I don’t have an answer to my question, but I spend a fair amount of time hiking in areas where my chance of rescue, were it needed, would be between slim and none. But I do sometimes carry a PLB in those instances as I’ve not become completely fatalistic about the prospects of recovery. Of course, as often as not i forget the PLB. Anywho I decided long ago that the enjoyment of the back country was enough for me to leave most security behind.

The folks who climb Everest and other peaks make the same kind of decisions. Of course, so do heroin addicts. Those who eat too much fried foods also make the same decision but are usually unaware that they can’t be rescued after a certain point.