if actual "talking" is not imperative, the Delorme InReach SE is a great option. I just bought one myself this year when I was considering renting a satellite phone. You can text on it, although it takes time because you are using an arrow pad. However, you can use bluetooth to pair it with a smartphone, and text through your phone making it simple. So it allows two way texting (amount varies by your plan), has an SOS button to go to search and rescue, and allows an unlimited amount of texting your preset text messages that you can set through your account online. It also allows you to turn on a tracking mode that your wife or whoever you want can click a link and follow your trip. The unit is $300, and then varies based on plan month to month. I did the 4 month seasonal plan for $40 a month, and then ill cancel it until next hunting season once my 4 months is up. So a total initial investment of $460 with my plan, but now I own the unit and only need to pay for the plan each hunting season. I bought a small New Trent battery which can charge the InReach and my Iphone at the same time---this is only because I planned on being out in the mountains for 8+ days and had no idea if the battery would last in everything and wanted to be sure.
my post could be null and void if you physically need to talk, but this option was cheaper than renting a sat phone for me, and now i own the inreach and will only cost me $160 over the course of 4 months each hunting season.
oh, it also runs on the iridium network if you're wondering
