Garmin releases the Messenger

[Dryfirepete]

Here it is. Due to the complete lack of mounting options for this new device, I made my own. I'm not using my exo lid during my hunt, so I can't put it in the small zip pocket on top. I'd like easier access anyway.

My older boy who kinda likes sewing has been sick, so I couldn't get him to sew a pouch for me. My wife is helping me make some stream crossing gaiters to keep my feet dry, so I took it upon myself to rig this up.

Free retractable clipping lanyard from work, painted to remove the plastic chrome shine.

Self stick Velcro wrap on the shoulder strap.

Adhesive Velcro on the tracker bottom.

Mounted on the shoulder to orient straight up, mostly. I think it will work well. I wasn't psyched about putting super adhesive on the back of the tracker, but I can probably get it off with something if need be.

View attachment 459923View attachment 459924View attachment 459925


After playing with it for a few days, I think it will be light-years ahead of my SpotX.

The messenger app seems to function perfectly. I haven't encountered any bugs.

Messages seem to send very quickly (in the city). One gripe I have is that there doesn't seem to be a a quick confirmation on the tracker screen that a message has successfully sent. Unless, it is the up/down arrows in the corner. That disappear. Either this is for the message check, which is does any time you send a message, or you can do it manually, or it is for that and the message sent confirmation. But when looking at a sent message details screen, the time sent seems to be before the arrows disappear on the main screen. Anyway, this is probably something I'll figure out because the manual does not have much detail on all of the functionality.

There is no mapping or navigation capabilities with this tracker. It does have the trackback feature, but I believe it is only a compass and distance icon on the tracker screen. I'm not sure if it shows up in the app. I haven't played with the trackback feature much at all.

The tracker screen and button functions are easy to use. Yes it would be a pain to send messages from it, but with 20 possible pre-entered quick texts it wouldn't be to bad.

There is a quick menu using the OK button on the tracker. You can send a check in, start tracking, do an message incoming check, and view coordinates from this quick menu.
With 4 clicks of the OK button, you can send a check in.

Changing settings on the tracker is straightforward and quick.

You can change all settings on the tracker from the app. Add contacts. Initiate sos. Message, weather, start tracking. There's a few different options for who/where to share your tracks with on the app.

Updating the software (and firmware too I'm pretty sure) is done with a software update either through Garmin explore or the app. It's very easy on the app and fairly quick.

I plan to only have the Bluetooth on the tracker and my phone turned on when I want to send a message other than a check in, to save battery life. I'll likely have it set to 30min tracking and send 3ish check-ins a day and maybe a couple of messages. I'll be in a mix of forest and open terrain in the mountains, around 10-11k feet, and likely not in a tight canyon where the walls prohibit signal much. Hopefully, I'll get through 10 days without charging.

Thanks for the review and the idea with the velcro/lanyard mount! I guess I'm going to steal your mounting idea for my inreach.

 

[HighUintas]

Well, I pulled the plug a day early on hunting, so this is for an 8 day trip.

-Battery is currently at 63% starting at full charge at the beginning of the trip. No charge during.
- Total messages sent and received - 71
- Messages sent - roughly 35
- Check ins sent - about 16
- Tracking Interval - 30 min
- Tracking Usage, turned on for about 14 hrs per day, off at night. So it was probably 112 total hours of tracking.
- Bluetooth connection to phone - I used this for all messages I sent. Not for check ins. If sending a few with my wife in th evenning and waiting for a reply, I'd leave it on for an hourish. Otherwise, I had the BT on the device turned off.
- Terrain - mix of high altitude wide open mountains and high altitude dense tree cover. It was a pretty good mix, maybe 50/50.
Weather - lows overnight of 15-20F and highs during the day of 55-60. Generally clear skies with spotty clouds the first 5 days. The device was stored in ambient the whole time rarely did I put it in a pocket in my pants and that was to keep it in Bluetooth range of my phone while going to filter water at camp in the evening.
- Time to send messages - it seemed to always send within a few minutes, even I'm the woods. At least, the "message sent" time was always within a few minutes. The message check function it automatically does when sending a message or during the tracking point interval seemed to take a little longer in the woods or in my tent, but never 10 minutes. Generally 5-7 minutes at most.
-Spot X communication - I have a spot X that my buddy used. I sent him a message that he received and then sent a reply back. In about 45 minutes. Although, the first message I attempted to send him when we were in town never seemed to go through. It had the location share option turned on and I thought maybe that the type of information being sent wasn't compatible with spot X, but when I sent that I believe he had it in his house trying to receive it and it he message may have expired before he got into the mountains and used it. The second test that worked had the location sharing off. So, you may want to test this before relying on communication with a spotx user with your messenger.
- messaging on device. I sent a couple of messages with the device and yes, it sucked. But, I wouldn't hesitate to send a couple messages a day if my phone broke. The buttons on the device are a little stiff, which I think is probably a combo of them being small with a sturdy rubber cover. This is annoying for messaging, but otherwise just something I noticed and wasn't much of a bother.
- trackback feature - I forgot to use it.
- weather forecast - forgot to use it.

