sat phone or inreach

[Retterath]

Is the InReach Explorer worth the extra $80 or so over the InReach SE? I would carry my Garmin for my navigation needs. I really like the idea of two way communications so my wife and others can keep me informed of things on their end.

It might be worth it or maybe not. The reason I might get the explorer is I could be my back up if my main GPS goes down and it would be backup but also noticed that it's battery life says 100 hrs and my garmin sucks batteries. I would probably just mark my base camp or truck with the explorer se and that's it and if I got an elk down,mark that too. I will always have my garmin 450t with me because of the chip I have in it.

 

[kiddwinner]

Kidd, did you buy new or used?

I bought mine new, never activated. The box was opened but I got it last night and activated it and it is awesome. Sent a preset message to my wifes phone and it attaches a link to exactly where I was when I sent it. I only signed up for the safety package so I didn't text (only 10 texts included with this package and unlimited presets). but I will be out next weekend scouting and use it a lot then. I am very impressed!
oh and you have 3 preset options to send and you can program them to say whatever you want. of course one of mine says "Big Bull down, be home tomorrow!"

 

[Umpqua Hunter]

Thanks Kidd!

Does anyone know what issues you would have with buying a used unit that has already been activated? I am interested not only for buying an InReach, but also selling my SPOT Gen 3.

 

[Don K]

As long as you can log into the site and set up the unit it should not matter if its used or not. My buddy sold his Spot when he bought his Inreach and everything worked fine.

Gander Mountain just had a 50 off 250 purchase the other day and I bought mine from them last year using that, and got a rebate at the same time so I was able to get 100 off.

There is companies out there that rent them but with the price I got mine for I didn't go that route.

The SE you can pair with your phone if you wish and download a App to use it as a GPS, (or a backup GPS) I really like when you send a message it sends a map link to right where your at.

 

[coastalarms]

We used to use an Iridium(sp) on the boat. It was pretty cool.

I guess I am kinda old school (or a geek, take your pick)... I have been carrying my HT (ham radio) with me for years. Reaches out really well. I have one in the truck as well and if need be I can tx to the truck and it acts like a high powered repeater and lets me really really reach out. Granted there isnt any gps tracking (Although they do make them) on mine, but it does have the EAIS (emergency auto ID system) and the ARTS (auto range transponder system) that most of the search and rescue groups use.
Oh, and if I can't sleep, I see how many contacts I can log

 

[kiddwinner]

Does anyone know what issues you would have with buying a used unit that has already been activated? I am interested not only for buying an InReach, but also selling my SPOT Gen 3.[/QUOTE]

make sure the SPOT Gen 3 runs off of the Iridium sat system, I had a spot that didn't and it wouldn't work in the mountains.

 

[Umpqua Hunter]

It might be worth it or maybe not. The reason I might get the explorer is I could be my back up if my main GPS goes down and it would be backup but also noticed that it's battery life says 100 hrs and my garmin sucks batteries. I would probably just mark my base camp or truck with the explorer se and that's it and if I got an elk down,mark that too. I will always have my garmin 450t with me because of the chip I have in it.

That's a really good thought. Redundancy on the critical GPS locations.

 

[Umpqua Hunter]

I now own an InReach Explorer. Thanks everyone for helping fuel my gear addiction

 

[AKaviator]

Good for you U.H. I'll likely own one very soon too. What "plan" did you go with?

 

[Umpqua Hunter]

Good for you U.H. I'll likely own one very soon too. What "plan" did you go with?

I will probably go with the Freedom Plan since I will only have it active for 4 or 5 months a year. One or two months would be the "Recreation Plan" ($34.95/mo) when I am away hunting and the rest would be the Safety Plan ($14.95/mo) where I am local and might pay some occasional overage fees for tracking points and texts.

I think a normal year for me would look something like:

August: $14.95 (Safety Plan)
September: $34.95 (Recreation Plan)
October: $14.95 (Safety Plan)
November: $34.95 (Recreation Plan)
December: $14.95 (Safety Plan)
Annual "Freedom Plan" Fee: $24.95

Total: $139.70/year + some tracking point fees ($0.10 each) and texts ($0.50 each).

