According to locals the long distance offroad routes have lots of gaps.
maybe things have changed with the shutting down of the old technology . i guess we didnt need 4g to make a phonecall 20 years ago.
Arnt you going to new Zealand?
Where you going without signal. They had widespread signal 20 years ago.
The long distance cycling offroad routes apparently have big gaps - you can be out of contact for a day or two. Local advice
Depending on what you are doing in NZ, I am not sure you will really need one, a bit of prior planning and informing accomodation in advance of route and expected arrival and you should be fine imo. You know, old school. If you are planning an unsupported week long trek then yes it would be good, otherwise, well I suppose it depends on your attitude to risk.
As above. I am normally with you on this but several locals have said get one. However they do seem to have a very risk averse attitude
My feeling is given I will be on my own and thats the advice I have been given maybe it really would be a good idea to have one. I*'m not sure I would bother if I was with someone else.
Trailrat / AA
Apparently the long distance cycle routes I want to take have a few sections where you can be out of contact for a day or two. I have been advised by several locals t get one. I think the fact I will be on my own means that it probably tips over towards getting one.
The locals do seem very risk averse tho
FFS -single track hamster kept on throwing errors at me hence the multiple posts
Can we clarify what apple are offering
I think my iPhone 14 can summon help via satellite
i think in the USA it can message
I didn’t  think it could do tracking via satellite any where
1. Looking forward to the pictures of your travels.
2. You would feel a fool no doubt if you'd been told about this, not taken the advice and found yourself in trouble.
3. "Take care of yourself" is probably the advice you'd give to someone else, doctor, heal thyself etc etc...
For the cost of renting, when compared to the cost of your tour in general, including flights, why wouldn't you?
Also - are you taking bike and trailer? I was wondering how much baggage costs for that would be.
Its like an insurance policy....you do not know if you will ever need it.  My Spot helped keep my wife happy on my adventures for many years , esp big rides in winter in Scotland and thus money well spent! Also the fact that you can create a webpage and share with others is a good feature, esp if raising money for charity etc. and for big endurance events helps keep you going as you have the thought that people at home are watching!   So thats a good thing too. I think the Spot is fairly robust too. But Tech has moved on a bit and mobile phone coverage is so much better now as well esp in UK . I just wished spot would reduce prices a bit as some other tech is a bit better now . Mine is currently not on subscription for this reason . I did also like to carry it switched off on shorter trips , but knowing that if I ever met a hiker or biker in trouble I could call in the cavalry to rescue them no matter what the mobile phone coverage.
