Jeep or Tacoma
Explorer
How many of you have one of these and what do you think about it, Is it worth it or is there a better way to get help in an emergency situation?
de lorme in reach
- Thread starter Jeep or Tacoma
- Start date
bigskypylot
Explorer
ACR PLB. It's a break glass in case of emergency tool. I have an older model. Never had to use it. I did accidentally activate it while doing a self-test, within 3 mins, I had USAF SAR on the phone with me.
Joe917
Explorer
We have been using the InReach for a few months now.
The SOS button is a life and death last resort and should be treated that way. In the nautical world far too many people go out unprepared and trust the EPIRB will bring instant help.
The two way texting ability was the main selling point for us as we are often beyond cell coverage.The position sharing allows family and friends to follow along. Very important if you have someone at home that worries about you.
Access to DeLorme's digital map files is great but the navigation portion of the GPS is a bit cumbersome. For general route finding we think Maps.me is hard to beat.
On the whole happy with the product although the Canadian subscription options are more expensive than the US choices.
The SOS button is a life and death last resort and should be treated that way. In the nautical world far too many people go out unprepared and trust the EPIRB will bring instant help.
The two way texting ability was the main selling point for us as we are often beyond cell coverage.The position sharing allows family and friends to follow along. Very important if you have someone at home that worries about you.
Access to DeLorme's digital map files is great but the navigation portion of the GPS is a bit cumbersome. For general route finding we think Maps.me is hard to beat.
On the whole happy with the product although the Canadian subscription options are more expensive than the US choices.
There has been plenty of discussion lately about PLB vs InReach vs SPOT:
http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/167232-To-spot-or-not-to-spot
The argument of a PLB over an InReach or SPOT is getting pretty hard to justify.
http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/167232-To-spot-or-not-to-spot
The argument of a PLB over an InReach or SPOT is getting pretty hard to justify.
unplannedbbq
Adventurer
http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/162964-OK-finally-time-for-the-Inreach-Explorer
New InReach owner. Works well as long as you have direct view of sky. Have a friend that bought one to take hunting - heavy east coast forest cover would block signal for him.
I've had no problems w/ 2-way texting from Andes. Great for areas w/o cell coverage. $65 / month pay as you go for unlimited messages or tweets/FB posts. Tracking at 10 minute intervals. Lending it to a buddy for Australia this June. Friends can follow breadcrumbs on the InReach site or ping the device to track me.
Easy to use by itself, super easy to use paired with an iPhone.
New InReach owner. Works well as long as you have direct view of sky. Have a friend that bought one to take hunting - heavy east coast forest cover would block signal for him.
I've had no problems w/ 2-way texting from Andes. Great for areas w/o cell coverage. $65 / month pay as you go for unlimited messages or tweets/FB posts. Tracking at 10 minute intervals. Lending it to a buddy for Australia this June. Friends can follow breadcrumbs on the InReach site or ping the device to track me.
Easy to use by itself, super easy to use paired with an iPhone.
I have a De Lorme, and although we bought it for emergencies, we use it much more than expected for daily check ins. It's nice to be able to communicate via text, especially if I'm running a day or two behind. We have a basic plan which includes something like 10 custom texts, but doesn't charge for the pre-set messages (which you can set to whatever you want). We almost always use the pre-set messages as the UI isn't the best and trying to type a message on the thing can be a bit tedious.
Kerensky97
Xterra101
Yes this exactly.
I bought it for the emergency help button but have found its even more useful as a text messaging device. It's perfect for daily messages back home saying "I'm camped safe for the night." It has the additional option of requesting help from friends for non dire emergency issues like if you break down but you have plenty of gear to hold you over until a friend or tow truck can get to you.
I use the cheapest plan they have (10 message per month + emergency, ~$14). I don't use it for navigation or the auto location update to social media, and 10 messages a month covers all the trips I do. I wouldn't advise it as your navigation device or anything but an emergency beacon + occasional priority texting.
