A fresh comparison of Garmin Inreach vs Zoleo???

[kylerdilley]

I’m considering purchasing a satellite communicator. I plan on using it on a week long archery elk hunt in September, and more during deer and grouse hunts here in Wisconsin. I’ve never really considered one for hunting northern WI, but it makes perfect sense in a lot of the areas that I chase ol’ ruffy.

I’ve looked at the Garmin Inreach, but keep going back to the Zoleo based on initial cost, monthly cost, and functionality. I understand the Inreach is capable of composing messages without being linked to a cell phone app, but I really don’t foresee being without my phone whenever I’m hunting. And typing a message on an Inreach sounds like a major PIA.

I’ve read copious amounts of threads on here and watched countless YouTube videos comparing the two devices. I guess I’m just looking for some fresh perspective before I pull the trigger. Some of the older threads I read knocked the Zoleo for not having a location tracking function, but they have since added that feature.

Talk to me goose!

 

[archp625]

My brother and I did a side by side comparison of the inreach mini and the zoleo last spring in Northern Idaho. We found that the Zoleo's battery last longer and sent messages way faster. This may have been because of where we were at but I doubt it. As far as messages received its hard to tell because we weren't getting the same message. The Zoleo has a cheaper plan as well. The only plus I see in the inreach mini is its 2 oz. lighter and a smaller if you are counting oz.

With all this said. Both were solid.

 

[Peregrine1]

No experience with Zoleo but reading many reviews hasn’t yet dissuaded me from sticking with my trusty Inreach explorer+. it’s not without its downsides, but for me it’s the best available. I’m a complete ounce-counter, but I chose the inreach explorer over the mini for battery life and ability to text apart from phone (though I hear the mini 2 maybe better addressed those issues?). Yes, it’s annoying to text on, but safety and quick check-in messages are my only objectives with this. Backcountry risk mitigation hinges on many layers of backup plans and eliminating the need for phone altogether is one of the best ways for me to achieve that when venturing off into areas of spotty or nonexistent cell coverage and hazardous terrain where I could become immobilized and need help. There’s been too many times I’ve broken or lost my phone or had the battery die on me. I’ve had this all over western states and have never had a text take more than about 10 minutes to send or receive. It stays powered off in my pack throughout the day and when I want to send or receive a few hours of the day, I can power up and it goes into a battery conservation a mode...I can get many days of battery life out of it like that.


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[Mikedlaw]

My brother and I did a side by side comparison of the inreach mini and the zoleo last spring in Northern Idaho. We found that the Zoleo's battery last longer and sent messages way faster. This may have been because of where we were at but I doubt it. As far as messages received its hard to tell because we weren't getting the same message. The Zoleo has a cheaper plan as well. The only plus I see in the inreach mini is its 2 oz. lighter and a smaller if you are counting oz.

With all this said. Both were solid.

Zoleo has a cheaper plan than 14.95 a month or 11.95 a month for an annual plan?

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[CoStick]

Garmin is great, use it year round on basic plan, easy to switch over to wife’s phone when she does a girls back country trip. I take it MTB and use it on my scuba trips. Extremely reliable and syncs with phone, watch, and dive computer.

 

[Voyageur]

No experience with Zoleo but reading many reviews hasn’t yet dissuaded me from sticking with my trusty Inreach explorer+. it’s not without its downsides, but for me it’s the best available. I’m a complete ounce-counter, but I chose the inreach explorer over the mini for battery life and ability to text apart from phone (though I hear the mini 2 maybe better addressed those issues?). Yes, it’s annoying to text on, but safety and quick check-in messages are my only objectives with this. Backcountry risk mitigation hinges on many layers of backup plans and eliminating the need for phone altogether is one of the best ways for me to achieve that when venturing off into areas of spotty or nonexistent cell coverage and hazardous terrain where I could become immobilized and need help. There’s been too many times I’ve broken or lost my phone or had the battery die on me. I’ve had this all over western states and have never had a text take more than about 10 minutes to send or receive. It stays powered off in my pack throughout the day and when I want to send or receive a few hours of the day, I can power up and it goes into a battery conservation a mode...I can get many days of battery life out of it like that.


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This is basically exactly what I would say.

 

[Jordan Budd]

I've had a little experience with the Zoleo, mostly on the receiving end and this year my partner is swapping from the zoleo to the inreach because of it. Our issues with the zoleo:
1. Lea wouldn't receive messages that I had sent to her from my phone AND I wouldn't receive some messages she had sent back to me. That was a pretty consistent issue.
2. Lea fell in a river and fried her phone. And had no way of checking in.

I chatted with Zoleo at one point about doing a head to head review for the site but once I asked about the troubles we'd had and if there was any trouble shooting we could try, they just quit talking to me. So that's a ding.

The inReach isn't perfect but they're getting better I think. Messages coming in and out seem to be jumbled out of order sometimes if it's a long message. A few times we had them right next to each other it seemed like the Zoleo would say the message was sent faster than the Garmin, but some of the Zoleo messages didn't ever deliver to my phone.

In my opinion it all has to do with how much you are depending on it. I've had 4 different models of the inReach to date, the OG, mini, explorer + and now the 66i and I've personally never experienced a message not be sent unless my unit told me it didn't send. I'm in the field a lot and for long periods of time, so to me the extra cost is worth it for the reliability and redundancy. I can see a world though that if I didn't plan on doing long trips and/or being a long way from and without service and wasn't relying on it as much, then the cheaper option would appeal to me.

 

[kylerdilley]

Anyone know if Zoleo is releasing a new model before this fall? Probably doubtful since they just released in 2020?

