"InReach" question

[CTELK83]

Debating getting one of these to be able to text if an emergency occurs and also check in with wife. Anyone have one? Looking for info, what they do, do they work, is there a monthly plan like cell phones? Can you "turn it on" only for hunting season?? Thx all

 

[JohnCushman]

If you search the site there's probably at least 30 threads about them.

 

[Backcountry Hunter 2]

I bought one last year and used it 2nd season - 4th season here in CO. I have the old Delorme model. Since, Delorme has been bought out by Garmin. I had no issues with mine. I really enjoyed being able to check in with the family at night when I didn't have cell service. It still had 50% battery on a five day hunt. It is a little on the pricey side, but it provides a peace of mind for the family back home. I don't think you can put a price on that.

Here is their website with plans. I have the monthly expedition plan. I only turn it on August - November. I have the expedition because I don't want to have to count messages to see if I go over. I can easily get to 20 messages a night.

https://explore.garmin.com/en-US/inreach/

 

[CTELK83]

Thank you both, that helps. Found more threads too haha

 

[Muskeez]

I have used the DeLorme InReach SE for 3 years. It's not fancy but good enough. Need to let it find a signal for a while when you first turn it on each evening but it works well , even between two mountains. I do the bare minimum plan. I believe there is a yearly fee no matter how many months you use it and then a monthly fee on top of that. I turn it on the day before I leave on a trip, then send myself or wife a text to test it. You can also send group messages and cover everyone in one text. It takes a while to type messages one letter at a time with arrows to select the letters, so my texts to the wife, kids, parents, and best huntn buds are combined in a group, something like; "saw 2 elk, none dead, back at camp, goodnite" - They can click on a link in the text that they get which will show my exact location at the time the text went out. I send them all a text with my regular cell phone before I leave that says DO NOT reply to my text messages when I am in the mountains unless I ask a question about the weather or something else. The wife has permission to send a mushy one every couple days - I can stay under the limit of 30 or 40 text messages, whatever it is doing it this way. Again, worth it to have a way to contact family if needed.

 

[NVHunter1976]

I have the InReach. Worked great for me when I was on a 9 day Elk hunt in the backcountry for sending the wife messages. I just activate it during the hunting season.

 

[KeithChapman]

Last time out my 5 year old got worried a bear got me. I was glad he could text me and find out it wasn't true.

 

[Tikka06]

I love mine. Gives you good piece of mind being out of cell range with a family at home.

 

[brockel]

My wife really appreciated mine until I lost it

 

[Tony Trietch]

Solid tool for keeping the family at home from worrying to much while you are gone. I use it all fall.

 

[npaden]

Unless you are going to be spending a lot of time texting back and forth and not hunting the $15 safety plan has always been plenty for me. The first month I used mine I did the $30 per month plan and didn't even come close to using all the messages. I use the free check in messages a couple times a day though. The paid texts are just for something out of the ordinary.

It's currently $25 a year and $15 for each month you have it activated. That has made it through the transition to Garmin. It is actually easier to activate and deactivate since Garmin took it over, just go online and change your plan settings. Don't forget or you are going to pay for another month.

It's 2 way so I never worry about anything going on at home and they don't have to worry about me.

In my experience the Irridium network that InReach uses is WAY better than the Globalstar network that SPOT uses.

 

[nuevo_eph]

I bought the mini and am impressed with it's size but not happy with the resulting battery life. It is not good for leaving on for tracking for more than a couple of days. It would be fine for frequent (5x?/day) message sending though for a week or so.

 

[CTELK83]

Dumb question... it is a GPS also right. I can use this for texts home and for navigation?

 

[YoungGun]

Dumb question... it is a GPS also right. I can use this for texts home and for navigation?

The inReach Explorer+ has preloaded topo on it, the SE+ and mini can navigate with breadcrumbs, but no onscreen topo or anything. Pretty sure they all interface with your smartphone though to show maps on that, but if your phone dies, you're SOL unless you have the Explorer+. One of these years Garmin will hopefully make the maps more comparable to their GPS line up and allow you to put a chip, like OnX, in them as well.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Just got one this year. Had used separate garmin + a Spot last few years for remote hiking. Absolutely love it. Is nice to have a text or two a day to connect with home. Has worked without a hitch. Works well with iPhone, but for hiking we actually leave phone at home and go with just this. 3 devices down to one. I got the Explorer+ to really replace the older garmin functionality. Love that rechargeable via usb, if going for a long time you can use simple USB battery extender or USB photocell and be covered for a very long trip. You can add your own waypoints and trails from the inreach software. The only thing some have pointed out as a limitation is that it doesn't take the Onx map chips. But I plan on using my iphone for that service as when watching property lines I prefer the bigger screen and faster scolling/zooming.

 

[NVHunter1976]

Dumb question... it is a GPS also right. I can use this for texts home and for navigation?

You can get InReach Explorer +......When it comes to tracking, GPS and overall view of the land you are hunting, I prefer my OnXMaps that I have installed on my Iphone. Works Great!!!

 

[CTELK83]

I have a Samsung. Assuming onx maps will work on my phone? So dumb question about that... does that work without reception? Once I get to a hunting location, I use a GPS to mark spots and get back to camp. Other than that, I dont use maps but I think it could help me take another step. I'm 50% in my archery diy state land elk hunts and am always looking for ways to improve on my success.

 

[tom338]

You can download a map to your phone, a good color one. Plus a topo map. You use your ONx just like a GPS. But you must pick the size of the map area you want and download to your phone. Then you can see it without cell reception. So its best to download the map you want while using wifi or something to download faster. I used it a little last year but was not comfortable with it so also had my Garmin 600. My buddy used ONx only. He did have some trouble with it and got a little turned around in the fog one day, so did I. I went to the Garmin and then went to where I wanted. This year they have added lots more features, waypoints for one. I know I will be using it lots more this season. Bring something to charge your phone though!!

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I have a Samsung. Assuming onx maps will work on my phone? So dumb question about that... does that work without reception? Once I get to a hunting location, I use a GPS to mark spots and get back to camp. Other than that, I dont use maps but I think it could help me take another step. I'm 50% in my archery diy state land elk hunts and am always looking for ways to improve on my success.

Yep. You can download the map of the area you are hunting with onx, then put your phone into airplane mode. Navigation, ie the blue dot will still work because your phone uses satellites to get it's location. If you pair your phone with your Garmin the dot will be more accurate.

Sorry VikingsGuy and YoungGun but I think Onx is moving away from chips in a hurry, in fact the entire industry is... I will make you a gentleman's bet of $1 that in 2 years onx will spot doing chips completely and that in 5 years no one will make a device that takes a chip, and that in 10 years there will very few standalone GPS navigation devices.

A bit different, although a great example of the trend, Joule sous vide machines require a smart phone to work, they don't have an external interface period. I would imagine that even the garmin mini's screen will be considered antiquated pretty soon and that you will just buy a little brick that corrects to satellite and/or that cell manufacturers will pick up on this need and will tweak the hardware on their phones so you can subscribe to a satellite service in addition to your cellular plan.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Sorry VikingsGuy . . . but I think Onx is moving away from chips in a hurry, in fact the entire industry is... I will make you a gentleman's bet of $1 that in 2 years onx will spot doing chips completely and that in 5 years no one will make a device that takes a chip, and that in 10 years there will very few standalone GPS navigation devices.

No worries for me, I have never bought an ONX chip (iPhone onx user) I was just trying to be thorough in my response because I know it is important to some.