satalite phones

I bought one. I do a lot of solo so i feel better having one. if you only do a few hunts a year its probably better to rent or just get a Spot. If your doing it a lot it might make better sense to buy.
 
There is a pretty good thread on here about them and I was going through this same thought process for the last few months. I will sort of summarize what I learned, my conclusion, and what I am doing. Again, I don't have half the knowledge as some of the people on here, but I think I can provide a somewhat logical answer on this.

Background
I am going hunting where I know there will be no cell service. Currently own a spot 2 (orange not the one that pairs with phone). It works great. Never had a problem with it. Just follow the instructions. Trip I am planning is for 10 days and there were concerns about two way communications.

Satellite Phone
Iridium service seems to be the one everybody prefers. It seems to have best coverage. To purchase you are looking at around $1200 min for a new phone. Service is going to be around 500 bucks annual. For me to rent one for my trip was going to run around $450 with 120 minutes of talk time.

Delorme Inreach
They have a new one that you can text from or the older one which you have to pair to phone to send messages on. Cost is $250 for old and $299 for new. $20 bucks to activate and you can do seasonal plan minimum of 4 months for $40 bucks a month. So for my trip would cost me $480

Stay with Spot 2
Subscription is $99 a year. Small, battery lasts forever. Never had it fail to send a message. Can send OK message. Can also program a customized message. Mine is usually "1st MSG= At Camp, 2nd= ELK Down 3rd=On way out" I send a regular “OK” message in the morning, around noon, and at night. Cost of device is $99. Subscription is $99. So for $200 you are good to go with auto renewal after that. You can also customize a Help Message that will go out but not call 911/coast guard/etc.... It will send to whom you want it to go to. Mine goes to my wife and a good friend (besides the one I hunt with) that says. "I am alive but can't get out on my own. Come get me. "


Decision
After thinking about it and discussing it with the wife, we chose to stay with just spot. The two way was more for her anyway and she was good just hearing from me knowing I am alive. I am comfortable with depending on SPOT if something bad happened. Now I have never had anything bad happen, nor have I had to use a help or SOS message. So my opinion may be skewed due to lack of experience. Plus my solo excursions are limited to hunting season and realistically only 1-2 weeks a year of being really isolated. But I do take the spot when we go hiking, or riding the ranger back on some trails and on road trips we take through WY. Lots of places without cell service there.

So that is my little view of the world. Hope it helps. I am sure others have their own view at it.
 
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I think Crumy's post above does a nice job of outlining the advantages and disadvantages of each. That being said, for us the sat phone is an essential piece of equiptment and well worth the money.

If seriously considering going the sat phone route, I think it really comes down to weighing out how often you would use it, how remote you hunt, and whether you need reliable two way communication.

Keep in mind that I am biased since our sat phone has saved two lives (mine when I broke my leg on kodiak, and a friends when he had a heart attack at a remote cabin accessible only by snowmachine), but we don't go anywhere outside cell range here without one. The price is definetely not trivial, but in the event of a life threatening emergency the cost ends up being completely worth it. We have used a spot for tracking purposes on some of our trips, and found there were entire days when the signal couldn't get out, and we had no idea until we finished the trip--maybe an issue with AK terrain, but still has me questioning whether I could depend on the spot in an emergency. When I had my accident on Kodiak, it took multiple phone calls and a lot of convincing to get the state troopers to dispatch the coast guard. I am not certain they would have responded to an emergency signal, and we would not have known whether help was coming (or not).

From a non emergency perspective, we also do a fair number of fly out hunts, and the satellite phone is essential in communicating with the flight service about changes in scheduled drop off/pick up/ bad weather etc. When Luke backpacks/packrafts or hunts alone, it gives me a lot of piece of mind to have a quick check in call at night to know he is ok, and how/if his planned route has changed.

Probably not essential for every hunter or every situation, but for us the sat phone had been a must have, and is well worth the expense.
 
sounds like great info.... i have debated over both. have mixed feelings about the spot due to its working reliability. the sat phones seem to be great. the cost is spendy but piece of mind can be priceless.... such as having a video camera or other gadgets to fill time keeping busy on solo hunts to help the down time or lull in ones day. thanx for the response.
 
Always rented a sat phone in the past for remote trips but ended up buying one earlier this year. No hassle of renting availability and then having to return it. Many places that are even off the road systems here in AK may have little or no cell service. If you go really remote then forget about cell service at all. Knowing i can physically speak to someone in the event of an emergency and relay important information is important and really outweighs the initial cost of the phone for me.
 
