How many inReach Units are needed for a group of hunters?

[Jethro]

2 if you are always going to be divided into 2 hunting groups all the time. Me personally, I do not want to be with another guy or 2 the whole trip. Group attack is great if you're in them. If your not in elk and in search mode, a group of 2 or 3 gets old real quick. At least for me.

Our group is 4, and we each have our own inreach. We're together, but usually hunting alone. We all make the occasional text home, some more than others. We use them a lot for communication within the group. It is nice to be able to change plans and be able to let everybody know. Of course its nice to ask the others for help, with an elk or otherwise. Sometimes is just fun to check in when things are slow.

 

[cnelk]

If all of your group will get a satellite comm device, what will you do with the rest of the year? Turn off the subscription and put the units in a drawer until next time?

I use mine all the time. Its always in my truck.
I frequently travel a canyon for 70 miles that has no cell signal. I bring it when I snowmobile into the backcountry. I bring it when I go scouting. I never suspend my subscription.

For what the OP is wanting to do, seems like a lot of $$$ for a week in the mtns to me

 

[LFC911]

Not that I've tried this but I'm guessing the "group" inReach will only work with one of the group members phones/app. So if hunter A has the subscription, everyone has to use his/her phone to check in with the fam back home. If hunter B bombs off the ridge (out of cell service) into a canyon, he/she can't use it to contact the group as they don't have the subscription. Might want to verify as this is my assumption.

 

[Marble]

Yeah, that's why I don't want to go overboard with it. They would mostly be for sending an evening update to the families back home for peace of mind.

What would decide that for me is the cell service in the area I'm at.

I have had a few really good injuries hunting, and a few closer calls with deadly consequences. So I have an inreach to keep in touch with my family and my employees if needed. As well as the emergency aspect of it. My dad is 74 and I want him to be able to get the help he needs assistance.

Sending messages from Inreach to Inreach can sometimes be delayed by a few hours. Not sure why. But it makes for crappy communications between groups. In larger groups, a good radio seems to work better.

The best way to go is the garmins. But they are pricey. I've had pretty good luck with some radios that were in the $40/50 range.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[Marble]

Yeah, that's why I don't want to go overboard with it. They would mostly be for sending an evening update to the families back home for peace of mind.

If this is your main reasoning, it works really well. I hunt solo out of state quite a bit. Between my 4 daughters, wife, mom, ex-wife, and hunting partner, it's worth it.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[packer58]

I purchased and used the Inreach Mini for the first time this last year, it worked flawlessly for it's intended purpose. I do a fair amount of solo predator hunting in N/W Nevada and can get a long ways from my camp in my SXS in some serious cold weather, if I were to break down 20 miles from camp it could / would get mighty uncomfortable. Seems like i'm always farthest from camp just before dark. Check in messages are nice to let people know your still good.
In your case, I would just purchase one unit for check ins and leave it at that, get your crew some good radios for communication on the mountain.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Not that I've tried this but I'm guessing the "group" inReach will only work with one of the group members phones/app. So if hunter A has the subscription, everyone has to use his/her phone to check in with the fam back home. If hunter B bombs off the ridge (out of cell service) into a canyon, he/she can't use it to contact the group as they don't have the subscription. Might want to verify as this is my assumption.

Ease of use and overall functionality is better if the inReach is Bluetooth-paired to a phone and the phone is used as the interface, but you can use an inReach as a standalone device without a phone. The subscription is tied to the inReach (not the phone), so a single inReach could be passed around between hunters and either used as a standalone device or re-paired to someone else's phone.

 

[LongWayAround]

I have one. I almost never turn it on but always bring it with me. I have it in case shit really goes sideways, not for checking in every day and night.

You and your families will be just fine, it's a week and you are not going to the moon.

 

[Matt5266]

I would say just 1, I dont own one but my buddy does. It is only carried for emergencies. Get a couple cheap sets of walkie talkies if it makes you feel better to communicate with the other group, or be a man and make smoke signals

 

[Braaap]

Not necessary but sure is nice if everyone in the group has their own. It’s a pretty minor expense for what you get in my opinion. But I also used mine year round, not just during hunting season. We spend a lot of time year round outside of cell service.

