So in this episode I'm going to run through how to use the ACR
Bivy stick and give you my own personal review after six months of use [Music]
If there's something specific that you're looking for there are chapters in this
video so just scroll down below We'll start with what exactly is a Bivy Stick?
The ACR Bivy Stick is a two-way satellite Communicator It's designed to keep outdoor
enthusiasts connected to the outside world while you are off grid As you will know,
in Australia as soon as you leave town or the city that you live in then you're pretty much
off-grid because there's no mobile service It's small and durable and lightweight and has about
120 hours of continuous running time It's made in the USA so it's made of top quality materials
you will need a smartphone and the Bivy app if you want to use some of the extended features but
you can actually use the Bivy Stick on its own to check in, track routes or send an SOS signal With
the smartphone app you can also send messages like text messages, you can use offline maps to track
routes and you can check the weather while you're off grid The device uses the Iridium Network which
means you can use it anywhere in the world as long as you have clear line of sight to the sky
The Bivy Stick's a very simple device with three buttons It's got a power button, a check-in button
and an SOS button I'm not going to run through exactly how to use it there's plenty of videos
on YouTube and if you really get stuck once you download the Bivy app and register and log in,
you can actually go on into the settings scroll down the menu and the Bivy Stick manual is
actually included in the app so if you get stuck or you need to know anything extra just check out
that manual It's all in there Finally my review So this is not a paid review I bought this Bivy
Stick full price cost me AU$479 from BCF on special If you Google the Bivy Stick now you
can probably find it on special on Amazon or on Johnny Appleseed I think they're about $449 Yes,
there's a monthly fee involved and you don't have to buy the professional package I'm on an annual
one which is about $25 a month you there's an annual contract and I'm on the basic package
since November last year so about six months and I've used it for overlanding, I've used it for
hiking, I've used it for off-grid camping, I've used it for trail running it's fantastic
It weighs 100 grams so when you're trail running you don't even notice that you've got it attached
to you It also has a quarter inch screw so you can actually attach a GoPro Mount to it and attach
it to your vehicle if you're going to use it for overlanding or 4x4 driving something like that
I've sent numerous check-in messages letting my wife know that I'm okay, I've had text
conversations with her and there's been no issues the only downside of sending text messages with
the Bivy app is that because it's satellite driven and not mobile phone it can take a while to send
or to receive the text messages because obviously it's going to satellite not just to a local
cell tower I've also used the tracking it works really well even under dense tree cover and when
you're finished tracking you can save the trail or the route to your phone you can add photos to
it if you like or you can just delete it The one thing I must say though is if you're using the
Bivy Stick attached to your phone with Bluetooth and you're tracking a route it does seem to drain
the batteries of the phone pretty quickly What I prefer to do is only sync the phone and the Bivy
Stick via Bluetooth when I need to send messages It doesn't take long to reconnect them You turn
the you you turn the Bivy Stick on press the power button for I don't know two seconds or something
and the Bluetooth reconnects to the phone and within 30 seconds to a minute you can send
messages so there's no issues with that it tends to save not only the Bivy Stick's battery but it
also saves the phone battery that way One of the things I really love about the Bivy Stick is that
I can lend it to my son when he goes camping with his friends he makes his own account on the app
and he can just link up my Bivy Stick to his account he doesn't have to have his own
subscription so he can use my subscription with his phone and that way he can keep in touch with
me when he's off-grid camping Finally I must add that the Bivy Stick customer service is amazing
I had some billing issues when I switched from the Pro to the Basic you have to have the Pro
for the first three months of ownership and then you can switch it to Basic I had a bit of an issue
there they charged me the fourth month at the Pro fee I contacted them They had no issues fixing
the billing They downgraded me to the Basic and they refunded me a full month's worth of
fees so yep customer service excellent They're based in the USA so it takes about
24 hours before they get back to you via email but like I said been really helpful
Would I recommend the ACR Bivy Stick for use in Australia? Definitely without a doubt For me it's
the cheapest option between the Bivy Stick, the Zoleo and the Garmin I have done a cost comparison
video here in Australia if you want you can check out the video it'll be linked up here or I'll link
it in the description below have a look at that it explains all the costs and fees involved for
all three including the subscription fees and this and and the purchase price If you've got any other
questions feel free to leave them in the comments below and I'll try and answer them otherwise,
honestly, contact the Bivy Stick customer service They are amazing and they will give you an answer
And finally don't forget to like this video and subscribe if you want more of the same content
Thanks for watching to the end See ya!