Seattle Forrest

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/793265
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2022/09/...n-details.html

https://www.******.com/r/Ultralight/...senger_device/

https://bikepacking.com/news/garmin-inreach-messenger/

raqball

I use to have an inReach Mini when it 1st came out about 5 years ago and it was great.. I didn't use it much and ended up selling it but for anyone who cycles, hikes, or is just otherwise off the grid they are awesome little devices that could save your life.

JohnJ80

We have a mini that we take everywhere. That said, the new scheme Apple is coming out with looks very interesting and if it works like it's supposed to, then we'd probably ditch the mini since we have the phones with us.

J.

Daniel4

Is this one of those portable internet connection devices I first saw at an Air BnB in Japan?

One of the links say the monthly fee can be suspended. So for my purpose I would use it for international travelling. Can the fee be suspended indefinitely until I travel? That would really eliminate the hassle of buying a new sim card every vacation.

JohnJ80

Basically it’s just another form factor for of the rest of their inReach satellite communicators. It’s text only, has to be in direct view of the sky typically, and it’s slow. That’s the trade off for being available anywhere on the planet.

the fee can be suspended when you travel but there is a reconnect fee when you turn it back on. Practically speaking, it’s not cost effective to turn off for even a month or two but more like for at least a quarter. We were turning it on an off enough that we just went to an annual plan since we wind up in non cell areas frequently doing things where we might possibly need help if injured.

Look at the plans, there’s a trade off of cost vs number of messages per month and tracking points. . Its use is primarily for off the grid sort of usage. We use it for sailing trips and cycling tours that are out of cell range, when our daughter was on an Engineers without Borders project in the hinterlands of Bolivia, and when my wife does wilderness backpacking - places where rescue could be required and position is important. It’s not really a means of daily incidental communication while traveling.

It did come in quite handy for relaying medical treatment information to our daughter when she became sick and dehydrated from eating local foods while at high altitude. We also found it helpful while off the grid camping during a bike tour on a small island when my wife was able to relay critical weather so my son and I were able to get the last ferry out before the sea lanes were closed due to rough seas. So we’re fans but it’s a limited communication tool for areas when there’s no other means of communication.

Apple is supposedly close to releasing a similar system that will be built in to the latest cell phones (iPhone 14). That’s appealing to me since we would have that along anyhow and it would be one less thing to take.

Seattle Forrest

You can have the monthly fee suspended by turning service off. Like a cell phone. A lot of outdoor adventure people have "a season," no one is doing gravel races and bike packing in the winter snow. So they turn the device and its plan off most of the year and only pay to use it a few months.

The compelling thing about this device is it can use the Iridium satellite constellation and not just cell phones. But that's very expensive!! That's why they made it switch back and forth and prefer to send a message by cellular when possible. This is for people who expect to be out of range for significant amounts of time and whose safety may rely on communication with the outside world including the possibility of calling in the cavalry for rescue.

In short, it's a cool niche device but probably not what you want because its functionality is very expensive and there are probably more economical choices for your need.

Seattle Forrest

I have a PLB. Its battery is old, and should be replaced. I'm watching this space. Starlink wasn't available when I bought my beacon, Iridium was the only game in town. I feel like we're on the cusp of a new generation of satcomms and since I don't need anything immediately, I feel like the best choice is to wait and see.

JohnJ80

that sounds about right to me. I agree, there’s some cool things happening and they’ll be some interesting convergences between technologies.

Seattle Forrest

In other news, Garmin is killing preset messages for new accounts and replacing them with check-in messages. The difference is that the former can be anything you like, "late but not in trouble" for example, whereas the latter are just checking in. Both of these are free messages, the device this thread is about can still send arbitrary (anything you want) messages accounting to its $$ plan. People who already have accounts are grandfathered in.

https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?fa...Ru5SHas9vohbbA