 

[406life]

What do you like about the Zoleo vs inreach? I’m thinking about getting one or the other. I’m sure as soon as I buy one, some cell provider will come out with satellite messaging!

There's a few reasons.
1. I ran an InReach for several seasons, with a few different phones and it was always buggy. This made me loose confidence in it.
2. Zoleo gives you a dedicate SMS number. If you want someone to contact you, they can just text it like any other cell. There's no website or weird email to deal with like InReach.
3. The app works seamlessly across cell, wifi, and sattelite. If you turn your Zoleo off but have cell service, the app keeps syncing so you can keep getting messages.
4. About the only thing InReach Mini's have over the Zoleo is their screen. But that's really just a slight margin and I except Gen 2 Zoleo to have one.
5. You can find Zoleos for cheaper than Minis and the service plans are roughly the same.

I spend a lot of time out of cell service and carry this with me almost daily. It's well worth it.

 

[406life]

I would also add to the conversation, especially for anyone travelling a distance to get to their hunt, sat coms are cheap insurance if anything goes wrong. If you watch any survival or missing shows, you just think "that guy would be fine if he just had one." It's not a cure for stupid thinking, but it sure is reassuring for emergency situations.

 

[Kurts86]

For 5-6 guys I would bring 3 units. My experience is the 2 guys can run with one unit and once a party jumps to 3 a 2nd unit is needed because you are likely to split up. I would guess that happens again past 4, which is the biggest group I’ve hunted with.

Who ever has the neediest significant other gets to run the device in a given pair.

 

[bsheisey]

Thanks for everyone's input! It seems like 2 to 3 units would be plenty for our group. I'm pretty sure we're only going to have 2 tags for our group (trying to be realistic about our chances), so the extra guys with the two hunters probably won't be straying too far from the guys with the tags. Taking some walkie talkies along sounds like it could be useful for communication within the group during the hunt.

 

[Steve O]

I don’t really want to be without my own device. Never know when you would be separated. Good for communicating with each other in areas without service as well. On Kodiak when I’m with a partner we always check in with each other a couple times a day.

 

[Throwin Darts]

if you have a lover you'll be texting from the hill you definitely don't want to share that device with another dude.

Just group text all the wives the same message and sit back and see where it goes.

 

[Loo.wii]

We have a group of 5 or 6 guys from PA planning an early season Colorado Elk hunt, and I was wondering how many inReach units we should consider getting for the hunt. We will likely split into two groups to hunt, so I'm assuming two units would be the minimum, but I didn't know if we should consider getting more than that as extra insurance. Thanks for the advice!

Do a hand full of inreach devices paired with radios

 

[Laramie]

Have never had one and have no plans for one in the future. Sure there is a little risk involved with being out of instant communication but that is half the reason a guy is going to the wilderness imo. I wish all the damn technology could be tossed. Without inreach and gps, the mountains would be a heck of a lot less crowded.

 

[Boone-In-Wall]

In our group, each person has an InReach, but it could be done with less. Two years ago there were 4 in our group and we hunted in pairs. It allowed us to communicate back and forth between pairs. I received a text from my buddy that a group of MD were headed our way. I was able to harvest one of the bucks. Granted, I would have eventually seen them, but the heads up was nice.

 

[LuvsFixedBlades]

We have a group of 5 or 6 guys from PA planning an early season Colorado Elk hunt, and I was wondering how many inReach units we should consider getting for the hunt. We will likely split into two groups to hunt, so I'm assuming two units would be the minimum, but I didn't know if we should consider getting more than that as extra insurance. Thanks for the advice!

Just rent a couple for your trip. 1 for each group. If you aren't going to use it in the future, why buy them and pay for the subscription?

I've had one since they came out and leave the subscription active. It's always in my pack. Leaving it in camp like someone else mentioned defeats the purpose. The primary function I use it for is safety. I spend a boatload of time in the backcountry, year round and often in rugged terrain alone.