# Spot Satellite Messenger



## Aznative (May 25, 2018)

Anyone use one of these? If so are they reliable as ive heard mixed reviews. My wife is wanting me to get one for hunts however ive always just hiked to a high area and messaged from my phone every now and then to let her know I was good etc. The spot system seems like a good concept but also pricey if it doesnt work well. Thanks


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## kodoz (Nov 4, 2016)

We used an older iteration years ago for hiking in NH and AK. It works fine, until it doesn't...and you don't know if it is working or not. I think it struggled in heavily forested and mountainous terrain. I decided that if I ever wanted something like that again, I'd get a PLB instead. Possibly cheaper, once you factor in the subscription service for SPOT. 

That said, you might be able to rent one from REI, and I've heard that some phone carriers will rent satellite phones.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

I would look into renting a sat phone. The prices are coming down on them and after your first trip into where you are going you can find out if a regular cell phone works in different areas.


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## Aznative (May 25, 2018)

Good call guys I will look into renting one.


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## bowhunt3r4l1f3 (Jan 12, 2011)

My Garmin Mini InReach is the best investment I've made in recent years. Never had any connection issue. Let's me send anyone I want texts from the app on my phone. The included maps with the app are simply superb. You can download the entire states topo/sat/property lines with ease. The thing is just freaking awesome.


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## Kwalk3 (Jun 21, 2012)

I'd go for the Garmin Inreach as well. We used the mini last year and it performed flawlessly. Not cheap, but the service has a bunch of different options, depending on how often you'll think you need to send a text. We did unlimited in our group and all of us used the inreach to message family or to arrange help for a packout when needed. Highly recommend


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## brisket (Mar 3, 2015)

Go with the inReach. It can take a few minutes to send and receive texts, but the cost is far less than renting a sat phone. You can pre-program a number of texts, like "Back at camp for the night, everything is fine" that can be sent without extra fees. A simple text like every night really helps relieve the worrying back at the homestead.


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## Aznative (May 25, 2018)

Interesting as Ive never heard of in reach. Shows how to date I am being my gps is years old. Might need to upgrade lol. Thx


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## Hoopermat (Dec 17, 2010)

I have been using a inreach for years. Mine is the Delorme brand before Garmin bought them. 
It works perfect. You get a plan to fit any needs and you pair it to your phone and then you can just text as normal. 
Worth every penny.


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

Chaulk up another for Garmin Inreach. Inreach Mini to be specific. Straight up sat messenger, SOS button, no GPS. Light weight, hooks onto my pack shoulder strap, I never know it's there.


It was the best birthday gift my wife ever got me. Mainly for my wife to be honest. Whenever I text her to let her know I'm ok, it sends that text straight to her phone, along with a link that shows on a map, my exact location. Makes her feel 1000X better every time I go off in the mountains by myself.


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## derekp1999 (Nov 17, 2011)

kodoz said:


> We used an older iteration years ago for hiking in NH and AK. It works fine, until it doesn't...and you don't know if it is working or not. I think it struggled in heavily forested and mountainous terrain. I decided that if I ever wanted something like that again, I'd get a PLB instead. Possibly cheaper, once you factor in the subscription service for SPOT.


A friend used one for a couple years... first year it worked flawlessly from my perspective. I received multiple notifications from him daily and was notified of his location. The second year however was a different story... received updates for the first two days but then nothing... his wife was extremely worried so I was a couple hours away from making the 10 hour drive to start looking for him. Later that night I received a text from him because he had dropped down into town and let him know that I hadn't received any updates for a couple days and that he better call his wife!!! He insists that he had repeatedly hit the button to send updates but he had no way of verifying that the messages went through. He is looking to sell (or possibly has already sold) his Spot device and is looking for something else.


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

I don't think there is such a thing as something that relies on satellite, that will never fail if you go into a steep ravine, or steep draw or something that otherwise obscures the sky. 


These things aren't 100% perfect. Thus far I've encountered one scenario where my inreach mini wouldn't work because it couldn't acquire a satellite signal. 



It's the same reason I've abandoned GPS's in general and just stick with OnX - no sat required. 



Messaging however, is another matter. At least the Inreach will tell you if the message went through, there's no guessing involved.


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## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

Another Inreach mini user. Interface with phone is easy. I use my phone for gps with Gaia or onX maps, so its with my anyhow.


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## muddydogs (Oct 7, 2007)

Spot sucks, go with the Inreach for the win.

If you have any questions about the Inreach ask away, I manage about 80 of the units for work and run a couple personal units. I know my way around them fairly well as well as the Earthmate app you can use on your phone for mapping and communicating with the Inreach.


