Garmin Inreach Explorer or 66i

[Elkwithastick]

I've been using the Inreach's for many years, it is a device that is on the top of my gear list, way above high tech clothing, packs or boots, I'm an older fella that primarily hunts solo in the backcountry and the Inreach has proven it's worth time and again, I use it for communication with my family, checking in, showing them where I am at all times, we've had emergencies at home I wouldn't have known about without it and also to let friends and family know I've got that bull down or whatever, also works for some lesser navigation if needed. I use my phone paired to it and texting and the basic maps are easy. For actual mapping I use my phone with Basemap and Onx which works well enough except that I have to keep the location on for them to work. Yesterday, in the backcountry bear hunting, my oldest trusty Inreach gave up the ghost, no power up, tried all the reset tricks, contacted Garmin etc, My question is for all you Garmin users is I'm trying to choose between the Inreach Explorer, or the Garmin 66i, which comes with true navigation, much better maps an SD card slot for other mapping such as Onx and so on. Anyone have experience with both, or at least the 66i? Any input would be awesome, my wife and I have an agreement, NO Inreach, no solo hunting. So you can see my situation, it's bear season haha. Thank you.

 

[fmnjr]

I'm in the market for one, too. Never owned one before. There are other threads on HT that would be good to check out.

 

[Bombguy83]

Trying to bump this thread as I have the same questions, I can’t always reliably charge my phone to keep my maps going and GPS with ONX and inReach would go a long way to calm the wife down and keep me safe out here in AK.

 

[AlaskaHunter]

I take an InReach with me all year round....and I use Gaia GPS on a smart phone for maps/navigation.

Up here in Alaska I can download maps for when there is no cell phone coverage..
ownership, wildfire perimeters, imagery, topos, etc.
Plus routes, tracks, waypoints, etc.
Gaia GPS is free and their premium version is inexpensive.
https://www.gaiagps.com/membership/

I do recharge my phone each night using an Anker Powercore charger.

 

[BrokenChicken]

I personally use InReach Mini. And just watch battery usage on my phone on multi day trips.
if i had to pick between Explorer and 66i id go with Explorer. Its battery in same settings seems to be 3x longer than rhe 66i. To me navigation is not as important as just like you i use my phone for that, But battery life is. Explorer gets my vote.

edit: both Explorer and 66 have navigation. Sure 66 has a nicer screen and more user friendly/easier navigation. But out in the backcountry are you really in need for turn by turn navigation? Explorer has topo and navigation and for my needs it would be just fine. And on multi day trips battery is most important.

 

[AlaskaHunter]

I have an old InReach Explorer, I used it every night to send my wife a preset "Back safe at camp" message.
After 2 weeks, I still had 88% battery life....

 

[Jon.Breitbach]

I had similar results with an explorer on a 21 day camp trip, 78% if I recall the % batteries life remaining. Not sure on the other model.

 

[BRI]

In my opinion, it comes down to if you want map features or not. If you want to use the GPS for navigating and mapping, the 66i is the way to go. If you don't care about the mapping, the mini is way to go. The map feature on the explorer isn't very useful. I have the 66i and battery life is good. I use in conjunction with OnX but will never rely solely on that and will always carry a GPS as a backup. So far I've been very happy with the 66i.

 

[Bombguy83]

From looking at some of the current issues being had with OnX chips on the 66i and Explorer and the fact they say outright that they aren’t supported on their website I am inclined to go with the InReach mini bundle at Costco.com and a Dark energy battery pack to run maps on the phone. Imagery is invaluable to me and the chips are state locked and I travel quite a bit. (2 state Turkey hunt coming up before I get busy with spring bear)

In other news, ADFG site still down on draw results day

 

[BRI]

If you have an older OnX chip, chances are it might not work. If you have a newer chip it likely will work. I had a chip I'd purchased two years ago and it worked just fine.

 

[Bombguy83]

If you have an older OnX chip, chances are it might not work. If you have a newer chip it likely will work. I had a chip I'd purchased two years ago and it worked just fine.

The explanation I’ve heard is disabling new models because of a royalty (probably not right term) that they wanted from OnX and got denied.

 

[chav0_12]

I’m sure you’ve made a decision on this. I personally bought the 66i, I didn’t want anything to do with the explorer, seemed like a lot of useful features were missing. This past fall my phone somehow got disconnected from it and I was still able to text and everything I needed to without my phone, I really appreciated that as I had a Mini before the 66i. I think if you intend to continue using your phone to just get the mini, cheaper, smaller, and you don’t have to worry so much about it being out. I don’t like having my phone out or even on so that’s why I went with the 66i, I have thought about getting another mini for camping/hiking with the family or shorter trips where I don’t need the Navi on the 66i.

 

[Kaiasdaddy]

I keep my solar charger hanging on a carabiner on the outside of my pack and charge while walking

 

[Kaiasdaddy]

Wish I had pulled the trigger on the mini on cyber Monday...now I have to pay full price

 

[Dan O]

Has anyone had any experience with the Montana 700i or 750i? I looked at the 700i in Kalispell yesterday. They have a large screen and a key pad on the screen. They are pricey but looks like they would be useful as a do all GPS.

 

[AlaskaHunter]

Has anyone had any experience with the Montana 700i or 750i? I looked at the 700i in Kalispell yesterday. They have a large screen and a key pad on the screen. They are pricey but looks like they would be useful as a do all GPS.

Why not simply go with GaiaGPS on any smart phone? Inexpensive and easy to use.

 

[Dan O]

Why not simply go with GaiaGPS on any smart phone? Inexpensive and easy to use.

Hi thanks for the reply. I was mainly interested in the in reach use of this product due to the size of the screen and texting ability. I have a Garmin Montana 600 currently and it is a good GPS but no texting ability. The 700i does both and the large screen makes it easier for my old eyes. Just looking for someone who may have had contact with one or a buddy that has.

 

[Seth_Schuster]

I chatted with the folks at OnX earlier today via Instagram and they told me flat out that the 66i IS NOT compatible with their chips and that the update / compatibility will need to come from the Garmin end of things.