DeLorme inReach 2-Way Satellite Communicator for Apple iOS and Android

Comments about DeLorme inReach 2-Way Satellite Communicator for Apple iOS and Android:

I venture out on the Appalachian Trail several times each year and my wife worries when she doesn't hear from me due to a lack of cell service. The inReach solves that problem and also gives me peace of mind that a serious injury won't leave me stranded until someone passes by. I really like the ability to communicate with SAR to give them details once the SOS is activated. I also ride a dualsport motorcycle and often find myself in areas where my phone has no signal. A breakdown could leave me stranded for hours and an accident could prevent me from riding back to civilization. The tracking feature is a bonus for allowing my wife and friends to follow along when I head out on long trips.

My initial experience wasn't perfect. First, my unit froze after performing the suggested software update. DeLorme tech support was great and immediately sent a replacement unit and a label for shipping the original unit back at their cost. Once the new unit was received and the software was updated, I had problems pairing the inReach with my phone. The problem was in my phone and the inReach paired perfectly with a different Android device so all is good.

All features work as advertised and I'll looking forward to mounting the inReach on my motorcycle for a 5-day trip next month.

Comments about DeLorme inReach 2-Way Satellite Communicator for Apple iOS and Android:

I bought this unit after a Boy Scout trip where we had to arrange a parent's pickup of a sick boy from the middle of a Pacific NW wilderness area during a 50 mile week long backpacking trip. Even after reaching the relative civilization of a USFS campsite it still took several hours to have the parents called and 8 hours for them to reach us. We were very close to having a blown trip.

This product looked like it gives affordable sat cell phone capability for emergency use. This will sound like one of those "tent in the backyard" reviews since I've not had it in the woods yet but a few things have already caught my eye.

Setting it up worked well enough, but there was a little trickiness in the setup since there was a firmware update noted on one of the two Delorme websites (normal and enterprise). You also MUST pay attention to the status for linking to Bluetooth, at least once I had to cycle power to relink to my Android phone. When the unit is set up, send a test message to someone, turn everything off, then do it again (it is emergency gear, when you need it, you need it).

Changing the unit set-up on the Inreach itself would be not very user friendly and require that you pay attention to patterns of blinking LEDs. As a past instrumentation developer, I am impressed with the way they cram SO many status messages and settings into 4 LEDs and pushbuttons. As a user, I am going to be lost without a cheat sheet.

The e-mail test message I sent to my wife's e-mail account also had a link to a map showing location where I sent the message. That would be very convenient for a pickup or assistance in the Cascades or Blues where the roads are few and far between.

I liked the ability to change the three pre-loaded messages so that there's no need to take a phone. That has to be done on the Delorme website before you leave. "All's well," "running slow, don't worry," and "pick me up here" should cover most normal situations with the SOS reserved for real emergencies.

The maps have both great and not so great features. You can download free maps from Delorme that cover the US and coastal waters at very good levels of detail for traveling, canoeing/boating, and bike touring. However, I'd be very careful using them for mountain travel since they're size limited for download and the contour lines become linked line segments at a scale where a Green Trails map is still showing the exact landform. They're very comparable to the Trails Illustrated series from National Geographic.

The bigger problem for me is that maps on the phone have tiny, tiny script for road and town names even when zooming in. Some trails are shown, but not all and none are labeled. A bigger issue is that the trails look similar to stream flows to me. I'd like a feature to adjust text size and labels and will be sending that suggestion to Delorme.

All in all, I am very impressed with the Inreach. It looks like it will give me the capability I wanted and they promised.

Comments about DeLorme inReach 2-Way Satellite Communicator for Apple iOS and Android:

After being torn between the Spot messenger and this for a long time, I finally decided to go with the DeLorme InReach. I haven't had an actual emergency use yet (and hope I never will), but I have tested the messaging functionality and it's worked well so far, with all messages being received and the location quite accurate. The device looks fairly bulky, but is not at all heavy. Instructions are sufficient, the Android app also seems to work fine so far (I've mostly used the predefined message so far). What's really cool are the maps that are included with the app.

Comments about DeLorme inReach 2-Way Satellite Communicator for Apple iOS and Android:

My first trial on a ski outing was a mixed success. I was able to send one of the predefined messages home, was able to send a text message and recieve one message, all without cel phone coverage. HOWEVER, the device did not stay paired wtih my phone after cycling the power off. Remembering which combination of flashing LED's mean what will be a challenge, I will make a laminated quick reference for my pack for future reference. My most common usage will be in locations where I am driving or not far from my vehicle in areas without cel coverage so I will have my phone and will likely save a pdf of the manual on my phone too. it seems well built, but heavy at the same time. Quick impression is that it will work fine for my purpose, the ability to signal for help, and limited two way messaging in areas without cel coverage. Be aware that there is an annual subscription fee that seems pretty high for the bandwidth you actually use. The cheapest plan with two way texting gave us the peace of mind my wife wanted.