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## muddydogs (Oct 7, 2007)

Lone_Hunter said:


> It's the same reason I've abandoned GPS's in general and just stick with OnX - no sat required.


Onx uses GPS satellites just like any other GPS's unit to plot your location on the map.


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## prumpf (Apr 8, 2016)

Using the Delorme as well. Works great!


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

muddydogs said:


> Onx uses GPS satellites just like any other GPS's unit to plot your location on the map.


Are you sure? I figure it couldn't possibly be when your phone is in airplane mode, OnX is in offline mode, and your going by saved maps that you downloaded earlier before you even left the house.


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## brisket (Mar 3, 2015)

Lone_Hunter said:


> muddydogs said:
> 
> 
> > Onx uses GPS satellites just like any other GPS's unit to plot your location on the map.
> ...


Absolutely sure.


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## muddydogs (Oct 7, 2007)

Lone_Hunter said:


> Are you sure? I figure it couldn't possibly be when your phone is in airplane mode, OnX is in offline mode, and your going by saved maps that you downloaded earlier before you even left the house.


In airplane mode your GPS location service is still on, now you can turn your location off on your phone and just look at the map but if there is an icon on your map showing your location and it moves around your map when you move then you are using the phones GPS. Onx in offline mode means that your not connected to WIFI and its using the maps saved on your phone. If you turn off your phones location then open Onx something will probably pop up telling you that your phones location service is turned off and to go to settings to turn it back on.


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## Baron83 (May 24, 2016)

I have a spot works fine haven't had any issues with it.


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## muddydogs (Oct 7, 2007)

Baron83 said:


> I have a spot works fine haven't had any issues with it.


Spots work but why not have two way communication and a more reliable satellite network?

The new SPOT X does do two way communication but I don't know anything about them, we used SPOT before the Inreach came out and they were just alright, switched to the Inreach and have never looked back. Way I see it Spot is trying to play catch up with the Inreach but they will never be as reliable due to there satellite network.

If your smart phone savvy look at the Inreach Mini which relies heavily on the phone to be user friendly but weights only 3 ish ounces. If you don't want to use your phone or want a more stand alone user friendly unit then the SE+ is a good choice and if you want a back up GPS unit along with the communication features then the Explorer+ is the way to go.

If you want it all, GPS, Inreach and SD card slot then the 66i is your ticket. Your going to fork out the bucks for the 66i but it covers the whole spectrum.

Personally I still use the old Delorme SE and Explorer and do all the mapping I need with the Earthmate app on my phone.

Costco sells the SE+ at a resonable price from time to time. Think its $229.
https://www.costco.com/Garmin-inRea...ator.product.100419295.html?bvstate=pg:2/ct:r

The plan I use is the month to month lowest cost plan which is $15 a month I think. I shut off the service when I am not using it and just pay the overages for a heavy use month when needed.


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

muddydogs said:


> In airplane mode your GPS location service is still on, now you can turn your location off on your phone and just look at the map but if there is an icon on your map showing your location and it moves around your map when you move then you are using the phones GPS. Onx in offline mode means that your not connected to WIFI and its using the maps saved on your phone. If you turn off your phones location then open Onx something will probably pop up telling you that your phones location service is turned off and to go to settings to turn it back on.


Your right. I stand corrected. Not once did I think an Iphone had an active connection to anything while in airplane mode, and offline mode meant OFFLINE. I thought that shut everything down, nor did I realize it had a built in GPS. I was wondering how onX kept your location while offline. I thought it was some fancy programming.

Learn something new everyday.


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## Hoopermat (Dec 17, 2010)

Yes your phone uses gps satellites while in airplane mode. 
With on X you need to download the map for offline use so the system can show you where you are in a map. 
If you don’t download the map of your area and you don’t have service the system will just be blank background with just you gps location on.


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## KalebReese (Sep 5, 2016)

How much does the inreach actually cost per month. I see the subscription prices but is there extras added on to the price? My wife wants me to get one for solo hunts but they seem so expensive.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Hoopermat said:


> Yes your phone uses gps satellites while in airplane mode.
> With on X you need to download the map for offline use so the system can show you where you are in a map.
> If you don't download the map of your area and you don't have service the system will just be blank background with just you gps location on.


And that there is when OnX failed me and I will never use it again. I had all my maps cached, I had tested it many times before my WY hunt in airplane mode... but when it came time to rely on it, it errored and never showed any map data. Luckily I had paper maps with me as well.

