Last week, I had the opportunity to (finally) get a couple of days to do some much-needed hunting. As I wrote last Friday, it’s an opportunity for me to unplug (mostly), get outside for some needed time away from work, and actually enjoy the outdoors.

When I get those too-rare opportunities, it really doesn’t matter to me whether I actually harvest an animal or not.

That’s a good thing, because I would have starved if I’d been depending on my hunting for sustenance. Fortunately, my hunting companion had brought along the fruits of earlier successful hunts. He also bagged a decent 8-point buck, but had the good graces not to demand that I include that small detail if/when I wrote about our hunting trip.

We were hunting only a few miles from where one of our friends’ son died in a tree stand accident only a few years ago. That accident has had a tremendous effect on how I prepare to hunt today. Losing a young friend does a lot to cause you to reevaluate how you’ve “always” hunted.

Today, I don’t use climbing stands, and I prefer ground blinds or low shooting houses to tripod stands. The gear today is infinitely safer than what I used to use, but today I’m a lot less likely to come out of any significant fall without serious injury.

To compensate, I’ve adjusted how I hunt. And that keeps me safe.

But it doesn’t do much to ease my wife’s mind while I’m out in the wild. She’s long accustomed to my being out of touch for days while traveling for work, but she’s never been comfortable with my being out of touch while hunting. She knows I prefer hunting alone, and that makes her nervous.

Even in today’s smartphone- obsessed society, I’m not always able to text even a short “I’m OK” message. And part of enjoying my time in the field means not feeling guilty because I’m worrying my family because I’m out of touch.

SPOT X (above) is small enough to carry on your body or in your pack without adding much burden. The ability to send all-clear messages -even generic ones (below) is something worth considering, too. Jim Shepherd/OWDN photos.

That’s why I jumped at the chance to spend some time with a Spot-X, the latest version of the SPOT personal locator device. The new SPOT X uses satellite messaging to offer two-way contact to friends and family, in addition to direct connection to Search & Rescue services in case of an emergency. For me, the ability to send -and receive- all-clear messages was enough to compel me to give yet another digital device a try.

To me, the thing that most piqued my interest was the ability to let my wife know that I was OK-and to have the ability to send that message either to her cellphone or email address.

When it comes to survival equipment, I’ve always listened to friends like Doug Ritter (www.equipped.org), but wanted to see for myself if the newest version of their emergency locator was the big improvement I’d heard from others.

I didn’t have an emergency, but I was impressed. SPOTX sent - and received- messages as promised, allowing me to send updates that even included GPS coordinates.

And it includes several other features, including a digital compass, automatic tracking (that interfaces with Google maps), and the ability to post your satellite messages to Facebook and Twitter accounts (not an option I’d use, but for some, not being able to post on social media - even they have have nothing much to say- would in itself constitute an emergency).

But there’s one important realization you need to understand about the SPOTX: it is based on satellite communications- and it is not a cell phone.

Satellite communication is not instantaneous. Sending a couple of customized messages took anything from three to six minutes. Getting responses depends on a couple of things: 1) how often you’ve set the SPOT X to check for messages (the only option you control), and 2) the unit’s unhampered view of the sky.

If you don’t select a frequency to check (I didn’t), it’s up to you to check in periodically for messages. But don’t expect to tell the unit to check for messages and get something instantaneously- it doesn’t work that way.

One more thing: about communications I simply left the unit in my hunting pack, thinking it would do its thing from there.

When I first checked messages, SPOTX gave me a very clear message to the contrary: “You will have best receive results if you position your SPOTX so the antenna is as vertical as possible.”

After that, I only had to make certain to position the SPOT X with a clear view of the sky, and it worked as advertised.

Being an Apple user, I’m overly-familiar with the need to watch my battery levels. SPOTX, is definitely not an Apple device.

My test unit was fully charged on Tuesday, December 5 when I updated the software (necessary whenever you get a new device) and sent a test message to myself. I left the next day, used the unit continually while hunting for three days, and only turned it off at camp.

It apparently still doesn’t need of recharge. I say “apparently” because the SPOT X only gives three power indications: a green led for “more than 20%” - blinking red for “lower than 20%” and the unit shutting itself off and going into power saving mode when it’s critically short. If you’re not out mountaineering or hiking cross-country, that should be more than adequate notification. It’s the first time I’ve ever believed a claim of 10 day batter life between charges.

And I’m not complaining about the rudimentary power indicators. The unit’s simple to use because there aren’t waist-deep menus.

There are eight option screens that can be read in any light, four directional arrow keys, a select key in the middle of them, and underneath that, a full QWERTY keyboard. Other than a “back” key and key to initiate the tracking process, that’s it. The USB/Data Port is under a waterproof cover.

There’s also the SOS emergency key, but it’s (wisely) located under a protective cover you’d need to pop open to initiate communications with emergency Search & Rescue authorities.

If you’ve never considered an emergency communications device and you spend time afield, you should seriously consider adding one to your gear. SPOTX’s $249.99 MSRP (https://www.findmespot.com/HolidayX/lander.php) makes it an affordable device (it’s available online for as little as $208.92). Yes, you’ll need a service plan, but those are affordable- and can be started/stopped as needed.

You may be totally content being absolutely out of touch when afield, but you might want to consider a SPOTX for the peace of mind of those who stay at home.

We’ll keep you posted.

—Jim Shepherd