If the only thing different about the mini2 is the screen, the onscreen compass, and the small topo map you get with the trackback feature, I'm a huge pass on that device due to much less battery life and being more expensive.

Garmin's estimate for battery life is up to 23 days for a message or point sent every 30 minutes in moderate tree cover. I would say I was in moderate tree cover overall; a mix of wide open skies and heavy trees.

My usage changed over the 8 days. The first 4.5 days I only sent a couple messages a day and the battery was at 89% after those 4.5 days. After I started sending a lot more messages the last few days and also left the Bluetooth on the device (but not phone) on for several hours by forgetting to turn it off, then it started dropping faster. So, I believe that if you're only going to send a couple messages a day, a few checkins a day, and have it on 30mim tracking, you'd still be above 75% after 8 days.

Review of my homemade mounting device: the Velcro on the back in of the tracker stuck just fine. No no issues with the adhesive failing. The Velcro double side strap on the shoulder strap of my pack stayed out where I wanted it. The bond between the two velcros seemed to be plenty adequate. I would sometimes knock it off when taking my pack off, but it held plenty well hiking around, tossing my pack on the ground, and raking the top of it through brush when stalking. It wasn't so well bonded that it was annoyingly loud to remove in quiet woods, which I often find the case with Velcro. The reason is due to the shape of the back of the tracker (a little concave rectangle area) and the shape and width of the shoulder strap Velcro (a little narrower then the Velcro on the tracker and a little narrower than the concave tracker edges). The cheapo retractable lanyard was awesome. I'm going to get a other from work for my rangefinder.




Sometimes in the thick stuff, sometimes not.

 

[mparks270]

I got it working the other day. Big thing is that you need to set the Mini 2 into pairing mode so the new "Messanger" app can pair. I was missing that step and had to RTFM.

Works pretty slick for me. I tested it out and works to send messages over WiFi or GPS as advertised. Would have been nice on my last trip where I was in and out of service often and had to keep switching between text and the Garmin app. I also noticed it gave me a weather update immediately so that was kinda cool over the "Communicator" app.

 

[hoot504]

The battery life is cool and I think group messaging could save a little $. Do most of you leave your inreach on while hunting? I have been on a couple of 14+ day hunts and never had to charge my inreach. I only turn it on a couple times a day tho to send messages and check them.

Same. It’s not on very much each day

 

[bsnedeker]

Same. It’s not on very much each day

I rarely turn mine on at all. Primary reason I have it is for sos and that button will work with the power off as long as you have battery. in the rare times I want to send a message I turn it on, send, then turn off again.

Sent from my SM-G998U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Ark6]

I rarely turn mine on at all. Primary reason I have it is for sos and that button will work with the power off as long as you have battery. in the rare times I want to send a message I turn it on, send, then turn off again.

Sent from my SM-G998U1 using Tapatalk

Did not know that! I use my 66i for gps as well as the sos function. Now I’m considering trading for both a messenger and a GPS device so both a available for use but gps doesn’t need to retain battery for sos to function (I also like buttons rather than touchscreen for my GPS).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RS3579]

Well, I pulled the plug a day early on hunting, so this is for an 8 day trip.

