Hi-Gear Horizon Windbreak with Clear Window Panels, 4 Panelled Structured Windbreak from the Hi-Gear Horizon Tent Collection, 6 Metre Windbreak for Camping, Camping Equipment

Product Information

If you're not much of a camper but you're heading to the beach with little ones, then a windbreak and a beach shelter make for a great bit of shelter and will have you set up for a day of sun and sand. If I fell and broke my leg on a solo hike out there, I didn’t want wait a week (or longer) for someone to come along and help me to safety.

The sectioned construction, sturdy steel poles and reflective guylines allow you to create a stable bespoke structure to shelter your campground.Downloading the app to your phone and pairing with a phone via bluetooth (before your trip begins), is an essential part to texting anything other than your three preset messages. Then I needed to continuously press the button while the timer counted down backwards from from 30 on the screen. Being able to send my family a preset message each evening to let them know I was alive was reassuring for all of us. Rescue costs could, however, become reimbursable depending on the circumstances involved and what state it occurs in. If I was going to head out on a bunch of solo backcountry hikes on lightly trafficked trails, I wanted a little peace of mind.

And the entire time, the SAR Coordinator from the local sheriff’s office was incredibly responsive and clearly invested in getting me to safety. And so, I reluctantly flipped open the cover on the SOS button my my inReach Mini and I got ready to press it to trigger a rescue. Yes, all the communication between myself and the SAR coordinator were done as texts through the Garmin Earthmate App. It was a never-ending battle to try to brush the snow out of my tent so I could keep my down sleeping bag dry.I wouldn’t have to face the shame of being rescued, or the sidelong glances from other long-distance hikers. Not long after it got dark, I received a message that a helicopter was en route to my location and 35 minutes out. Essentially, the cost is often part of their budget just like responding to other major accidents in the frontcountry. NOTE: during a rescue you don’t move from your GPS location unless expressly directed — especially in whiteout snow conditions). One of the best aspects about this subscription service though is you can activate or suspend it on a monthly basis.

About 15 minutes later, I could hear the hum of the rotors and see the lights on the bottom of the helicopter. I struggled to find somewhere to block the wind in the pitch-black darkness with the snow swirling around me. The local fire departments didn’t have helicopters designed to fly at high altitude or pilots who felt skilled enough to make the rescue. The only small issue which was probably my fault is that the wood has a tendency to attract black mould. This 105-mile trail would my opportunity to bag my 23rd state high point, as well as hiking at much higher altitude than most of prior long-distance adventures.

Look, I’d read Aron Ralson’s book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place (which was later made into the movie 127 Hours starring James Franco). But I would never have taken the extreme measure of pressing the SOS button unless I was ready to cross over the threshold of summoning a real-world rescue. I don’t take undue risks or throw caution to the wind just because I have the safety net of a SOS button. It can shelter your dining area from the wind, give your tent or caravan entrance extra privacy, or form a partition between your tents.

I had my headlamp on to pinpoint my location, and I was using the flashlight from my iPhone to wave back and forth so they could see me on the ground. We attempted to put it up once, failed, was that frustrated with it that have never tried again since!I was warned to have everything ready to go because they wouldn’t have much time on the ground due the the poor weather conditions.