BajaNomad

Spot X Review

wyatthurley55 - 10-1-2018 at 10:06 AM

Has anyone gotten the chance to use the Spot X down in Baja? Particularly the 2 way messaging feature. Ive read mixed reviews on it and would like to have one for the Baja 1000. Any info would be great.

BajaBill74 - 10-1-2018 at 11:46 AM

Looked it up on Amazon. There are three customer reviews, all one star. Doesn't look promising.

wyatthurley55 - 10-1-2018 at 12:50 PM

Thats what I'm seeing too, but its hard to say unless I get a confirmed review.

aburruss - 10-1-2018 at 01:19 PM

I was VERY intrigued by the SpotX... but after reading a lot of reviews and comparisons with the Garmin Inreach MINI, I opted for the Inreach. I haven't used in Baja yet (taking it down next week for a poker run), but my initial feel of it is that it's pretty good, and will accomplish what I want it to.

wyatthurley55 - 10-1-2018 at 02:06 PM

Quote: Originally posted by aburruss  
I was VERY intrigued by the SpotX... but after reading a lot of reviews and comparisons with the Garmin Inreach MINI, I opted for the Inreach. I haven't used in Baja yet (taking it down next week for a poker run), but my initial feel of it is that it's pretty good, and will accomplish what I want it to.


Can you post an update when you get back? Im super curious on which to buy. The offroad community usually goes with Spot devices but I havent anything about the X yet. Thanks

David K - 10-1-2018 at 03:57 PM

Get an inReach for the win!

PaulW - 10-1-2018 at 04:03 PM

In general Spot is a good system.
Based on my research:
SpotX - Default and lowest cost is 10 min track points. which results in unacceptable GPX tracks and is the same as the older SPOT devices. Choose much more track points and get slightly better track results. If you want to compare with an InReach device. Both have messages that should work fine. In Baja we only use email message due to poor text results.
If one does not care about tracks the choose the lowest cost plan with minimum messages for 11.95/mo.
If best track is desired then choose 29.95 plan which is still not a good as nearly as good as the InReach basic plan with minimal messages and nearly unlimited track points at a cost of 27.16/mo
Hard to believe anything above the minimum messages per month would be necessary so I would not consider number of messages an issue.
The Inreach with proper track point settings will give the best GPX track of any device currently available including all GPS devices.

[Edited on 10-1-2018 by PaulW]

wyatthurley55 - 10-1-2018 at 04:36 PM

Thanks for the Info. Sounds like I might be getting an INREACH!!

JZ - 10-1-2018 at 04:48 PM

Quote: Originally posted by PaulW  
In general Spot is a good system.
Based on my research:
SpotX - Default and lowest cost is 10 min track points. which results in unacceptable GPX tracks and is the same as the older SPOT devices. Choose much more track points and get slightly better track results. If you want to compare with an InReach device. Both have messages that should work fine. In Baja we only use email message due to poor text results.
If one does not care about tracks the choose the lowest cost plan with minimum messages for 11.95/mo.
If best track is desired then choose 29.95 plan which is still not a good as nearly as good as the InReach basic plan with minimal messages and nearly unlimited track points at a cost of 27.16/mo
Hard to believe anything above the minimum messages per month would be necessary so I would not consider number of messages an issue.
The Inreach with proper track point settings will give the best GPX track of any device currently available including all GPS devices.

[Edited on 10-1-2018 by PaulW]


The value of these devices is the 2 way texting and SOS. Not tracking tracks.

Much better phone apps for that. They will export (email) in either GPX or KML.

PaulW - 10-1-2018 at 09:47 PM

Like I said JZ the InReach has the best KML or GPX I have all these things and have done comparisons. However phone aps are of acceptable quality.
Messaging for SPOTx or Inreach are equal IMO.

ehall - 10-2-2018 at 04:20 AM

Never had a spot but have been using the Inreach for 5 years or so. It works great, even from the deepest canyons the message eventually transmits.

wyatthurley55 - 10-2-2018 at 07:29 AM

I'm mainly going to use it for the texting feature. I have my ipad setup with LeadNav which imo is the best gps I've ever used. So if the texting feature works well with spot then Ill probably go with it. I like having the keyboard on the device, and I've had decent luck with the two other spots I own. Thanks for the info!

David K - 10-2-2018 at 08:38 AM

The inReach pairs with your smartphone so you use that for texting and emailing anyone with a full keyboard.