I am also considering an annual package with the "Safety Plan" and then just paying for tracking fees and extra texts but I think that would run closer to $200 a year but would let me use it year round.

 

[npaden]

I used the InReach SE last year and opted for the Recreation plan for my big 3 week mountain goat and elk hunt in Wyoming and didn't come close to using enough custom text messages to justify the price difference between the Recreation plan and the Safety plan.

I plan on just using the safety plan for the future and paying extra if I use more custom messages.

I used the heck out of the unlimited preset custom texts though. I had one that essentially said, "getting going this morning, hope this is the big day", one that said "just checking in, everything is going good", and one that said "back in camp, maybe tomorrow will be the day". Or something like that.

I think I only used 10 or 12 texts that I actually typed out even though I think the recreational plan gives you 30 or so. I didn't use the tracking points to save battery and also because I would send out the free unlimited "just checking in" text 2 or 3 times a day when I was changing locations, eating lunch, etc. so people could actually look and see where I was at several times a day if they cared to look.

I was very happy with the coverage, on my wilderness elk hunt my buddy had a SPOT satellite phone and had a heck of a time getting coverage in the river bottom, but I was able to send and receive text messages from inside the canvas tent. He gave up and had me send out some texts for him a couple times.

My 2 cents. Nathan

 

[Umpqua Hunter]

I used the InReach SE last year and opted for the Recreation plan for my big 3 week mountain goat and elk hunt in Wyoming and didn't come close to using enough custom text messages to justify the price difference between the Recreation plan and the Safety plan.

I plan on just using the safety plan for the future and paying extra if I use more custom messages.

I used the heck out of the unlimited preset custom texts though. I had one that essentially said, "getting going this morning, hope this is the big day", one that said "just checking in, everything is going good", and one that said "back in camp, maybe tomorrow will be the day". Or something like that.

I think I only used 10 or 12 texts that I actually typed out even though I think the recreational plan gives you 30 or so. I didn't use the tracking points to save battery and also because I would send out the free unlimited "just checking in" text 2 or 3 times a day when I was changing locations, eating lunch, etc. so people could actually look and see where I was at several times a day if they cared to look.

I was very happy with the coverage, on my wilderness elk hunt my buddy had a SPOT satellite phone and had a heck of a time getting coverage in the river bottom, but I was able to send and receive text messages from inside the canvas tent. He gave up and had me send out some texts for him a couple times.

My 2 cents. Nathan

Great point Nathan. The unlimited preset messages give you a ton of leverage!

 

[Retterath]

I have been using my and testing it out before i go to wyoming and am really liking it. I did notice on the custom text messages when u send on and then if someone sends u one back it counts as 2 total for your usage which is fine just wasnt sure if u guys noticed that.

 

[npaden]

Yes, receiving a text counts against your usage. If you have something going on back home and will need to keep updated on a daily basis then that might make a difference on what plan you were selecting. My wife only sent me a text when I knocked something down. I just assumed that everything was okay back on the home front and if something happened then she would send me a text.

 

[Umpqua Hunter]

I have been using my and testing it out before i go to wyoming and am really liking it. I did notice on the custom text messages when u send on and then if someone sends u one back it counts as 2 total for your usage which is fine just wasnt sure if u guys noticed that.

Retterath, I just skimmed through the plans and didn't see where it talks about a reply text counting as 2. Can you reference where it says that? Could it be you were charged for 2 because of the length of the reply text rather than it being a reply to a preset text? Thanks.

 

[npaden]

I did notice on the custom text messages when u send on and then if someone sends u one back it counts as 2 total for your usage

I think he is just reminding us that a received text counts toward your usage. You send a custom text out then someone sends you one back = 2 toward your usage, the one you sent plus the reply.

If you send a text to multiple people it only counts as one, but if 2 or 3 people reply each one of the replies counts toward your usage. When I was successful I sent out a text to 5 people and 3 of them replied so that counted as 4 total against my usage for that exchange.