I've used TopoUSA ever since. It was a 1 time purchase of I think $11. I import the DWR KML files for hunt boundries on top of existing data and turn off layers as needed. TopoUSA has the easiest and most reliable map caching I've ever seen (at any zoom level, hit "cache map" and a box appears, you drag the corners to the area you want and choose the number of "levels" of zoom you want and you are done. You could cache the entire USA if you had the memory to store it. You can get public / private land into as well... its all just free data out there, and is certainly where OnX gets their's.

I contacted OnX after my mishap to complain, their customer service just said "ah well, it happens". Screw those guys

-DallanC


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## Airborne (May 29, 2009)

If you don't need to text your spouse regularly and you just need a way to get rescued if something goes wrong then get a Personnel Locator Beacon. Mine was around $300 and it's a one time cost with no subscription or fees. You buy it, register it with the government and carry it on you. If you activate it, it sends GPS and strong radio signals that the air force pics up and they contact search and rescue. Needless you say you only turn it on if in grave danger.

My wife doesn't need daily texts from me so I just carry that and consider it a good insurance policy. They are small, buoyant, waterproof, and tough little units about the size of a couple candy bars. This is what I have:

https://www.amazon.com/acr-2880-Res...66MJNTDV82B&psc=1&refRID=P1NXSWKR966MJNTDV82B


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

KalebReese said:


> How much does the inreach actually cost per month. I see the subscription prices but is there extras added on to the price? My wife wants me to get one for solo hunts but they seem so expensive.


I'm on the bottom rung annual subscription, and it charges my credit card exactly $12.78 a month. But in my case, it's worth it because I'm out by myself 1 to 2 times a month, 10 months out of the year. If your only out in October, you can go for a 1 or 2 month pricing, then go dormant.


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## KalebReese (Sep 5, 2016)

The PLB option seems enticing but if I’m going to spend that much I could just spend a little more and get an Inreach mini and be able to text her. I really like the no subscription of the PLB though. That’s how I think about it anyway. Does the basic plan have unlimited presaved messages such as I’m ok or something like that? I will probably only need it one or two months a year tops.


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

KalebReese said:


> The PLB option seems enticing but if I'm going to spend that much I could just spend a little more and get an Inreach mini and be able to text her. I really like the no subscription of the PLB though. That's how I think about it anyway.*Does the basic plan have unlimited presaved messages such as I'm ok or something like that*_?_ I will probably only need it one or two months a year tops.


I have 3 preset messages, that I can use as much as I want.
Per month, I've 10 free messages a month, after I've exceeded 10 they start charging 50 cents per message.

You set your messages on your garmin account.

My 3 presets are:
Everything's OK
Delayed but everythings ok
Heading home

After that, you can specify "quick texts". ( you can set as many as you want i think)

These are off your 10 allotted messages (not free pretext), I got a few in there like:

Vehicle broken down, need a tow. 
I'm hurt, come get me. 
Trying to find a cell signal, I'll call as soon as I find one.

Etc etc. I've a few in there specifically for family incase my wife or daughter gets hurt while camping.

Funny thing is, right now I'm having a role reversal with my wife. She's the one up in the mountains right now running solo with the garmin, and I just drove home from the Manti so my daughter doesnt miss any more school.

That is a selling point you can try with your wife, it's not just for you, it's a handy SOS button for the whole family. I should be getting a text from her whenever she sits down to eat dinner.


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## KalebReese (Sep 5, 2016)

Thank you Lone_Hunter. I just ordered my inreach mini today so it will be here this week. It is a major peace of mind for my wife while I’m gone and she is way more comfortable with me going alone.


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

KalebReese said:


> Thank you Lone_Hunter. I just ordered my inreach mini today so it will be here this week. It is a major peace of mind for my wife while I'm gone and she is way more comfortable with me going alone.


My wife think's its the best birthday gift she ever got me. Her idea of a great gift, is the one that benefits her as well. I have to admit, being the one at home with the kid, and not in the mountains, it did take a load off my mind.

My wife has never camped on her own. In my heart, I didn't want to leave her up there. I'm more worried about 2 legged predators should any happen by, but who am I to tell her no you can't be in the mountains by yourself? I do it to her all the time.


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## rtockstein (Mar 17, 2019)

I got the Spot X this year and I like it alot. It's much cheaper than the Inreach (I know it doesn't do all the inreach does) and performs very well. It's extremely simple to use and very reliable. Of course when sending a message you need to have a clear view of the sky in order to send the message quickly, but if you're in the woods all you need is a little clearing or break in the canopy to get a message out. For sending a "check in" message, it tends to send pretty quickly and much more easily than a text message. I do use my phone for GPS mapping, but I didn't want to have to have the inreach connected to my phone in order to send a message that's not preprogrammed and drain my phone battery. I prefer a standalone device and the Spot X seems to be the cheapest, simplest way to have the capability of 2 way satellite messaging.