HeyMulegeScott - 10-2-2018 at 10:08 AM

I've been using my InReach Explorer+ this summer in the NW. You need a clear line of sight to the satellite so there's been times I'm hiking in dense forests when sending a message gets delayed. Shouldn't be an issue in Baja unless you were in a really, really narrow slot canyon.

For no extra charge, you can send an unlimited amount of preset messages with your location. I did a quick review on Winnebago's blog - https://winnebagolife.com/2018/08/gogear-garmin-inreach-expl...

JZ - 10-2-2018 at 11:28 AM

Quote: Originally posted by PaulW  
Like I said JZ the InReach has the best KML or GPX I have all these things and have done comparisons. However phone aps are of acceptable quality.


False. Back Country Navigator's phone app is better than InReach for GPX and KML tracks. Much easier to use and more intuitive. Super easy to interface with Google Earth.

BCN can go as low as 1 sec interval for track reporting and recommends every 5 seconds. It can go as high as every 30 mins.




[Edited on 10-2-2018 by JZ]

aburruss - 10-2-2018 at 05:25 PM

Quote: Originally posted by JZ  


False. Back Country Navigator's phone app is better than InReach for GPX and KML tracks. Much easier to use and more intuitive. Super easy to interface with Google Earth.



Possibly true, but BCN only works on Android, so it's not an option to a significant number of users. :(

[Edited on 10-3-2018 by aburruss]

JZ - 10-2-2018 at 05:45 PM

Quote: Originally posted by aburruss  
Quote: Originally posted by JZ  


False. Back Country Navigator's phone app is better than InReach for GPX and KML tracks. Much easier to use and more intuitive. Super easy to interface with Google Earth.



Possibly true, but BCN only works on Android, so it's not an option to a significant number of users. :(

[Edited on 10-3-2018 by aburruss]


Samsung >>>> iPhone.

aburruss - 10-2-2018 at 06:26 PM

Quote: Originally posted by JZ  

Samsung >>>> iPhone.


I think this will turn out worse than any political post on this site. ;)

JZ - 10-2-2018 at 08:00 PM

Quote: Originally posted by aburruss  
Quote: Originally posted by JZ  

Samsung >>>> iPhone.


I think this will turn out worse than any political post on this site. ;)


iPhones are for women, kids, and ppl who don't care about good tech.

mtgoat666 - 10-2-2018 at 08:49 PM

Quote: Originally posted by JZ  
Quote: Originally posted by aburruss  
Quote: Originally posted by JZ  

Samsung >>>> iPhone.


I think this will turn out worse than any political post on this site. ;)


iPhones are for women, kids, and ppl who don't care about good tech.



Love my iphone. Love my ipad. love my powerbook. I tolerate my PC.
I think only a techno dweeb would diss an apple product. For reliability and ease of use, apple trumps all the competitors. If you just want something that works, w/o fuss, buy the the apple product!

aburruss - 10-2-2018 at 09:41 PM

Quote: Originally posted by JZ  

iPhones are for women, kids, and ppl who don't care about good tech.



Tech guru for 20+ years. Designed datacenters, networks, software, and ran ALL of technology for a company with thousands of servers. I care about good tech, and I can't stand Android. But.. I know some people love it.. just not for me.

Enough of the debate here though.. let's get back to some good old-fashioned GPS/app/tracking discussion! :)

I've had some good success with Gaia GPS. It's been very good at tracking (though I don't know the interval that it logs), at low speed and at high speed off-roading. Very easy to export to GPX, KML, or GeoJSON. Also easy to share tracks/waypoints, and good organization/display functionality, IMO.

JZ - 10-2-2018 at 09:50 PM

iPhone isn't good tech. Samsung was ahead of them by 12 to 24 months since 2010. Apple has finally (almost) closed the gap. As a tech guy I would expect you to know that.

I haven't used Gaia. Think StuckSucks uses it and says great things. I've used MotionX (big iPhone trail app) and BCN crushes it.

My kids all have iPhones, so I'll look at Gaia. Might be a very good option for them.


[Edited on 10-4-2018 by JZ]

aburruss - 10-2-2018 at 09:52 PM

Gaia actually works on both platforms.. so you don't need to go get the kiddie phones to make it work.

*wink*

wyatthurley55 - 10-3-2018 at 07:34 AM

Have any of you used Leadnav? If not I definetely recomend it. The GPX tracking works flawless and you can preload the maps into your device. I use it everytime I go to Baja w/o any problems.