Originally Posted by
gauvins
Depends on your circumstances. PLBs are standard issue on boats (required by law in some jurisdictions). On land, I've rarely bothered. Even in areas where there's no cell coverage, you can usually count on traffic if you were to require external assistance. My rule of thumb is to bring a PLB if communication blackouts are expected to be of more than 24 hours, especially if you travel solo.
Getting a little off-topic, but ah well.. the ELT's in general aviation are legally mandated as well. While these devices are not cheap either, the cost is mostly baked into the cost of the plane (which is very "not cheap"). In either case, maritime and aviation devices are still bulky and heavy. Comparing with the SPOT/InReach, I'm amazed at just how
small technology has gotten.
I'm looking forward to being out of reach from time to time. I'm not sure where my threshold for "needing" a PLB would be, honestly. Backpacking 3+ days out in Alaska -- definitively.
Still appreciating the discussion -- perhaps it will be useful to future readers. In another few decades, I could imagine SPOT devices being handed out with every backcountry camping permit in the Parks (if the device itself wasn't simply regarded as the permit all its own).