Satellite communicators worth the cost?

[Mtnmilsurp]

I’ve been less than an hour from hitting the panic button on my Zoleo. 9:00 at night, 2 sons and I with 10 miles of postholing behind us in -15 F weather and unable to find the truck in the dark and dead cell phone battery (I learned they die quickly in those temperatures) we only had day hunting gear with us and had spent the day chasing an elk herd. If we hadn’t stumbled onto the road I would have hit that button at 10:00 and a lifetime of service fees would have been a bargain at that point.

 

[CCooper]

100%. Keep’s mama bear happy with a message daily- which is worth it’s weight in gold if you like to hunt as much as I do in places w/o service.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Inreach mini here…if you have a wife and kids, they are priceless.

 

[jtevanMT]

In-Reach mini is reliable for emergency or checking-in. My only complaint is it can take 20-30 minutes to send/receive a message. If using for communication between users without cell service sometimes it takes a while to send/receive messages. This has caused issues for us a couple of times when coordinating for help after a harvest.

 

[Andrew12gauge]

I’ve been less than an hour from hitting the panic button on my Zoleo. 9:00 at night, 2 sons and I with 10 miles of postholing behind us in -15 F weather and unable to find the truck in the dark and dead cell phone battery (I learned they die quickly in those temperatures) we only had day hunting gear with us and had spent the day chasing an elk herd. If we hadn’t stumbled onto the road I would have hit that button at 10:00 and a lifetime of service fees would have been a bargain at that point.

I’d be curious how that would go with no cell battery, as I understand it when you hit the SOS they attempt to communicate with you via message. I imagine a lack of response might get them moving pretty quickly


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Eastonsgrandpa]

Definitely worth the money just for the peace of mind.Before I had one I flipped my four wheeler backwards going up stuff I never should have. It landed on the back of my head. Luckily it was the seat or I would have definitely died. It then bounced down fifty yards and landed upside down. I ended up in the trauma unit that night with my thigh swollen to over twice the size and bleeding inside. The photo below is within an hour.

I had zero ability to contact anyone and was about four miles in. Once bike was on four tires, I was able to limp it off the mountain and head to my truck.

Two weeks after my leg turned septic and I ended up in surgery. I don’t know if I would have hit the button as I’m stubborn. Even drove me and the bike home 160 miles, unpacked the trailer and took a shower before heading to the hospital.

But now I’m glad I have the option if it goes south. And I now know that south happens in the blink of an eye.

Get one please. Your life is worth it and your family is as well.

 

[Traveler]

I’ve had spot gen3 for several years and does everything I need. SOS plus a few predefined custom messages. As long as it works and service is cheap I’ll keep using it. When it stops working I’ll get a two way messenger. If I had to buy one today it would be a Spot X.

 

[Thebigbaby]

I use the Garmin Mini that I turn on and off as needed. They charge a yearly fee, plus the month or so when it is in use. The older I get the more careful I am. I can text on it and pair it with my phone for communication if needed. It doesn't weigh much and I usually keep it close, but off during the day when hiking. It can last many days used that way.

^this^ for me too, though I use the full-size.

Also nice for weather and a back up GPS. Last year it was nice to be able to shoot a message to a buddy in our hunting camp, letting him know we had an elk down. I had no cell service but he did. He was able to meet up with us and help pack meat.

 

[GMann]

Bought a Zoleo before last season. Wish I would have bought it sooner. The peace of mind is worth it!

Sent from my motorola edge plus 5G UW (2022) using Tapatalk

 

[BBob]

Does anyone have Inreach Mini 2 experience over the original Inreach Mini? I have read its better but not sure if worth the upgrade. My regular Inreach sometimes takes forever to grab a signal.

Inreach Mini 1 vs 2

It's the mini 2 worth the additional cost over the 1? What's a great price for them? Any good sales? Thanks!

rokslide.com

 

[OKHunter84]

Definitely worth the money just for the peace of mind.Before I had one I flipped my four wheeler backwards going up stuff I never should have. It landed on the back of my head. Luckily it was the seat or I would have definitely died. It then bounced down fifty yards and landed upside down. I ended up in the trauma unit that night with my thigh swollen to over twice the size and bleeding inside. The photo below is within an hour.

I had zero ability to contact anyone and was about four miles in. Once bike was on four tires, I was able to limp it off the mountain and head to my truck.

Two weeks after my leg turned septic and I ended up in surgery. I don’t know if I would have hit the button as I’m stubborn. Even drove me and the bike home 160 miles, unpacked the trailer and took a shower before heading to the hospital.

But now I’m glad I have the option if it goes south. And I now know that south happens in the blink of an eye.

Get one please. Your life is worth it and your family is as well.
View attachment 567048View attachment 567049View attachment 567050

Man that's crazy. Looks like quite the wipeout!

 

[SirChooCH]

I have an inreach which I only turn on for Oct/Nov hunting so the cost isn't too bad. What is definitely worth it is the Garmin insurance coverage, it was like $25 for the year and covered a LOT of the cost if you do happen to hit that SOS button and need to be helicoptered out of the mountains. Definitely worth the splurge there for peace of mind not just having the button but help on after getting the aid too. And be able to text your wife although its like 10 mins per text to send, its better than nothing.

 

[Firestone]

I finally bought an inreach for my wifes peace of mind.I think it's worth it. I only pay for it for four months a year. So pretty cheap to

 

[OKHunter84]

I have an inreach which I only turn on for Oct/Nov hunting so the cost isn't too bad. What is definitely worth it is the Garmin insurance coverage, it was like $25 for the year and covered a LOT of the cost if you do happen to hit that SOS button and need to be helicoptered out of the mountains. Definitely worth the splurge there for peace of mind not just having the button but help on after getting the aid too. And be able to text your wife although its like 10 mins per text to send, its better than nothing.

I didn't know about the insurance. That's really good info. With the personal locator beacon, you definitely don't have that.

 

[SirChooCH]

I didn't know about the insurance. That's really good info. With the personal locator beacon, you definitely don't have that.

Search and Rescue Insurance | Garmin

www.garmin.com

It looks like they've changed the plan since I last bought it for a trip, but worth looking into.

 

[DanimalW]

If you’re just wanting it for an emergency, you can text an emergency SOS via satellites with a new iPhone. They don’t have plans for regular communications though.

 

[RS_Non-Res]

Iphone 14 has sos, not other models

 

[madcalfe]

i use a zoleo and no complaints.
I cooked my jet boat starter a hour up river on a sheep hunt.
was able to text a friend to pick up a new starter and deliver it out to me.

 

[7mm-08]

I agree with what (most) others have already said. I'm an inReach (gen 1) user and have been since they came out. I keep the subscription active all year and write it off as a business expense. When I turned 60, this was the bargaining chip I used to convince my wife that I still had communications with the outside world when I was hunting alone in the backcountry. We text nightly at a set time. Texting through the Earthmate on my android phone is pretty simple and user friendly (even for the dinosaur). Your loved ones will appreciate you getting on board with this. What I will say (before you pull the trigger on a Spot device) is that you need to research the satellite service the unit uses before you buy. I got rid of my Spot (predecessor to my inReach) device because it operated with the Globalstar satellite system, which was unreliable in many parts of the lower 48 and did not function in Alaska AT ALL. Garmin's Iridium satellite system is far more robust (and reliable) than Globalstar. inReach works anywhere in the world.

 

[dan25]

well worth it if something bad happens.