Anyone have experience using these? Have an elk hunt and know my wife would like that communication via the messaging feature being out of service for a week.

Already have a Garmin Fenix6 watch so don't know that I want to buy a $400 handheld too just for that.

If you are solo i would recommend one. I have one but don't really take it unless going in on my own.

You can rent them.

I bought one a while back. $400 is more than worth it. If I ever truly need it, it's literally saving my life.

I don't mean to high jack your thread, but I have been thinking a lot of this lately. My deer lease has absolutely zero phone service, and I'm out there alone a majority of the time.

Is there a sat phone made just for emergencies? One that I don't need to pay service for every month? Just buy some prepaid minutes type deal?

I bought my brother one for his birthday. Service starts $10/month, and can be turned on and off.

Took my inreach to Montana for an Elk hunt. Had like 10 pre typed out texts I added. Sent one morning and night. It was cool to go back and look at the week on the topo map with my GPS way points.

Would recommend

I bought an inreach mini this year for the same reason.

I just saw that academy has a "spot" branded gps messenger currently on sale for $100. If their reviews aren't good (I don't know), don't skimp on your lifeline and pay the difference for the inreach mini.

I got my brother the Garmin mini because he could write a text if he had to. It's only one letter at a time but it seemed worth it. It was 275 or so so still not that expensive

That way if it's "got two flats or broke down and need a tow" he can still send it.

You can connect via Bluetooth to your phone and compose messages on it instead of the device.

Anybody have experience with Zoleo? Apparently newer to the market but better reviews than the inreach and cheaper

My wife and I each have inReach Minis that we carry when trail running in the mountains out of cell coverage.

we can interact with it via our Fenix watches and iPhones, but most of the time we just use it for tracking and ETAs. They have monthly and one-off plans.

Bob Sympkins said:

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Anybody have experience with Zoleo? Apparently newer to the market but better reviews than the inreach and cheaper

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No experience, but be careful with new to the market products with glowing reviews. Could be crap that's buying fake reviews.

Spot has a good reputation in the ADV/dual sport motorcycle community.

I have one that I bought from Outfitter Satellite. We rented phones when we started going on fishing trips where there's no cell service. As we started going traveling overseas with mission work we decided to buy one.

I'd recommend you rent one unless you're going to use it a lot. With us it was use in an emergency.

Aron Snyder did a review of that one and recommends it.

I don't necessarily buy that it's better than the garmin, but is cheaper and seems to do the same thing (which in a sense is better).

I have used an inreach on multiple trips in the back country. Works great especially bluetooth to your phone. Just need multiple battery or solar chargers.

Aggie Hunter said:

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I have used an inreach on multiple trips in the back country. Works great especially bluetooth to your phone. Just need multiple battery or solar chargers.

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Would you, or one of the others that had mentioned the Bluetooth part, please explain exactly what that means.

You download an app called Earthmate. Then you can text normally from your phone. Typing on the inreach is hard but once you Bluetooth it and use Earthmate you text normal and can see a bigger better screen for mapping on phone.

I just recommend downloading the satellite map of area you will be in before you leave.

I have a ZOLEO. Very happy with it

We use the Garmin inReach at our place in West Texas. Got stuck one time after a hard rain and was able to text a neighbor (5+ miles away) to help pull us out, There's a bit of a delay, maybe 15-20 minutes, but so worth it for that piece of mind.

I have used an inReach for years now. Never had to smash the SOS, but worth every penny for both mine and the wife's sanity when out solo in the Backcountry. I do the month to month subscription and usually turn it off for a few months during the winter.

stdeb11 said:

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I have used an inReach for years now. Never had to smash the SOS, but worth every penny for both mine and the wife's sanity when out solo in the Backcountry. I do the month to month subscription and usually turn it off for a few months during the winter.

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This. I have used one on all of my trips since 2017. They work well and are a great peace of mind for both me and my wife.


(except that one time mine accidentally sent an SOS, while it was left in camp and I was out hunting... that was quite a fiasco...)

Had the spot first and didn't like it..

The Garmin inReach is great and I concur with what others have said. It's great peace of mind when I'm out in the backcountry that I can message home that Jm good and hear from my wife that her and the kid are good.

The great thiing about Inreach is you can turn on and off as needed - small cost of insurance if you really need it. I did find I like OnX on phone as a better tool for.navigating - primarily for the bigger screen and being to have the off line maps readily available

Range Global out of Austin, Texas has been great to us. Their customer service is outstanding and you can rent a phone for whatever timeframe you want. Just make sure to communicate with them on the dates you must have it.

Stephanie in Customer service has been great to work with.

I am about to sell an Inreach. I have an old Garmin Montana and 2 year old Inreach. Upgrading to a one unit with the Garmin Montana 750i.

They work great. I am only upgrading, because it uses the Delorme Maps and I am wanting to add my OnX chips into it.

It has some scratches on the screen, but works awesome. I don't leave home without it. I was probably going to put it on ebay this week for $275-300. If someone on here wants it, I can cancel the ebay listing and ship for free.

So the Montana still allows you to text and have an SOS button?

I'd be interested in the InReach only. What would you sell that for ?
Email me lazurasdc at yahoo

AgEng06 said:

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stdeb11 said:

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I have used an inReach for years now. Never had to smash the SOS, but worth every penny for both mine and the wife's sanity when out solo in the Backcountry. I do the month to month subscription and usually turn it off for a few months during the winter.

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This. I have used one on all of my trips since 2017. They work well and are a great peace of mind for both me and my wife.


(except that one time mine accidentally sent an SOS, while it was left in camp and I was out hunting... that was quite a fiasco...)

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I think this deserves a follow up.... what happened then??

Email sent