IN reach vs Zoleo

[Reloader77724]

Which is more practical? There is $150 difference here and that is a lot of $$ if not worth it.

 

[Ross]

I went with Zoleo easy to use and cheaper with a few options on plans

 

[Loughgear]

I just got back from moose hunting, buddy had zoleo and I had a inreach, in all honesty I shoulda saved couple bucks and went with the zoleo. But the upside was I wouldn’t need to take my cell to message

 

[jAKe0711]

I like my inreach explorer plus personally. Have taken it caribou hunting in Alaska and on many hikes and never had issues. Plus it has a GPS as well.
But haven't used a zoleo, so can't speak to thay.

 

[Justin.Medcalf]

I have only owned a zoleo, when I was comparing the two it came down to cost vs. function. For me I saved the money and went with a the Zoleo because I use my phone and paper topo maps for in the field. The zoleo messages fast and is way cheaper per month and overall cost. One flat fee for whatever number of messages you want a month and you can pause it for like 5 bucks a month to keep your number. If you listen to podcast at all the latest Wilderness locals talks about the two and does a pretty good job of pros and cons. Really in my opinion I dont see any negatives to the Zoleo.

 

[jAKe0711]

Thanks! I think I'll look into it because I dislike the plans that are offered

 

[Justin.Medcalf]

Thanks! I think I'll look into it because I dislike the plans that are offered

Yeah man I do the plan that gives me like 250 messages a month for 35 bucks. The only other fee involved was a 50 dollar initial fee to get a number assigned to you. That is a one time fee unlike the Garmin which has a yearly fee plus the monthly fee with way less messages given. I have never come close to my 250 a month and I use it alot. Another plus is it will automatically switch to cell service for messaging if you are in a spot and it picks up your cell carrier.

 

[wapiti208]

Just to chime in here The bivy stick might be worth a look i ran that this fall. I think it has the best plan but i can say to whether its better than the two mentioned above, at least on the getting messages out.

 

[Vandy321]

My zoleo never missed a message. Can't say the same for my inreach.

 

[gilby]

Just to chime in here The bivy stick might be worth a look i ran that this fall. I think it has the best plan but i can say to whether its better than the two mentioned above, at least on the getting messages out.

What are your thoughts on the bivy stick? Its insane for $200 and it looks like you don't have to pay a suspension fee.

 

[wapiti208]

So far I like it I hunt in the thick timber so I don’t always have a signal but just gotta move left, right, forward, back and you generally can pic up the signal. I would assume all sat operated communicators would be similar. I like for 50$ I can send unlimited messages. And no extra fees plus it locks you sat phone number. So family and buddies can save it and know who is messaging them. Was going to buy the soles but watched a couple YouTube reviews on the bivy stick and decided to give it a shot.

 

[Ross]

Had a chance to my ZoLeo from September through November all messages sent made it but some of my backcountry spots i sent messages on did take 30-45 minutes to go through others a matter of minutes….it was fun and safe being able to communicate and money well spent put it on pause till late spring and fire it back up…worked as advertised and can recommend both the charge and messaging ability.

 

[archp625]

My bother and I went to N. Idaho this past spring and ran the inreach mini and zoleo side by side. We decided he zoleo operated better and had a better battery life. Its a tad bit heavier and bigger but worth it.

 

[Clarence]

If it factors in, I believe the zoleo will send about 5 times the characters in a message.

Sent from my SM-G981V using Tapatalk

 

[Clarence]

I had to check and confirm. 1047 characters for zoleo per message.

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[GringoBling]

My group bought the Bivy Stick Satellite Communicators last year. And now they're only $200 (although they now require 4 months of service initially). I thought they worked great for texting back home and communicating with the other guys in my group. I even had a situation where I had to deal with poachers and was able to text the warden. Worth its price for that single reason alone.

Good customer service, too. They mailed me a free solar charging panel just for me asking since it was part of a Black Friday promo they ran not long after I bought mine.

It uses the iridium satellite network, just like Garmin. And there is no fee for re-activating service like a lot of the other ones.

 

[crushh87]

Bivy Stick has some weird reviews on Amazon (I know not the most reliable source). Where did y’all get yours from? Any trouble setting it up?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Millermonster]

I’ll say (new to forum) I know my inreach sometimes takes it sweet time sending messages and it’s really frustrating when trying to get someone to yours amd a partners location

 

[Carr5vols]

Zoleo fan here has not let me down.

 

[Up_A_Creek]

My Inreach mini loses bluetooth connection with my iPhone a lot.