Comments about DeLorme inReach 2-Way Satellite Communicator for Apple iOS and Android:

There is finally a communication product that covers my needs. Sat phones have been too expensive, unreliable, bulky, or just too connected. PLBs only offer one way communication. Other devices are one way and seem cheaply built. The inReach gave me the option to simply communicate my location and status to my family and also check in to ensure they are ok so that I can relax and enjoy my trip.

I used this in the boundary waters for an end of season canoe trip. Temps ranged from 23-45 degrees with wind, rain, sleet, snow, and heavy cloud cover. I intentionally let it get wet and cold and it worked the whole time. (The iphone's screen didn't seem to like the colder end of the temps so if you are going to use it in those conditions you may want to keep it on your body.) The signal was good and even worked in some light tree cover a couple of times. Other times I had to move to open sky.

I like that it is waterproof and rugged, has a solid SOS button lock, and has simple and reliable two way communication.

I have a minor issue pairing the inReach and my iphone occasionally. It sometimes takes multiple attempts and a little patience. Not sure if this is a user error or not, and based on previous problem with the iphone it would not surprise me if it was the problem. I have always had success after a few tries though.

Glad I bought it.

Comments about DeLorme inReach 2-Way Satellite Communicator for Apple iOS and Android:

Great to keep tabs on away parties, home base parties and potential resucue parties. Can keep track of boy scouts while you are at home. Batteries last three long days. Nice to have two way comm's without the price of a satphone.

Comments about DeLorme inReach 2-Way Satellite Communicator for Apple iOS and Android:

We purchased the Android version of inReach for a flying trip from Texas to Canada and Alaska. The device itself performed flawlessly. Our family tracked our progress throughout the trip, receiving regular updates via e-mail and Twitter. Battery life is very good, one set survived pre-trip testing and 16 days of an 18 day adventure -- though we were not using the device continuously. The Android app is a bit buggy and power hungry -- regularly sending the same message multiple times, sometimes hours apart. InReach will show you when a message has been delivered, typically less than a minute in our experience. In summary, inReach is a great product, far superior to its competition -- well worth the higher subscription fees.

Service and delivery comments:

The service provisioning website is straight-forward and fast. Good thing, as customer service is non-existent, as far as we can tell. We had a couple of issues during our trip. Two weeks later we have yet to receive a response.

Were it not for our customer service experience, this product would easily rate five stars.

Comments about DeLorme inReach 2-Way Satellite Communicator for Apple iOS and Android:

Had to use the SOS feature of this device last weekend in Yosemite. SOS signal registered/confirmed within 30 seconds under moderate tree cover, but texts with the Delorme operator weren't being sent/received. Device did send messages effectively when I went uphill to clear view of skies. After texting with the Delorme operator via iphone, Search and Rescue was deployed within 5 minutes of first hitting the SOS button.

Minor nuances with device:
-after SAR flew victim away, I couldn't find any way to turn the device off. I ended up popping out the batteries.

-I wish there was a better method to cancel the SOS. How it currently works is: hold SOS for 3 seconds to send SOS, hold for 5 seconds to cancel. If one didn't read the instructions or was overwhelmed with adrenaline, it may be too easy to cancel the SOS.

-Device is slightly clunky.

Yes, this device saved a life. Monthly rates are a little pricey but now that I've had to use the device I don't think twice. The inReach will be with me on every activity from now on.

Comments about DeLorme inReach 2-Way Satellite Communicator for Apple iOS and Android:

I am not going to go into long descriptions about this product or how you can't text entire conversations about what you are doing while backpacking or whatever adventure you are doing. you can read about the technical stuff in the specs. What I'm going to tell you is that thanks to this device my friend is alive. While backpacking he had a medical emergency and thanks to this device we were able to communicate with search and rescue and fly him out the mountain to the hospital. Yes, I recommend you get one. It's priceless.

Comments about DeLorme inReach 2-Way Satellite Communicator for Apple iOS and Android:

Its a bit bigger than the SPOT device that I originally purchased, but that is more than compensated for the much better reliability and service.

I bought the recreational plan to do a lot of 2-way custom emailing, and it works like a charm.

Its nice for me to be able to have 2-way email with my spuse when I am outside of my cell phone coverage.

Its also nice that the unit provides me with a delivery confirmation that the message got out, as opposed to guessing my old SPOT if it was really working or not. Dont get me wrong, the SPOT was a nice device to have, but this new InReach is just so easy to use, reliable, and so function driven, I love it. Bought it from the REI store in Missoula, and the sales rep. there was very very helpful. Thank you REI.