 

[sneaky]

I've had a little experience with the Zoleo, mostly on the receiving end and this year my partner is swapping from the zoleo to the inreach because of it. Our issues with the zoleo:
1. Lea wouldn't receive messages that I had sent to her from my phone AND I wouldn't receive some messages she had sent back to me. That was a pretty consistent issue.
2. Lea fell in a river and fried her phone. And had no way of checking in.

I chatted with Zoleo at one point about doing a head to head review for the site but once I asked about the troubles we'd had and if there was any trouble shooting we could try, they just quit talking to me. So that's a ding.

The inReach isn't perfect but they're getting better I think. Messages coming in and out seem to be jumbled out of order sometimes if it's a long message. A few times we had them right next to each other it seemed like the Zoleo would say the message was sent faster than the Garmin, but some of the Zoleo messages didn't ever deliver to my phone.

In my opinion it all has to do with how much you are depending on it. I've had 4 different models of the inReach to date, the OG, mini, explorer + and now the 66i and I've personally never experienced a message not be sent unless my unit told me it didn't send. I'm in the field a lot and for long periods of time, so to me the extra cost is worth it for the reliability and redundancy. I can see a world though that if I didn't plan on doing long trips and/or being a long way from and without service and wasn't relying on it as much, then the cheaper option would appeal to me.

How you like the 66i?

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[Jordan Budd]

How you like the 66i?

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I really like it. I probably don't take advantage of the maps like I should but what I've used has been really good, no complaints.

 

[BRTreedogs]

I've had a little experience with the Zoleo, mostly on the receiving end and this year my partner is swapping from the zoleo to the inreach because of it. Our issues with the zoleo:
1. Lea wouldn't receive messages that I had sent to her from my phone AND I wouldn't receive some messages she had sent back to me. That was a pretty consistent issue.
2. Lea fell in a river and fried her phone. And had no way of checking in.

I chatted with Zoleo at one point about doing a head to head review for the site but once I asked about the troubles we'd had and if there was any trouble shooting we could try, they just quit talking to me. So that's a ding.

The inReach isn't perfect but they're getting better I think. Messages coming in and out seem to be jumbled out of order sometimes if it's a long message. A few times we had them right next to each other it seemed like the Zoleo would say the message was sent faster than the Garmin, but some of the Zoleo messages didn't ever deliver to my phone.

In my opinion it all has to do with how much you are depending on it. I've had 4 different models of the inReach to date, the OG, mini, explorer + and now the 66i and I've personally never experienced a message not be sent unless my unit told me it didn't send. I'm in the field a lot and for long periods of time, so to me the extra cost is worth it for the reliability and redundancy. I can see a world though that if I didn't plan on doing long trips and/or being a long way from and without service and wasn't relying on it as much, then the cheaper option would appeal to me.

Zoleo just ghosting out makes the decision easy for me.

 

[walleyewrangler]

I've had a little experience with the Zoleo, mostly on the receiving end and this year my partner is swapping from the zoleo to the inreach because of it. Our issues with the zoleo:
1. Lea wouldn't receive messages that I had sent to her from my phone AND I wouldn't receive some messages she had sent back to me. That was a pretty consistent issue.
2. Lea fell in a river and fried her phone. And had no way of checking in.

I chatted with Zoleo at one point about doing a head to head review for the site but once I asked about the troubles we'd had and if there was any trouble shooting we could try, they just quit talking to me. So that's a ding.

The inReach isn't perfect but they're getting better I think. Messages coming in and out seem to be jumbled out of order sometimes if it's a long message. A few times we had them right next to each other it seemed like the Zoleo would say the message was sent faster than the Garmin, but some of the Zoleo messages didn't ever deliver to my phone.

In my opinion it all has to do with how much you are depending on it. I've had 4 different models of the inReach to date, the OG, mini, explorer + and now the 66i and I've personally never experienced a message not be sent unless my unit told me it didn't send. I'm in the field a lot and for long periods of time, so to me the extra cost is worth it for the reliability and redundancy. I can see a world though that if I didn't plan on doing long trips and/or being a long way from and without service and wasn't relying on it as much, then the cheaper option would appeal to me.

What do you mean she had no way of checking i ? Zoleo has a check in feature from just the device, was that not working also?

 

[MtnMuley]

I've had the exact opposite experience with the inReach's. From them not charging to not receiving messages to receiving messages over a day later. The majority of our issues have been with the 66i's. I've yet to have an issue with the Zoleo's and have texted back and forth several times like you'd expect in 4G service.

 

[BRTreedogs]

What do you mean she had no way of checking i ? Zoleo has a check in feature from just the device, was that not working also?

The check in feature was only going to who it was setup for prior to the trip.
Once the phone fried she couldn't communicate with others in her group.

 

[Gone4Days]

I have a Zoleo and have nothing but good experiences with it. Can’t go wrong with either, but I will say I seem to get more reliable/faster transmissions with my Zoleo than my previous Garmin.

 

[Jordan Budd]

What do you mean she had no way of checking i ? Zoleo has a check in feature from just the device, was that not working also?

Zoleo only lets you appoint 1 contact as your check in. So, she had no way of checking in with anyone other than that 1 contact.

 

[1javelin]

Thanks for the info. I'm still on the fence on this purchase as well, but its about time to make the decision!

1

 

[manitou1]

Since last fall and on more recent scouting trips, my Zoleo is lerforming miserably. Problems: Disconnecting from my phone, not tracking, not sending my location updates, and shutting off. At my age, it is kind of unnerving when I am solo and miles from the truck too look at the zoleo performance and realize it has not sent location updates or tracked for the last three miles.

For the $41 a month I pay I expect better. I purchased the unit as a life safety measure since I hunt alone a lot and am in my sixties. What good is a system if it only works intermittantly (rhetorical)?
I should not have to babysit a unit. Should be able to turn it on and go!