Honestly my Note4 smartphone still covers my navigation/social texting/online messaging/social media photography/mapping needs. But all of those are either low priority, or have their own backups and alternates. The InReach is more for priority stuff in more serious situations.
Battery life side note:
I charged it up last March, kept it in my car or day pack powered off, only firing it up for a few minutes every 1-2 months. In October it still had 70% charge and it connected to satellites and pulled down messages in just a couple minutes from power up each time it was used.
Very reliable.
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
I have an inReach. I've sent/received thousands of messages and track points over the last 2+ years. I've used it in Iceland, Peru, Ecuador, Nepal, Alaska, Baja, and all points between. Has yet to fail me. I trust it explicitly. I also think it's too useful to just deploy for emergencies. I find it helpful for a variety of communication uses. In that respect, it's not a convenience for me so much as it is piece of mind for my wife when I'm solo in another country, way into the wilderness. And by that I mean far, far from roads or people.
tabraha
Observer
Another inReach customer here. We've used ours for over 4 years now and it's worth its weight in gold. Much more flexible than other emergency solutions and can be used for day to day comms when traditional terrestrial options are not available.
Couple years ago I had a friend headed to the Ukraine to adopt and it was when everything was going down with the Ruskies in Crimea. He was very appreciative to have something that would still be a link to the outside world should things have gone sideways for them.
It can be finicky with canopy but that is generally a very small obstacle to overcome.
Also as a side note, you can link to an iPad or iPhone over Bluetooth for ease of messaging as well as using the inReach app for mapping. It will allow you to download offline maps and sync with the inReach gps showing tracks etc. On long off-road excursions we've had great luck with the Delorme base maps on the app.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Couple years ago I had a friend headed to the Ukraine to adopt and it was when everything was going down with the Ruskies in Crimea. He was very appreciative to have something that would still be a link to the outside world should things have gone sideways for them.
It can be finicky with canopy but that is generally a very small obstacle to overcome.
Also as a side note, you can link to an iPad or iPhone over Bluetooth for ease of messaging as well as using the inReach app for mapping. It will allow you to download offline maps and sync with the inReach gps showing tracks etc. On long off-road excursions we've had great luck with the Delorme base maps on the app.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Stryder106
Explorer
I've had a Delorme InReach for a few years now and don't go out with out it. It has never failed. Pair it with Earthmate on your smartphone and you can use the tracking and topo features on your phone - you can also text via your phone when it is paired - so it's less cumbersome. I have some preset messages in the InReach that I can just hit send on and not worry about the typing. Additionally, the MapShare feature lets you share your real time progress with whomever you select. My father in law used to coordinate mountain rescue so he is on my MapShare - he knows our plan and can follow along at home via his computer and the breadcrumbs that get dropped to him every 10 minutes.
cummins-overlander
New member
I have a question for the InReach owners out there. I was sold on it until I couldn't find a single drop of evidence of it ever actually being used for its intended purpose. I couldn't find one example of an InReach actually being used for emergencies. It has stats on their website of "saves" or what have you... but that was it. Between this and it being a poor choice for a GPS unit, and not even being on the same level as a true PLB, I decided to ditch the idea entirely and go with a HAM 2m radio instead. Has anyone themselves actually used an InReach for a true rescue/SOS event? Do you personally know an individual, and I mean KNOW A PERSON who has used one? I may still be interested, but I need to know it's more than just a texting device. A big part of my concern is who answers the phone, so to speak. What is the quality and capacity of the company answering the distress signals? What are their SOP's in the event of an activation? I used to work for a private Command and Control company and know that each company has their own way of working, it's not dictated by law.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Hopeless Diamond
Explorer
It connects with GEOS http://www.geosalliance.com/. Will they have a better response than some random person monitoring a VHF repeater frequency that you may or may not be able to hit (assuming you know the repeaters in the area at the time of the emergency...), hard to say
tabraha
Observer
Start here.
http://www.geosalliance.com/category/featured-rescue-stories/
Yes the inReach can bang out a good SOS for that one in a million chance but the REAL upside is sat comms that should keep your butt out of that situation to start with 99% of the time.
Hope that helps.
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