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## muddydogs (Oct 7, 2007)

rtockstein said:


> I do use my phone for GPS mapping, but I didn't want to have to have the inreach connected to my phone in order to send a message that's not preprogrammed and drain my phone battery. I prefer a standalone device and the Spot X seems to be the cheapest, simplest way to have the capability of 2 way satellite messaging.


Don't have to connect the InReach to your phone to send a message. Even if you do connect your phone to the Inreach to send a message you can turn off the Bluetooth once done and leaving the phone Bluetoothed to the Inreach isn't very hard on the battery. An Inreach is a stand alone device if thats the way you choose to use it.

With the Inreach all you need is to be able to see some sky kind of. Most of the canopy coverage in Utah it has no problem getting a message out. Only issue I have had is heavy canopy in a deep canyon which blocks the Southern exposure.


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## rtockstein (Mar 17, 2019)

muddydogs said:


> rtockstein said:
> 
> 
> > I do use my phone for GPS mapping, but I didn't want to have to have the inreach connected to my phone in order to send a message that's not preprogrammed and drain my phone battery. I prefer a standalone device and the Spot X seems to be the cheapest, simplest way to have the capability of 2 way satellite messaging.
> ...


Ah! I was actually talking about the inreach mini.


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## muddydogs (Oct 7, 2007)

rtockstein said:


> Ah! I was actually talking about the inreach mini.


Inreach mini is also a stand alone unit but if one wants a true easier to use stand alone unit then the mini should be there last choice.


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## flyfisher20 (Aug 5, 2011)

I bought an Inreach SE this year and I think it's great.


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## olibooger (Feb 13, 2019)

I know I'm digging up posts a little here but the buddy at Sportsmans was saying the Inreach Mini only works with Apple? What gives? This cannot possibly be true right?


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

olibooger said:


> I know I'm digging up posts a little here but the buddy at Sportsmans was saying the Inreach Mini only works with Apple? What gives? This cannot possibly be true right?


The only thing he could possibly be talking about is pairing the inreach to your phone. Garmin has a GPS app you can install on your phone, and pair it to the inreach via blue tooth, and basically use your phone to type into the inreach or look at messages, or type messages,, or see your last location or whatever.

Personally, I've never used the app, nor paired it to my phone via bluetooth, mainly because I think it eats up too much battery. I'm using my phone enough already with OnX, I didn't buy the inreach for GPS purposes. If I need to send a message, that isn't one of my quick or saved messages, then I just type it out like an old cell phone on the inreach itself. I've never been a big fan of blue tooth, or wireless connections in general.


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## olibooger (Feb 13, 2019)

Yes he was talking about exactly what you are saying. I'll consider myself clueless I suppose because I didnt know you could do messages on the mini itself. This is what I knew. Itll save my butt if i break my legs and cant move and will tell me where I am going. It costs a crap ton of money I dont want to spend but know I should and I have to pay even more money to use the dang thing. Sometimes I think my wife would rather save the money and if something happened to me she would be okay with it.

If you arent using it as a GPS lone, what are you using it for? I like those fancy watches they sell with all the cool features that go with a GPS. Hell those are less money and have more functionality than the inreach.


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

olibooger said:


> If you arent using it as a GPS lone, what are you using it for?


Giving the wife peace of mind with Satellite texting. We have established check in times. Mainly when i get up in the morning, and before I hit the sack, and periodiclly throughout the day i'll send her a text.

Every time i send her a text, she gets a link to a detailed map showing my exact location. This is important when you condsider the standard safety thing of letting somewhere know where your going on a map, AND in my case it saves me from arguments, because showing where I'm going on a map to my wife is an exercise in frustration, and has been the source of more then a couple of arguments.

So... in the end, she gets to feel better and sleep at night knowing I'm ok, and I have free license to be myself in the mountains. I guess the SOS button is extra peace of mind, but I've gone years without one. I hate to admit I like having it, but I guess i do. Overall, worth the money in my book, the most painful thing is the initial purchase, the 12-13 bucks a month is totally worth it if you get out enough. My city life tolerance is about 3 weeks before i get intolerable to be around and my wife boots me out the door for a day or two. :mrgreen:


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## olibooger (Feb 13, 2019)

Definitely relatable reasoning. 👍
I can feel the initial purchase pain already.


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