pack into the river one day...neck rub and excessive bounce. My Nathan waist pack--which I love--doesn't allow me to carry enough water, let alone gear. So a love affair with the Intensity was born.

But even the Intensity has its limitations. We found last year when we were going on our who-knows-where-this-trail-really-goes and who-knows-how-long-we-will-be-out adventures that is was difficult to carry everything in the Intensity. SPOT, a steri-pen, GPS devices, food, raingear, big bags of bandaids, water...you get the idea. So we started looking for other options.

We both have the Osprey Talon 11 pack which is very lightweight and can carry a lot of gear but it's really just too big for a small person to wear running. And bouncy. And I got the dreaded neck chafe when I tried to run with it. We gave it a shot, but didn't find it suitable for for the activity. It joins the other packs in the "hiking pack" corner of the closet. (Note that this year Osprey has a Talon 5.5, which is a little smaller and probably more appropriate for a small person to wear running.)

We tried on a couple of potentially suitable packs at least year's summer outdoor retailer's expo here in Salt Lake. Inov-8 had a couple of packs they were marketing for running and Nathan had the Synergy pack on display. The Inov8 packs seemed big and didn't fit as closely to the body as I would have liked. My impression was that it was just OK...I wasn't sure I would want to spend the money on it (these packs are not cheap).

The Synergy, however, made me say "wow".





The Synergy is not women's specific like the Intensity but fit my small frame pretty well. It has lots of adjustment points and is really lightweight. It has several separate pockets and pouches. Unlike the Intensity, the Synergy wears more like a pack than a vest. Martha had some reservations about the wear of the Synergy because of this different "wearing style". Turns out any reservations were unfounded. We wore them for a couple of days of running Zion and I've worn mine a couple of times since then. Plenty of storage. Very comfortable. Wears nicely--no bounce. The water bottle pockets on the side are perfect for my video camera. The dual chamber bladder is a nice feature (we call it the gin + tonic dual chamber bladder). This pack will get lots of adventure miles this summer.

So I give it a 5 out ot 5. Not sure what Martha would have given it. We might not ever know, given her very busy schedule.

Rating: 5
Where to buy: online at REI.com (not available in REI stores)
Price: $130 (told you these things aren't cheap!)