satellite phone or in reach gps

[montee77]

headed back to Alaska this fall on a drop caribou hunt, I've used satellite phones in the past but have been looking into the Garmin in reach.
ANY THOUGHTS OR SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE GREAT.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Find out if your pilot has a preference between texting or actually conversing about things like kills, meat pickup, weather conditions, pickup times and so on. These are all things you may need to communicate about.

 

[Buck2747]

I used an iridium go on a remote hunt a few years back. Links to your cell via app and turns your cell into a sat phone. I borrowed it from a friend and not sure if they rent them or not..

 

[huntinelk]

I've had really good luck using the InReach. It is really simple to use after set up and paired to your smart phone.

 

[trophyseeker]

I switched to the inReach 2 years ago. It is simple, my pilot prefers text so he can reply when he gets home at night and is planning his next days flights, nobody wants to borrow it for a "Quick 2 minute call", and it is simple and light. I have not regretted the switch.

 

[OXN939]

Both is a good way to go, if available. I've been on several trips where the functionality of both a sat phone and satellite text messenger were useful. The satellite text messenger is probably the better way to go if you have to pick one or the other, as long as you have someone responsive on the other end.

 

[HuntHarder]

Talked to my outfitter this year and he would rather me bring an inreach. He said they have basically replaced satellite phones. I would figure out what your outfitter prefers

 

[Nick Muche]

InReach is way more practical and much more reliable these days. You can get your point across in an uninterrupted text much easier than a possibly very broken up sat phone call. Just my thoughts...

 

[mooster]

I’ve had both sat phone and various rescue devices. InReach seems the best value, size, and performance solution. Sat phones aren’t without connectivity issues and very expensive. InReach allows free live text messaging to fellow device owners, free preprogrammed checkins with family and friends, as well as texting per subscription plan, as well as SOS and reasonable extraction insurance. Also, the subscription can be paused or adjusted based on usage needs.

 

[william schmaltz]

I’m currently on day 5 in Western AK and haven’t been able to pick up a sat phone signal since I got here. I’ve been trying several times a day. Weather doesn’t look like that will change any time soon. I use inreach for my personal trips (and personal communication on work trips).

Check with your transporter. For example, Bettles has no cell service and terrible wireless. They literally cannot send or receive a text at BRA. I still would rather have an inreach and coordinate something with my pilot through my wife than be a sitting duck with a sat phone that won’t connect. My opinion and experience - so in the end it’s all about your needs and preferences.

 

[Blockcaver]

I've found that the pilots and outfitters are I've been around the past 2 years are using InReachs now....Northern BC and the Mackenzie Mts in NWT specifically.

 

[Becca]

I guess I will be the only dissenting voice. We own a sat phone and I'd never want to switch to a texting only device. Takes way too long to obtain information and no immediate feedback to tell you if your message went thru. On a recent Kodiak fly out we spoke to our transporter multiple times per day for several days running trying to coordinate a flight out due to weather and tides. I'm not sure how we would have been able to work out the logistics we did if limited to texting (in depth discussion including weather forecast and real time conditions at our location, as well as conversations about the amount of tide swing and the fact that they'd need to pick us up in a different location than where we camped and we'd need to shuttle gear). Having also previously been badly injured and requiring an evacuation from the field, I can tell you there's no substitute for real time 2 way communication in an emergency.

At least in AK, we've typically had pretty good reception with the Iridium network. Globostar not so much, especially in interior AK and north although supposedly it's gotten better than it was a decade ago. It's not like talking on a regular phone...sure we sometimes have poor reception or dropped calls, but waiting a few minutes has usually solved the problem. And when you don't have a good connection, you know you had a bad connection. No "I sure hope my message for help went thru". We've owned Iridium phones since 2005, and used it everywhere from Kodiak to the Brooks range and lots of Interior AK places in between.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I guess I will be the only dissenting voice. We own a sat phone and I'd never want to switch to a texting only device. Takes way too long to obtain information and no immediate feedback to tell you if your message went thru. On a recent Kodiak fly out we spoke to our transporter multiple times per day for several days running trying to coordinate a flight out due to weather and tides. I'm not sure how we would have been able to work out the logistics we did if limited to texting (in depth discussion including weather forecast and real time conditions at our location, as well as conversations about the amount of tide swing and the fact that they'd need to pick us up in a different location than where we camped and we'd need to shuttle gear). Having also previously been badly injured and requiring an evacuation from the field, I can tell you there's no substitute for real time 2 way communication in an emergency.

At least in AK, we've typically had pretty good reception with the Iridium network. Globostar not so much, especially in interior AK and north although supposedly it's gotten better than it was a decade ago. It's not like talking on a regular phone...sure we sometimes have poor reception or dropped calls, but waiting a few minutes has usually solved the problem. And when you don't have a good connection, you know you had a bad connection. No "I sure hope my message for help went thru". We've owned Iridium phones since 2005, and used it everywhere from Kodiak to the Brooks range and lots of Interior AK places in between.

