Garmin inReach SE+, Handheld Satellite Communicator with GPS Navigation

So, this is a nifty little device, be it for serious hiking, for travel to rural areas, or for emergency preparedness.But first, let me briefly go over what's *not* included in the purchase: you need a subscription from Garmin to even boot this thing up. They have annual plans that (as of this writing) start from $144 a year, as well as more flexible "freedom" subscriptions - a bit more costly, but with the ability to suspend service during off-season months.Even at the lowest tier, you can define up to three predefined messages (e.g., "I'm OK", "doing fine but going to be late", or "please come and pick me up") and keep sending them for free to an e-mail addresses, a cell phone number, or another inReach device of your choice. This is actually more useful than it sounds, because each message automatically includes your precise location (which can be viewed on a map), as well as some other details about your trip. The only caveat is that you can't change the predefined messages or the recipients in the field - you need to log onto their website for that. But if all you really need is to periodically let your friends or family know where you are, this is a pretty good deal.Of course, free-form two-way texting is also available (again, supporting e-mail, text messages, and other inReach devices), but you only get 10 of these every month before you're charged $0.50 a pop. The limit is marginally higher for the $300 plan, but if you want unlimited free-form messaging, you better have some serious disposable income: that plan is currently about $600 a year.You can also have the device publish your location at regular intervals; the price is $0.10 per data point at the lowest tier, making this a pretty expensive deal - but you get unlimited tracking with the $300 plan. For people who do a lot of high-risk travel, this may be a good choice.You get a couple other satellite-related features, such as the ability to request weather forecasts for your location (at normal messaging rates) or to locate any device associated with your account via the web app. Finally, you can request emergency help. This service is operated by GEOS, a third-party firm; they get your location, the details of the incident, call the authorities, and keep you updated on the progress. GEOS also offers some optional SAR / medevac benefits, but you need to pay separately for that.All in all, while it's certainly not a drop-in replacement for your mobile phone, inReach is fairly affordable if you can stay within the constraints of the platform - and it is dramatically cheaper than any other satellite phone subscription out there. The costs are comparable to SPOT GEN3, but this only gives you one-way messaging.As for the device itself: the satellite bits aside, it has all the features you'd expect in a hiking GPS. The higher-end (orange) device has topo maps and several extra sensors, so it can show you more accurate compass data without requiring you to walk in a straight line for a while. Both can plot your route, capture all the usual trip stats, etc. You can also define routes and waypoints via the web app and sync them to the device.Assuming you're turning it for the night and not making a heavy use of tracking features, the battery should probably last a week without recharging. The unit seems pretty rugged; basically no different from any other Garmin GPS. It is not particularly small, in part because of its thick rubberized shell. I think it's actually a bit bigger than the previous (DeLorme-branded) model, but it is very lightweight. It also has a nice color screen and the UI is very responsive and easy to figure out. Typing is relatively cumbersome, since you need to navigate an on-screen keyboard using arrow keys - but it ain't too bad.There are several other small annoyances; for example, if you add a waypoint on the device and then attempt to turn it off before syncing to a PC, you get a warning saying that your waypoints will be lost. You also need to go through some extra hops if you have multiple devices tied to a single billing account and way to update preset messages or waypoints on both. But again, not a big deal.The Iridium network works globally, although you'd be lucky to get reception indoors (especially in multi-story buildings). Also keep in mind that transmission rates are fairly slow, and the device only checks with the satellite every 10 minutes or so. This is configurable and an extra check can be forced manually, but if you're longing for low-latency chats, be sure to also carry your phone.

Was solo camping for a while with no cell service. Never lost the gps signal and easily paired with my Iphone. The Earthmate app also worked well, so I didn’t need to actually touch the unit, it just stayed hooked to my backpack. Sent texts back and forth to family and checked in with my location so they could track me. Battery lasted about three days and recharged from my battery pack. Very durable and accurate. Understand the limitations of this, it’s not a car gps and you can’t use it for Internet. Also know that it’s unusable without a subscription plan.

