24 June 2014 – Gear Review 10 – SPOT & GPS

I forgot about two of the most important pieces of gear I carried on this trip; my SPOT and GPS.

SPOT – This is my 2^nd SPOT and I would never leave home on a trip like this without it. I replaced my original version 1 SPOT a year ago with the newer and smaller Generation 3 (Gen 3). It is half the size and has better reception. If you followed my route on-line you saw what this thing can do. I used the same 2 AAA batteries for the whole 23 day trip and had it on usually 10-12 hours each day. In addition to the tracking and safe location signals I also purchased the road service and rescue services. Because I use this on the wilderness rafting trips that Liz and I do, I also purchased extra rescue coverage for Liz. All at a very reasonable price but you have to buy these services with initialization of the SPOT to get the best price. If you wait you pay much more. BTW the SPOT is waterproof. If we had an emergency on the Dalton Highway or ALCAN this is what would have gotten us help in the least amount of time. I highly recommend having a SPOT even on local rides. There is a yearly cost for the different features.

GPS – This is a motorcycle GPS from GARMIN; Zumo 665. It has all the normal GPS features plus it is waterproof and has XM radio, traffic alert and more importantly weather radar. It is a very expensive GPS. I don’t use the XM radio because of the wind noise but the traffic alert and especially the radar I use anytime I’m on a trip. There aren’t many GPS that are specifically made for motorcycles and are waterproof so you can look around but may not have many to choice from. I’ve had many GPS units since they became available and I prefer Garmin only because I’m familiar with their operation. Highway routing is good but once you get on state roads and especially dirt roads don’t rely solely on this GPS. It’s put me in a plowed field more than once. The XM antenna is the Black Magnetic item on my fuel tank. On AK1 and again on AK2 I found that the XM function (radar anyway) doesn’t work at all in Canada and I don’t think I ever saw it work in Alaska. As I was leaving Canada entering the US at the Montana border I’m in the rain on both sides of the border but it only showed coverage in the US. I used it the whole trip and it is what I used for mileage tracking; my Yamaha speed-o is 5 mph fast. I recommend any Garmin unit and if you want to pay the price for a waterproof big screen GPS, this is a good option.