Garmin Inreach Mini?

[peterb]

Any experience with using one as a tracker? I ride and hike alone through areas with no cell coverage, so apps like the Strava Beacon don’t work reliably. Wife would like to be able to track me so it the dot stops moving she knows where to send help if I don’t respond.

It appears that the Inreach Mini with the Recreation subscription would do this. Any real-world experience?

Thanks!

https://hikingguy.com/hiking-gear/in...h-mini-review/

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I don't use the Mini, but my friend does; I've used the DeLorme inReach Explorer for years, and recently switched over to the Garmin inReach Explorer+ as I had cracked the screen on the DeLorme (which otherwise works fine, but environmental issues was a concern for me). I've kept the Recreation plan subscription the whole time.

Comms can be a bit slow at times, but that's just the nature of the beast. Same thing goes for the uploading of location; it'll get there, but it might be a bit late, say 15 to 30 minutes, depending on coverage. I've also used the weather a fair bit, though with Apple buying out DarkSky there's questions as to how much longer this will last, though I'm sure Garmin will try to figure something out.

You just have to be cognizant of the environmental issues that can interfere with reception; tree cover, canyons, etc. I personally think it's a great supplement and potential get-out-of-jail free card of types. It's also cool because IIRC you can do inReach-to-inReach communication for free, even if the messages can take a bit of time.

I also think it's quite useful for long road trips into areas with poor cellular reception, and also as a good emergency back-up commo device during a disaster, since it utilizes messages and can sit in a queue until priority frees up for your message, unlike a satellite phone where it's all or nothing when using voice communication.

If bulk isn't an issue, and the cracked screen isn't either, PM me and I'll cut you a good deal on the Delorme.

[pyrotechnic]

I don't have as much experience as the above poster. I do have the mini, I have only tested it a couple times and it sends a message out with a link that allows the recipient to see from where it was sent. I haven't ever used a live tracking feature.

I got it primarily for peace of mind as I'm frequently out of service by myself hunting or whatnot and would feel really silly dying from exposure were I to be immobilized by some accident. I've also thrown it in my shirt pocked a time or two when I was driving down through some bad road conditions with long stretches of no service.

I'm not sure how the live tracking feature works. They recently recovered the body of a 23 year old woman who was missing in the beartooths since July 2nd. Her last message to her family was via inreach from the trailhead, so that leads me to believe that a tracking feature isn't necessarily always on/functional. But who knows, she may have had it turned off when she was caught in a rockslide.

TLDR: I have one, have not used all of it's capabilities, but I like it for my uses.

[peterb]

I'm not sure how the live tracking feature works. They recently recovered the body of a 23 year old woman who was missing in the beartooths since July 2nd. Her last message to her family was via inreach from the trailhead, so that leads me to believe that a tracking feature isn't necessarily always on/functional. But who knows, she may have had it turned off when she was caught in a rockslide.

From what I’ve read, tracking(sending automatic location update every x minutes)is an option. It decreases battery life. You also need one of the more expensive subscription plans unless you want to pay per ping.

[Clusterfrack]

We use the InReach 66i quite a bit. It’s been invaluable for communication in remote areas. We use the preset messages to check in periodically and send our location.

[whomever]

I have one of the older ones, so this may or may not apply.

-I have never used the track function, so no direct info there. I only power it on occasionally to send a 'Here's Waldo!' check in.
n.b. you want to set up clear expectations. I have known folks who didn't, sent a few daily 'Having a great time!' daily messages, then skipped a day because it was raining or they were tired or whatever and the spouse started calling the local sheriff: "Hubby has been checking in every night but stopped ... I think he's in trouble...".
-typing in messages is waaaay slower than e.g. a touch keyboard on a smartphone. It's even worse than the old 3 tap typing on flip phones. But I'm not in the wilderness to be texting up a storm.
-as mentioned upthread, the send/recv can be quick, or take quite a while (15-30 min??). You just never know. But you're not going to be sexting with it.
-you can send messages that arrive as texts or emails, buuuuut the recipient can only reply, i.e. if they save the apparent sending phone number and try to text to it, it doesn't work. Not a problem if everyone understands. I send the missus a test message before starting on a trip.
-it needs some view of the sky, but in general I haven't had problems getting messages out in general Rocky Mountain terrain. I dunno about the Olympic rain forest or deep slot canyons.
-I carry one of the 18650 sized usb power packs as a belt-n-suspenders battery backup. IIRC the internal battery isn't replaceable.

All in all, I really like mine. The ability to do 2 way comms in an emergency is yuge, IMHO. I had one trip where a knee went out a few days from the end trailhead. I was carrying a SPOT, which only did a couple of pre-formatted messages. I wasn't quite ready to push the SOS button, but really would have liked to be able to arrange an alternate, nearer pickup with the missus. And if it is an emergency, the fact that the responders know it's a compound fracture of the femur and not just bad blisters might affect their response. And you can use it to e.g. report that the emergency is a forest fire rather than a medical emergency.

[pangloss]

I have an In Reach Explorer+. It's a lot bigger than the mini, but my wife and daughters had no trouble tracking me while I was hiking in a wilderness area in Colorado last May. Texts were a little slow at times, but all in all, I think it's a great gadget. I assume that the tracking features would be pretty equivalent between the two products.

[Paul D]

I took the InReach Mini on my hunt in Africa. It was good for tracking my movements and to mark waypoints. As a texting communicator, it wasn't great. With the subscriptions, you can send unlimited preset messages that can go out as test messages or email with location markers. You will need to pair it to a smartphone to take full advantage of it. If I had to do it all over again, I would take that for the tracking abilities and allowing people to keep tabs on me. For comms, I would rent a satellite phone.

[peterb]

Thanks to all who answered.

I purchased an InReach Mini a few days ago and have tried it on a couple of long rides with areas of no cell service. So far the tracking function has worked as we hoped — it keeps working when Strava Beacon or other cell-dependent tracking services fail.

Using it with the Earthmate app on the phone is reasonably straightforward. Messaging directly from the InReach is clunky if you can’t use a preset message.

The fact that I can buy something smaller than a bar of soap that transmits directly to a satellite cloud is a bit mindboggling.

[rob_s]

bumping this back up as I'm in the market and I think this is the most recent thread.

based on this review, and the "bottom line" quoted below, it seems to me the Mini would be what we want.

If all you want in a satellite communicator is the ability to share your route with others so they can locate you in an emergency (tracking), send pre-canned status messages to your family, or send a pre-canned SOS message, on day hikes and short overnight trips in warmer weather, the Garmin inReach Mini will satisfy your needs.

If in addition, you want a device that you can use on much longer trips or in cold weather while wearing gloves, you need the more advanced capabilities provided by the Explorer+ such as the ability to easily compose ad hoc (not pre-canned) messages to send to your family or search and rescue services, if, for example, you need expert instructions to stabilize a patient; graphical GPS navigation; and weather forecasts; I’d recommend getting the Explorer+.

Then the question becomes, Mini or Mini 2? This comparison makes me think 2? the 14 days battery life vs 90 hours seems reason enough.

and then while looking into those I see this SPOT thing for less money (so presumably not as good) but piques my curiosity nonetheless.