Rented a Sat phone for Nevada hunt last year. I rented from Mobal and had a very nice, slick experience. There are no included minutes but for me it only took a few minutes every other day to check in or to text updates. We spent less than $19 in minutes and text charges for a 6 day hunt.

http://www.mobal.com/satellite-phone-rental/
 
I've been going back/forth on this too. I've heard good/bad things about the service of a sat phone which kind of puts me off spending the money. But anything working off a satellite can have a blocked signal at some point, I guess it depends on the terrain. Another thing w/the phones is you can buy them used at decent prices then just pay for a service plan which is what I'll do if I go w/one over a Spot. Has anyone actually seen the results of a Spot working in an emergency? Meaning were local authorities/rescue actually dispatched when needed? Also can anyone recommend a place that has good rates on a plan if have your own phone. Thanks
 
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mobal.com is who i will use if i rent. i scout, hunt and spend hundreds of hours solo in the wilderness. never have cell service in any of the areas, in the end trying to make the best choices and knowing when something is not feeling right or when enough is enough is a line needed to push yet respect. i often think of my son when making these choices. with any man made device there is times of fustration due to failed function. i used trimble land survey gear for years using up to 14 satalites with 1/8 inch accuracy. knowing times when signal is weak or strong due to satalites horizon position helps. i think they would be a priceless tool in the kit with knowing the limits and respecting them i think i will rent one for my 5 day solo high alpine bear hunt. you never know, if anything could just call ma from the ridge tops at nite, or even use it to celebrate with a loved one after a successful event in the mountains. thanx again for the input......
 
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I've always thought Sat phones were the way to go. If I were is the outdoors full time, or lived in areas without cell service I would want that option without a doubt. I have a SPOT now but it's just not the best in communication. I do feel pretty comfortable in my messages going out with the confirmation light on my SPOT or at least it has worked so far for me. I've never had to use it in emergency. I think I'd be found with the SPOT but hearing a voice on the other end in an emergency would be so much better than just having a SPOT to me.

My wife does like our SPOT, peace of mind when I'm out solo in the mountains. Check in and way points on a map for her has been a comfort for her and for myself. I'm seeing that SPOT offers a Sat phone option now. http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=127

Has anyone looked into the different options on the Sat phones and what currently has the best plans, reliability, ect.... Is there a place out there that does a consumer report on it all? Not sure if I'm in the market yet to get one but it's nice to keep up on what's out there and the advancements in services and options.
 
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ive been looking hard at that new SPOT sat phone option, the only crappy thing is you can only receive incoming texts, and not send them.......at least thats how i read it. you can make a call instead of texting obviously, i just know once my wife is on the phone she will want details on how things are going, vs if i text her a quick update im good to go.
 
sk1 said:
ive been looking hard at that new SPOT sat phone option, the only crappy thing is you can only receive incoming texts, and not send them.......at least thats how i read it. you can make a call instead of texting obviously, i just know once my wife is on the phone she will want details on how things are going, vs if i text her a quick update im good to go.
Click to expand...

That's how I read it too. Texting to a Spot sat phone user both to send and receive.

The email function sends and receives but it looks like you need a computer hook up. They don't mention being able to send thru a smart phone as an option the way I read it.

An all in one would be ideal. Text, email, data transfer through computer, voicemail, GPS and all the features similar to a smart phone but just adding the sat phone option and emergency features. Looks like it's getting closer though.
 
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Looking at it from a cost to benefit perspective I think the Inreach is the best compromise. For about a third of the cost of a 9575 phone and plan you can communicate both ways just not with voice. It's on the most robust system and after the initial inreach purchase the seasonal plan is very reasonable. I looked at iridium phone plans last night and it looks like they no longer roll your annual minutes over. I would need to spend a good deal of time out of cell range to justify a phone over the inreach.
 
Daveinjax said:
Looking at it from a cost to benefit perspective I think the Inreach is the best compromise. For about a third of the cost of a 9575 phone and plan you can communicate both ways just not with voice. It's on the most robust system and after the initial inreach purchase the seasonal plan is very reasonable. I looked at iridium phone plans last night and it looks like they no longer roll your annual minutes over. I would need to spend a good deal of time out of cell range to justify a phone over the inreach.
Click to expand...

Not sure if the plans are different up here in AK (we go thru surveyors exchange) but as of last month our minutes definetely roll over...
 
I've had the Iridium 9575 out on three trips this year, and a few more last year. The phone has always worked for me though I have dropped a few calls and had to wait a minute for a satellite in deep canyons. But no real commo failures.

Given the amount of money guys spend on packs, shelters, boots, weapons and optics, a satellite communications device just seems like a logical choice. They are spendy but my wife was really happy when I finally made the decision to use some bonus money on one.
 
Becca , I knew you had that deal and I was looking for that . All the plans I Googled look the same and say they say they don't roll over. You probably have an older plan and they don't roll over on new plans. That or you just have a better plan than I found with a quick search.
 
Daveinjax, i have a iridium 9505 and a plan with explorer satellite and our minutes also roll over each year if you do it before they expire. there aren't any monthly charges and i think i remember the plan we have is 500 minutes for $750. we use the phone 4-5 times per year.
 
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