Delorme Inreach Explorer

I've used the SE in southeast Idaho and it performed perfectly. The wife really likes the ability to communicate and track me. The web portal is a nice feature. Overall very pleased with it. I pair with my phone over Bluetooth so I don't need to take it out of my pack.
 
I just ponied up and bought the explorer model. Should be here in a week or two and I'll be able to get it all dialed in hopefully for my Idaho muley hunt! Thanks for the advice guys
 
FWIW, there is one of these in the bargain cave of my local Cabela's. As tempted as I am to pick it up for myself, I just unloaded my SE as I wouldn't need it for several months so it doesn't make sense to buy this one just to put it in a drawer. With that said, if someone is interested, I would be willing to facilitate the purchase and shipping of this unit but the buyer would need to cover my costs for sales tax and shipping. It is currently priced at $293 and I believe there may be an additional 15%-20% off if not more since it has been there a while.
 
The one we have used all year has been great... I like not having to make a phone call to check in or say hello. The messages have sent quick and with the IPhone App Earthmate, you can text from your phone.

These things kick ass...
 
I have the old Delorme model that requires a cell phone to send text messages other than the pre-recorded type messages. It has worked well, but sometimes in the thick timber, canyons, and fog of North Idaho, it can take 20-30 min for a message to go out. At these times though, my hunting buddy's Rhino doesn't work too well either.

My Garmin Oregon always seems to get a good satellite lock fairly quickly and I have come to rely on it, not only for navigation at night, but also for accurately pinpointing spots across a canyon...like exactly where a bull is bugling from since I can take a bearing and estimate elevation from my current position with the dedicated Garmin GPS. With the new Delorme/Cell phone setups, can this be done?
 
I've got one. I carry the extra weight just for comms with the wife and the SOS. I still navigate off maps and GPS, but the little extra weight is awesome when I want to text an update or a simple "Goodnight" home. And the SOS is a warm fuzzy too. Never had to use that, but the messaging works well in deep basins for me and they go pretty quickly. I'm also really impressed with battery life. It lasts for days.
 
I don't think the Explorer can do topo mapping at this point. That is the one major issue it still has that keeps it from completely replacing a stand alone GPS like a Garmin. You can do some mapping with it paired with your smart phone and it can do waypoints and some minimal GPS functions on the device itself. This is why I sold my SE and have so far passed on the Explorer they have in my Cabela's bargain cave as mentioned above. I am hoping that they will come out with a new model before next year with much better GPS capabilities.
 
colonel00 said:
FWIW, there is one of these in the bargain cave of my local Cabela's. As tempted as I am to pick it up for myself, I just unloaded my SE as I wouldn't need it for several months so it doesn't make sense to buy this one just to put it in a drawer. With that said, if someone is interested, I would be willing to facilitate the purchase and shipping of this unit but the buyer would need to cover my costs for sales tax and shipping. It is currently priced at $293 and I believe there may be an additional 15%-20% off if not more since it has been there a while.
Click to expand...

Pretty cool of you to offer to do this...just wanted to point that out.
 
I've used the SE for about 6 months and have been generally pleased with it's performance, with 2 exceptions. Recently when I was in the middle of nowhere on a high mountain in Nevada it wouldn't turn on. I knew it was charged. Since I knew my wife would freak if she didn't hear from me (I was hunting alone) I had to hike out and drive almost 2 hours to a place I had a regular cell signal. Delorme's technical service guy then told me how to do a reset, which instantly fixed the problem. Supposedly that little technique is now printed on the back of the newer units. That really cost me. Second problem, and this resulted in the need to have them send me a replacement unit, was that my right directional pad button went out on me almost completely, which is super frustrating since it takes long enough to compose a text on the darn thing anyway. Supposedly they just shipped my replacement. Assuming I get it, and don't have the same button problem again, I'll be satisfied with both the unit and customer service. It has always worked for me, even when I'm deep in some nasty canyon.
 
jrice said:
I've used the SE for about 6 months and have been generally pleased with it's performance, with 2 exceptions. Recently when I was in the middle of nowhere on a high mountain in Nevada it wouldn't turn on. I knew it was charged. Since I knew my wife would freak if she didn't hear from me (I was hunting alone) I had to hike out and drive almost 2 hours to a place I had a regular cell signal. Delorme's technical service guy then told me how to do a reset, which instantly fixed the problem. Supposedly that little technique is now printed on the back of the newer units. That really cost me. Second problem, and this resulted in the need to have them send me a replacement unit, was that my right directional pad button went out on me almost completely, which is super frustrating since it takes long enough to compose a text on the darn thing anyway. Supposedly they just shipped my replacement. Assuming I get it, and don't have the same button problem again, I'll be satisfied with both the unit and customer service. It has always worked for me, even when I'm deep in some nasty canyon.
Click to expand...

I had a similar scenario happen on mine this year in CO, my left directional button started to not work on mine- the left directional is key since you need to hit the left arrow button to unlock the screen. I returned my unit to Cabelas and will wait for some of these glitches to be resolved before I purchase another unit. Other than the left arrow button not working, the unit worked great and I was happy with it.
 
Well after carrying mine for the last six months I find the Delorme the most heavy, useless, expensive piece of valuable equipment I own that I will happily carry. While I have yet to have problems with mine I still hear iTs little bleep indicating a key was depressed unintentionally. I wish there was a key shield or something but it's not the end of the world. Hunting season for the Great White Deep just started and I have until June to fill my unlimited tag. That little Delorme brick will be happily packed on every twilight skin, weekend trip or weeklong backcountry pursuit. Money well spent every month for me
 
sab said:
I'm waiting until a firmware update allows it to display coordinates in UTM, both NAD27 and NAD83. Right now, it will only display lat/lon in WGS84, which is very cumbersome when working with USGS quads. I spoke with Chip Noble, from Delorme, and UTM is in the list of updates, but he couldn't predict when it'll get released. Until then, I'll wait...

Regards,
Scott
Click to expand...

So now its Aug of 2015. Does the explorer now have the UTM option?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Jalliston
inReach Upgrade Program
Replies
3
Views
516
feanor
feanor
C
WTS Garmin Inreach Explorer +
Replies
3
Views
174
Colby3
C
homebru.trout
  • Locked
Sold Garmin InReach Explorer+
Replies
1
Views
145
homebru.trout
homebru.trout
bojangles808
inreach explorer + not sending texts?
Replies
4
Views
159
bojangles808
bojangles808
D
  • Locked
Sold Garmin Inreach Explorer +
Replies
2
Views
174
Banjo91
B

Latest posts

Featured Video

Latest Articles

Back
Top