I have owned the Garmin inReach SE+ for 3 months and used it for three trips and though I am very satisfied with my purchase, I do think you should know about some short comings.Before purchasing I researched pretty extensively the options, including other similar devices, the explorer and the mini.SE+ vs explorer...I didn’t pay the extra $150 for the explorer and I’m glad I didn’t. First a separate device for navigation and backup feels safer to me. Also I use the navigation quite a bit and I like not using the battery of my emergency device for that. Of course, it wouldn’t hurt to in addition have navigation on my messaging/emergency device as a backup. But for me I don’t see a lot of value. As a lover of Caltopo, I much prefer setting things up there and then using Avenza and a paper map for navigation. Also note that you can get the Earthmate app for free with your SE+ purchase that runs on your cell. Though the maps weren’t as good as Backcountry Nav (which I use), it is also a nice app and worth getting. Also note that in a true pinch the SE+ can be used for Navigation. It shows you a blank map with routes and waypoints on it (whatever you have synched or created on the device). And the compass is pretty good in a pinch too. It isn’t actually a compass as you might expect, you have to start walking and then it uses the GPS to say what direction you are going. But if you are used to the unreliable cell phone compasses this is 1000x better.SE+ vs mini…Messaging on the SE+ is slow but effective. From what I have seen online (I haven’t used it hands on) the mini is too hard to write custom messages. I purchased this originally because I was going camping with my 12 year old daughter away from cell service. She has no problem creating a custom message and sending it with the SE+. We didn’t need to activate the SOS but I didn’t like the idea of her trying to use the mini to provide info the to SOS service using the limited mini in the case that I were incapacitated.SubscriptionI purchased the least expensive Freedom Safety plan and activated it for 2 of the 3 months I’ve had it. I probably won’t activate it again until next Spring. For the year this will cost me a little less than $50 ($15 annual fee + $12 per month for two months + $10 in misc charges—more on that below).My experience using it on tripsTrip 1: For my first trip, before I left I setup 3 custom messages that went to my wife. For me the best messages are “Everything is good. Here’s where I am” “This is where we are camping for the night” and “Delayed in returning but fine”. I like it that these messages are always free, the receiver gets them along with a link to my location. I also have these setup so that they are on my map.Trip 2: For my second trip I went with my whole family and the problem was I didn’t redo my custom messages before I left. It was still nice to have the SE+ with me since I was again out of cell phone range and I could have used it in an emergency. But still it shows that without proper planning ahead, the safety feature of the phone is not nearly as valuable.Trip 3: For the third trip I sent it with my 15 year old son who was going back packing with his church youth group for a 4 day excursion. I set the phone to log his location every 30 min and set “extended tracking” on. That feature puts the phone to sleep between logging the tracking points. It was really fun to be able to watch where they were on the map. He also set a way point and I saw that show up on the map. Because I was have the cheapest plan, each tracking point logged costs me ten cents. But with tracking only every 30 min and then only when he was on the move—it was still cheaper than paying an extra $10 for the next plan up with free tracking. Also, I was very happy with battery life. I sent him with a full phone and three and a half days later the battery reported almost almost 90%.A few oddities I did notice. Each night it would show him moving just a little bit around one in the morning and five am. Not sure why. Also we reviewed the track together when he got back and he was sure that at one point when it showed him crossing the river and going up a hill a ways (two separate 30 minute points) he simply hadn’t gone there. Also, there were sometimes when it simply skipped reporting his location for a few hours. This happened three times. One of the three was excusable—I didn’t get any indication that they were driving home (about three hours) until they showed up on our doorstep and I chalked that up to the device being in the car. But the other two times he was hiking with the device attached to the backpack strap and the antenna pointing up and it just skipped logging. So it was great and I loved it that he had it with him, but it wasn’t perfect.Misc chargesThe ability to turn on logging and just have the device wake up and say where you are without having to manually send a message is great—but it requires you either to pay ten cents a message or get the more expensive plan. Though I have used the logging on every trip I took, I think in the future I’ll skip it and just manually send the messages a couple of times a day. The exception is if I am sending it with a child on a trip where I am not going with them. In that case, I do think it is worth it for me just to set it and let it do its own thing.