Featured Image: Courtesy of onX
onX Backcountry is one of our favorite year-round tools at FREESKIER, with the brand promoting the importance of public lands, supporting skiers and providing a damn good service for those looking to find routes in the mountains. Now, it could save your life. onX has partnered with Overwatch x Rescue to provide a comprehensive rescue service for just $49.99 a year. Not only will the service help coordinate rescue efforts, but it'll pay for it too.
The new SOS feature connects via satellite or cellular, with no extra hardware required. It's a simple addition to your yearly subscription. Anyone who's spent time in the backcountry knows that minimizing gear can be a huge advantage, and being able to get more out of your phone is a big advantage.
Overwatch x Rescue is a major player in the wilderness rescue field, with a pre-established emergency response network. They've assisted in more than 5,000 rescues across more than 220 countries and territories. Additionally, they've saved people more than $10 million in rescue and medical costs.
The new service provides two major benefits. First, when the SOS service is activated, it sends a pre-programmed text message (SMS) to OxR's 24/7 Crisis Response Center. The message includes the user's coordinates and account information. A member of the OxR team then takes over, facilitating two-way communication with the individual and coordinating the rescue effort.
Second, the service continues to help you long after the rescue is complete by saving you potentially thousands of dollars in rescue costs. onX SOS covers all rescue costs directly, with no claim to file and no out-of-pocket expenses. (Imagine if all health care were as supportive as this?) And there's no financial cap, meaning the heli airlift out of the backcountry, which costs on average around $36,000, is completely covered.
"At Overwatch x Rescue, we believe going further outdoors should never mean facing the risks alone," said Greg Pearson, CEO of Overwatch x Rescue parent company FocusPoint International. "By powering onX SOS, our team brings decades of rescue coordination experience to the adventurers who rely on onX every day, so they can explore with confidence, knowing that an expert team is ready to respond if the need arises.”
This isn't a paid promotion or an ad buy. This is just a damn good deal that FREESKIER readers should know about. onX SOS is currently available for onX Hunt and onX Offroad, but will be available for onX Backcountry subscribers later this summer.
