I've been putting off buying a PLB (personal locator beacon) for a while for a couple of reasons: one, I don't need one right now and two; I couldn't afford the one I wanted.
Originally, I wanted a McMurdo Fastfind Max-G, which was the guts of £400. They've come down but they are still well over £320. Then, recently McMurdo launched a lower cost PLB, the Fastfind 210 (About £230). It's a slightly lower specification device but it is a lot of safety equipment for the money. The big differences between the two are that the MaxG runs for 48 hours and is buoyant while the 210 runs for 24 hours and is not buoyant (though it is waterproof to the same level as the MaxG)
I would be happy enough with the 24 hour runtime as I would expect a recovery from any situation that I foresee myself in could be effected in that time. The buoyancy issue is more significant. In the case of a ditching the last thing I want to do is get wetter, crying, as my life-saving PLB transmits in vain from the depths of the Irish Sea.
McMurdo do make a buoyancy pouch for the 210 to make it float, so one of those plus tethering the PLB to your person got mitigate the floating issue to some extent.
That was where I was at in my decision making. Today, I bought a PLB. The MaxG? No. I got the best PLB there is, the Fastfind 210...discounted. I was offered a brand new Fastfind for under £200 and I couldn't refuse it. Is the Fastfind 210 the best beacon, perhaps not but the PLB you own and have with you when you need it is infinitely better than any higher spec one sitting the shop.
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