My friend purchased a Spot; she & her husband have other uses for it. A daily "we're OK" notice will soothe both our husbands' minds.
Wendy, the SPOT is a fun tool. From my experience....
Please understand that SPOT should be left "On" for at least 30 minutes when you send out a signal; when down in a canyon, even longer. The signals don't always reach a satellite, so you need to give the unit time to repeat sending.
People have mistakenly used it by turning it on, sending a check-in and shutting it down in 5 minutes. Their signals don't get out very reliably.
My advice: If you are carrying a spot, why not use the "Track" mode or Check-in more often? The units will run for about 10 days on the batteries, so why not use them. Family can then see you are making progress on your hike, which gives them even more reassurance that all is well.