-Battery is currently at 63% starting at full charge at the beginning of the trip. No charge during.
- Total messages sent and received - 71
- Messages sent - roughly 35
- Check ins sent - about 16
- Tracking Interval - 30 min
- Tracking Usage, turned on for about 14 hrs per day, off at night. So it was probably 112 total hours of tracking.
- Bluetooth connection to phone - I used this for all messages I sent. Not for check ins. If sending a few with my wife in th evenning and waiting for a reply, I'd leave it on for an hourish. Otherwise, I had the BT on the device turned off.
- Terrain - mix of high altitude wide open mountains and high altitude dense tree cover. It was a pretty good mix, maybe 50/50.
Weather - lows overnight of 15-20F and highs during the day of 55-60. Generally clear skies with spotty clouds the first 5 days. The device was stored in ambient the whole time rarely did I put it in a pocket in my pants and that was to keep it in Bluetooth range of my phone while going to filter water at camp in the evening.
- Time to send messages - it seemed to always send within a few minutes, even I'm the woods. At least, the "message sent" time was always within a few minutes. The message check function it automatically does when sending a message or during the tracking point interval seemed to take a little longer in the woods or in my tent, but never 10 minutes. Generally 5-7 minutes at most.
-Spot X communication - I have a spot X that my buddy used. I sent him a message that he received and then sent a reply back. In about 45 minutes. Although, the first message I attempted to send him when we were in town never seemed to go through. It had the location share option turned on and I thought maybe that the type of information being sent wasn't compatible with spot X, but when I sent that I believe he had it in his house trying to receive it and it he message may have expired before he got into the mountains and used it. The second test that worked had the location sharing off. So, you may want to test this before relying on communication with a spotx user with your messenger.
- messaging on device. I sent a couple of messages with the device and yes, it sucked. But, I wouldn't hesitate to send a couple messages a day if my phone broke. The buttons on the device are a little stiff, which I think is probably a combo of them being small with a sturdy rubber cover. This is annoying for messaging, but otherwise just something I noticed and wasn't much of a bother.
- trackback feature - I forgot to use it.
- weather forecast - forgot to use it.

If the only thing different about the mini2 is the screen, the onscreen compass, and the small topo map you get with the trackback feature, I'm a huge pass on that device due to much less battery life and being more expensive.

Garmin's estimate for battery life is up to 23 days for a message or point sent every 30 minutes in moderate tree cover. I would say I was in moderate tree cover overall; a mix of wide open skies and heavy trees.

My usage changed over the 8 days. The first 4.5 days I only sent a couple messages a day and the battery was at 89% after those 4.5 days. After I started sending a lot more messages the last few days and also left the Bluetooth on the device (but not phone) on for several hours by forgetting to turn it off, then it started dropping faster. So, I believe that if you're only going to send a couple messages a day, a few checkins a day, and have it on 30mim tracking, you'd still be above 75% after 8 days.

Review of my homemade mounting device: the Velcro on the back in of the tracker stuck just fine. No no issues with the adhesive failing. The Velcro double side strap on the shoulder strap of my pack stayed out where I wanted it. The bond between the two velcros seemed to be plenty adequate. I would sometimes knock it off when taking my pack off, but it held plenty well hiking around, tossing my pack on the ground, and raking the top of it through brush when stalking. It wasn't so well bonded that it was annoyingly loud to remove in quiet woods, which I often find the case with Velcro. The reason is due to the shape of the back of the tracker (a little concave rectangle area) and the shape and width of the shoulder strap Velcro (a little narrower then the Velcro on the tracker and a little narrower than the concave tracker edges). The cheapo retractable lanyard was awesome. I'm going to get a other from work for my rangefinder.

View attachment 464024View attachment 464025


Sometimes in the thick stuff, sometimes not.
View attachment 464026View attachment 464027

Thanks for the review!

 

[rugby1382]

Thank you

 

[rugby1382]

Cool

 

[archHunter]

For those that have the messenger Garmin, do you still recommend it?

 

[HighUintas]

For those that have the messenger Garmin, do you still recommend it?

Absolutely. I love it.