Garmin In Reach, or another recommendation

[BirdDog50]

With Earthmate integration this allows the cell phone to essentially be a satellite phone that one can text on, is that correct?

Correct.. the cell phone uses the Inreach satellite connection...you sync the cell phone with the Inreach unit.

 

[billcaldwell]

Everyone in our elk camp has an Inreach. We consider the Inreach to be very cheap and very effective insurance! Even when not hunting, we are out of cell phone service often when traveling. All of us carry the Inreach with us in cars, and pickups: JUST IN CASE. One especially great feature is that when we want to contact someone who is also without cell service, you can text Inreach to Inreach. I make a HUGE difference in convenience AND safety!

 

[littlebighorn]

I love our inreach. It saved our bacon on a BC Stone sheep/Mt. goat hunt. We used the gps map to guide us back to camp in pitch dark fog in grizzly country. Our guide was totally turned around and I could easily be a poop pile on the mountain if we hadn't had it. Make sure you know how to use all the features!

 

[claybreaker]

Give this >>Zoleo Thread<< a read, it should bring you up to speed on the Zoleo (cost, operation, capabilities,...).

I think either the InReach or Zoleo would serve you well.

 

[Citified]

I have experience with the full size InReach and the mini. If you use the earthmate app you can message from your cell phone almost like sending a text.
The most important thing here is to learn to use it proficiently before you go into the field.
It is truly not that technically difficult and could save your life in an emergency.
Pilots with small planes flying over rough country use this as a tracker and it can send a satellite position if you chose every
couple of minutes.

 

[Plinker147]

I have the inreach mini-and really like it. We hunt allot of wilderness areas and it is great when paired with a cell phone. It's is a pain in the *** to text on the mini itself. Other thing to consider if you text frequently on it it drains the battery of the cell phone and it. Battery will last about 2-3 days. If you use it sparing you can get another day out of it. We had to start taking some means of charging to last 5-7 hunt which isn't a big deal but the junk to pack adds up

 

[epoletna]

I used to use the InReach when flying in remote areas. Never had to use the SOS feature, but was sure glad to have it just in case. By all means, set it up to text from your phone to the InReach.

 

[Alibiiv]

I have the inreach mini-and really like it. We hunt allot of wilderness areas and it is great when paired with a cell phone. It's is a pain in the *** to text on the mini itself. Other thing to consider if you text frequently on it it drains the battery of the cell phone and it. Battery will last about 2-3 days. If you use it sparing you can get another day out of it. We had to start taking some means of charging to last 5-7 hunt which isn't a big deal but the junk to pack adds up

Thanks for this information. We are lucky in that we are at our camp every night, so charging is not an issue. As other replies have suggested pairing the Garmin with the cell phone seems to be the way to go. I can sometimes get cell service if I walk a couple of miles up a hill, and walking is not my strong suit by any means as I've got rods and screws in my back. And another advantage to having communication with our guide is that I will not have to leave a dead animal unattended as the coyotes in the particular area where we hunt have learned that a rifle shot is a dinner bell. I almost did not post this thread; however, now I am really glad that I did. I am sold on the getting one of the devices, only have to choose which one????? I'm not ready to quit hunting and will do whatever I need to do to keep on hunting, just trying to keep myself safe while doing so.

 

[Citified]

The mini works as well as the full size and it is lighter.

 

[billcaldwell]

We all have our units pared with our cell phones. Cell phone service is not required. Just type on your cell phone, and the Inreach sends the text to people who have cell service, or to other Inreach units whether they have cell service or not.

 

[Tulsa Reiner]

Thanks for this information. I thought that I looked for something before I posted, I will do another search. Again thank you!!

If you go with the InReach Mini + cell phone setup, be sure to take an external battery pack and small USB cord so you are sure to have backup power for both devices. They are modestly priced and weigh very little.

 

[Tulsa Reiner]

It would also help if your guide carried an InReach when out of cell service because each text you send from yours is tagged with your GPS coordinates, which would allow him to locate you precisely.

 

[Tulsa Reiner]

With Earthmate integration this allows the cell phone to essentially be a satellite phone that one can text on, is that correct?

Correct

 

[OldBronc]

I've used the full-sized InReach for a good ten years and I love it. More importantly, my wife loves it. When I go elk hunting, I just turn on tracking and she's able to see that I'm moving all day. I told her if she ever decided to leave me that she's sitting on a gold mine of information regarding where I've gotten all my elk, and could sell it for a decent price . I do enough hiking and other types of recreation that I just pay for the subscription year-round.