Yeah, I gotta agree with this. I've been kicking around the idea of buying a Inreach Mini now for quite some time, and with the current deals going on it's really tempting. Being the oz. counting weeny that I am, the thought of shaving over 1/2 lb. from my communication device is also very tempting, but man I'm having a hard time cutting the auditory cord. Like you say Becca, that two way telephone conversation can be pretty damn important, and knowing that your message was conveyed adequately can be every bit worth the extra 1/2 lb. of wt. in the pack.

 

[AKBorn]

I'm in the same camp as Becca and Troutbum - I want the feedback of 2-way real-time communication, so will continue to carry the sat phone into the field. Every now and then there are signal gaps in Interior AK, but not very often in my experience. Western AK could be a different animal, as it sounds like Schmaltz is experiencing.

 

[VernAK]

Our moose camp has sat phone and In Reach. Both work well for us but the In Reach is handy if we want to send a message before the office opens so they have it at the start of business.

We also have an air to ground radio that we dig out when we hear a plane in the area. Very handy!

 

[Yellowknife]

I've used Sat phones for many years both for remote hunting trips and professionally (remote work) The last year I've been using a InReach as well.

Generally I agree with Becca et al that there are times that the two way voice comms are invaluable. Specifically the scenario described, which I have also done quite a few times. If that is your likely use, then yeah... sat phone is can be the best. However, the inReach has some major perks also, and is in my pack the majority of the time now.

1. WAY more reliable connection. 90% of the time I can get a message out in a couple minutes, even in heavy cover or in a valley. No more climbing the hill and standing in the rain to try and get a connection. Usually even works from inside the tent.

2. True two way. Sat phones are basically a "call out" device. You don't typically leave a sat phone on on and leaving messages for them isn't 100% reliable. An inReach can be texted from any cell phone and you will pick it up in short order. This is a surprising useful perk. That means the pilot or boat skipper can get in touch with YOU between trips instead of trying to get a message relayed through to him (assuming that the community has cell service).

What we have started to do lately is have one person on the team carry the sat phone and the other carry the inReach. Obviously not an option for everyone, but makes a pretty strong combination. If I can just take one, I do the inReach + smart phone.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Plenty of experienced voices and opinions weighing in here....very good thread.

Texting is undoubtedly useful and popular. Sometimes it's the best way to exchange non-critical (but still important) information. I use it a lot in my business as I communicate with employees and clients. But count me amongst those who don't think texting surpasses actual voice-to-voice communication in plenty of situations. When the dialogue gets a bit long, texting is tedious and tiresome to me. Context is lacking, as is emotion. Voice-to-voice allows fast and efficient exchanges, plus when you disconnect you know the info is received and both parties understand what's going on.

I do particularly agree with Yellowknife's point that texting allows for others to contact or initiate communication with a hunter. However, 2-way texting is the norm on sat phones (if you use that feature) and I often exchange texts that way. A scenario is that I'll text routine stuff with my transporter or wife, but then a text comes in saying "Give me a call after 9:00 tonight so we can discuss......" To be fair, sat phone texting is NOTHING like using your smartphone, as you have only the alpha-numeric keypad for entries. I'm quite certain the InReach (with a phone) is vastly easier for frequent texting.

If I'm in the true backcountry for 2 weeks alone and hunting caribou or moose, I'm going to be found with a sat phone every single time. My voice conveys things and meanings that my thumbs just can't accomplish.

 

[VernAK]

When in moose camp, I usually send a WX report to our flight service......ceiling, wind etc......anything that would affect
flying in our area. If WX is changing drastically during the day, I may send another.

 

[Blockcaver]

I bet I InReach texted back and forth with our air charter service 25 times on a Caribou Hunt. We were going to get picked up after another party got dropped off. Ceiling was originally very low on our side of the mt range. When it lifted enough I texted him and he took off. Almost as easy as texting with my wife when we go separate directions on a shopping trip in town. They really likes the written info to fall back to.

Bet the Sat phone is handy too but heavy, expensive and a bit of a pain to read satellite schedules and wait for service prior to use....was not my phone, rather a friend was calling out a few yrs ago after a sheep hunt in BC. Looked like a pain, especially when the call dropped a few times.

 

[AKBorn]

Our moose camp has sat phone and In Reach. Both work well for us but the In Reach is handy if we want to send a message before the office opens so they have it at the start of business.

We also have an air to ground radio that we dig out when we hear a plane in the area. Very handy!

I do this too Vern, with the sat phone. Call them first thing in the AM to report weather around our camp, and to see how other hunters are doing.