Garmin makes the inReach product line; SPOT is another, similar product. To add some confusion, Garmin bought inReach from Delorme a few years ago, so you may occasionally see Delorme inReach mentioned. My advice would be to avoid any of the older Delorme inReach products when shopping, and only consider the newer Garmin options.My son will be flying in and out of remote villages in the Papua backcountry. He currently has a Garmin SPOT, but I'm wondering if the inReach would better serve him for emergency communication.
Sounds like a bad unit. Did you replace it with something, and how did that work for you?What ever you get, test it thoroughly. I had a Garmin InReach Mini for 5 or 6 months. It was the most unreliable communications device that I ever owned. It only successfully sent a message about a third of the time that I attempted to send a position update to friends. I'd do the self test, which supposedly showed that it was in communications with one or more satellites, then immediately try to send a message. Many times I'd wait 5 or 10 minutes and the message wouldn't be sent. A few times I was in deep valleys so I was not surprised that it didn't get a message sent. Other times I was in very open country and it still didn't work. Most of the time I was using it in Alaska, but it was equally mediocre in Utah and California. I returned it to REI for a refund. Perhaps I had a bad unit. But I felt the design was fundamentally flawed since it had no indication of which satellites it was in touch with. That's a standard feature on all GPS units that I've used. Plus the self test was totally worthless.
Howard70 has an excellent point about checking on the legality of any emergency rescue beacons or satellite communication equipment in another country.
You might also try to find out if Papua has any search and rescue (SAR) agreements with the US Coast Guard. As strange as it may seem, the USCG will in some cases coordinate with US military forces to do searches in some countries. I was involved with a search for a missing boat in Micronesia while on a USAF C-130. (We did not find the boat.) If there is a SAR agreement, consider a Personal Locator Beacon, also known as a 406 beacon. That's an emergency only device that will get a SAR response in any major country. The USCG Rescue Coordination Center in Hawaii might be helpful in addressing what SAR resources Papau has available. https://www.pacificarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/District-14/D14-Staff/JRCC/
I used to carry an ACR ResQLink PLB. Not much larger than a flip phone, no subscription fees, as reliable as any. I still have it, but I leave it in the truck since it's due for service and the battery has timed out. Probably still works, though.Shade- No I have not bought any other satellite communications device. Since I do a lot of hiking, size and weight are key issues. If I could find a smaller Personal Locator Beacon I'd be tempted to get one of those.
Yes, I most likely had a defective unit. I have a good friend that guides all summer up in the Brooks Range (northern Alaska) and he loves his full size InReach. Its been a work horse for him.
I haven't used mine nearly as much as some, but it's been a solid product for me. Being able to adjust the subscription plan as needed was what made me finally commit to a two-way system, and the Explorer+ does a good enough job as a navigation aid that I think it's worth the additional bulk over the mini. Iirc, the Explorer+ does have better battery endurance than the mini, and there may be a few other small differences.The larger InReach devices have a solid reputation with plenty of history, I'd have no issue with those if two-way was desired (I don't feel the need personally).
Here's a list of updates since June, 2018. Looks like Garmin has been busy.The Mini has had some firmware updates to fix issues. I know some people like them but I've heard of enough problems that I've been holding off considering one.
Seems like the important core features have been stable for some time. I imagine there's some learning curve since the Mini was I believe designed completely by Garmin so no legacy debugging of a mature device to inherit from DeLorme.Here's a list of updates since June, 2018. Looks like Garmin has been busy.
inReach Mini Firmware Update Release Notes | Garmin Customer Support
Garmin Support Center is where you will find answers to frequently asked questions and resources to help with all of your Garmin products.support.garmin.com