Garmin In Reach, or another recommendation

[Alibiiv]

Well.....I've been around the sun more times than I care to have, but.............beats the alternative.!! So here's the post. I black bear hunt in an area that is somewhat remote and there's no phone service. I don't walk as well as I would like to be able to and would like to have some contact with the outside world if I need to do so. Even someone who is in good shape probably would have trouble waking out, and...the land is private-leased so on one is going to be driving down the road that I hunt off of. I get dropped off at a sight, if I do take a bear I have to wait until the guide comes in to get me, and...sometimes that can get to well after dark. Or if something goes wrong and I need to get help, again there is not contact and I'll be waiting until he arrives and that again could mean after dark. I am also planning a whitetail deer hunt in the fall, it is near the Canadian border in Maine and again there is not any phone service. I have done some reading the the Garmin In Reach and it seems to be what I am looking for. However...curious if other's with experience with this type of device might have another recommendation/model instead of the Garmin? This is all new technology to me, any help or recommendations would really be appreciated.

 

[SnakeRiverEric]

+1 on the Inreach. I have used mine for 10 years and goes with me into the Wyoming mountains on every trip. Very good to beable to send text messages with your location to your family and friends. I have not had to push the emergency button yet.
I use their freedom plan, which allows me to suspend it in the offseason, and change to the different usage price plans. Costs due add up if your friends get into a long conversation, as each incoming and outgoing message is counted. So if your a high usage person go the unlimited route. You can get weather for your location as well. The mini version is the smallest form factor. I have the original Delorme version.

 

[sp6x6]

I have as does my son.My son was on a year long outback in NewZealand and would touch base.He was swimming glacial rivers with over 100# on his back, he almost had to tap out

 

[theodoreh]

Been using inreach explorer for almost a decade. Handy when packing out heavy load in dense vegetations. Without the inreach, no one would be able to find me if I break a bone, fall on my head or something.

Takes about 5 to 15 minutes for one message to go through. Be careful on number of messages sent, it uses more battery.

When starting a trip, you have option to send a message to someone that see inreach current location. But they need internet service to see it. Really cool feature.

Still looking for a phone combine with inreach technology or something similar. Stuck with inreach for now.

 

[jebel]

There are a couple other threads in this forum discussing the Garmin InReach Mini and the Zoleo. Both appear to be good options for what you describe.

 

[redneckdan]

I have experience with being on the other end of it. The national dispatch center has been great to work with. Best advice I have is make sure your emergency contacts have your travel plan, list of equipment outfitting and an honest assessment of your skill level. We will be calling them, make sure they are the type to answer the phone.

 

[ntsqd]

I have an SE, but I'm not normally packing it. If I were I think that I'd want the Mini. There is a USB charge made for the SE, so mine sits in that cradle all of the time. With a Mini I'd look to see if there is a similar cradle so it can be charging while in a vehicle.

I friend of mine put me on his contacts list because he figured if he's in a bind that I'm the most likely to be able to get to him. I put him on mine for the same reason. We've only managed one trip together since.

Garmin offers a month to month service as well as a year-long service. I originally went month to month thinking that I'd turn it off when not going anywhere. That wasn't happening, so I've converted to the annual plan. Now I don't have to remember if I turned it off or not.

 

[meatyrem]

There's also spot connect

 

[BrentM]

I had spot and then went to inreach, maybe 7 years ago, plus. I use my inreach every week. I love it. I don't know if other companies now allow texting but the map and also texting features I use on my phone are awesome. If I need non emergency help I can text someone. If I need emergency help I can text someone with specifics. For example if I I need lifeflight vs S&R I can send details. The earthmate map used on the app in my phone is very good for creating tracks etc. It has a satellite image option as well. For just mapping fun etc I also use OnX but if I had 1 system only to chose from, InReach would be it.

 

[KSAv8r]

Highly recommended if you travel or hunt in places where there is no cell service. I've had an InReach Explorer+ for about 5 years and carry it on trips and when off the grid. Great to allow our family to know where we are plus they can reach us any time since there are many places in the USA where there is no cell service or the signal is weak. My only complaint is the small screen is tough on my tired old eyes (ha ha). Connecting it through bluetooth to my cell phone does help. Never had to activate the SOS feature yet but like the comforting feeling help is available if necessary.

 

[Alibiiv]

Highly recommended if you travel or hunt in places where there is no cell service. I've had an InReach Explorer+ for about 5 years and carry it on trips and when off the grid. Great to allow our family to know where we are plus they can reach us any time since there are many places in the USA where there is no cell service or the signal is weak. My only complaint is the small screen is tough on my tired old eyes (ha ha). Connecting it through bluetooth to my cell phone does help. Never had to activate the SOS feature yet but like the comforting feeling help is available if necessary.

Yes the SOS feature is the biggest plus for me. There's a lot of great people on this forum who have a wealth of information and who are willing to share it with other members of the forum. At 75 years old with heart disease the SOS is a very important component for this devise and the reason for looking into it.

 

[Alibiiv]

There are a couple other threads in this forum discussing the Garmin InReach Mini and the Zoleo. Both appear to be good options for what you describe.

Thanks for this information. I thought that I looked for something before I posted, I will do another search. Again thank you!!

 

[BirdDog50]

I have used the Inreach Mini to
keep in contact texting. I would strongly recommend getting the application called Earthmate integrated into the Inreach that way you can use your cell phone to do all your texting because the screens on the Inreach are so small I can't read them.

 

[Alibiiv]

I have used the Inreach Mini to
keep in contact texting. I would strongly recommend getting the application called Earthmate integrated into the Inreach that way you can use your cell phone to do all your texting because the screens on the Inreach are so small I can't read them.

With Earthmate integration this allows the cell phone to essentially be a satellite phone that one can text on, is that correct?