Originally Posted by
metalheart44
I'm looking for some updated information about this topic. I have moved to a rural area where cell coverage is poor: more than 50-70 percent of my rides are with no or 1 bar cell service. Also, the area is relatively sparsely populated and traffic is infrequent on many of the roads I am now riding. I have some medical issues that worry my wife when I am riding. In the past she could track my rides using a cell-phone based app, but not now and she worries. It is stressful for her and it adds a layer of tension for my rides that I wish was not there.
So, if I go off in a ditch and I am unconscious, I can't press a button and send a text or make a satellite telephone call. I need a device that my wife can know my location and preferably track my ride at any point when she chooses to see where I am. It seems that some of the Garmin products might do this, but I am unclear if devices such as the InReach Mini or Explorer will actually show my location when my wife queries an app or some website. Is there a product that does this or are they all "push this button" if you are in an emergency type devices?
We have an inreach Mini that we use for off grid activities. It will transmit your location to the inReach website where you or your wife can follow your progress. You can set the reporting interval which is a tradeoff against battery life. In addition, you can send text message back and forth through the satellite network and there is a panic SOS button that you can activate if you need help. That transmits your position to local rescue authorities and they will then go looking for you.
The caveats are that you have to have clear sight to the sky to hit the satellite so if you're in a cave or building, it may or may not work. My wife is a fan of through hiking on long backpacking trips. I've been able to follow her continuously and send her weather updates and fire warnings throughout the trip. Her last trip was over a week and that worked on one charge with the mini with a judicious selection of the update interval.
We've also used it when one of us wanted to go skiing in (for example) the back bowls of Vail and they other wasn't up for the skiing that day. Not the smartest thing, but makes the skier findable in a large area like that.
There is a monthly charge of around $35 a month (at least for our plan).
So short answer, yeah, it should work for you.