Satellite Communicator (Garmin In Reach Mini II) questions.

I have a mini given to me by a concerned friend. I keep it turned off in the front pocket of my pfd. For those of you who clip it to the outside of your pfd, or just below your chin on a backpack strap, why? I’ve seen backpackers do that and wondered why it needs to be on and so accessible at all times. Not criticizing, just curious.

Mark

Mine (old Delorme version InReach), is inside my PFD pocket, no need to have it dangling where it could disappear or get tangled. Mine is on at all times when I'm moving because I'm tracking which can be viewed online in real time (for my fans!).

Once I stop to camp, I send out a generic message and then turn it off. I only turn it on when setting out the next morning unless I want to send a message or get a weather forecast during the night.

...wondered why it needs to be on and so accessible at all times.

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As stated earlier, mine is on & clipped to my belt from the time I break camp until I settle in for the night. It allows friends & family to see where I am in real time (which both my father and my youngest daughter love to do; checking it throughout the day). I share the base maps & my planned itinerary with a few family members before I leave and they can then see if I'm making the progress I'd expected.

By having it on & tracking all day, it also creates the tracking "maps" that I include in my trip reports. It probably wouldn't need to be extremely accessible for any of that except that I want it on me (not a pfd or pack from which I can become separated).

I look at it like an insurance policy: I hope I never need it but, if I do, I want it where I can reach it regardless of the extent of my injuries or my physical condition. (I'm always solo and I think that fact also adds just a bit of extra caution to my habits).

I keep my PLB fastened to my PFD. That way, if I lose contact with my packs, or am injured and can’t move, I still have my failsafe at my disposal. I’m considering a new device, one that sends messages. Waterproofing is a key feature I’d want, or I’d carry both the WP PLB on my person and another device in a dry bag.

I can't speak to all of the available devices but can confirm that both SPOT and InReach are sufficiently waterproof to survive a long swim, their IPX ratings suggest 30 minutes immersion at 1 metre depth. If you are floating at the surface they should survive much longer.

If you dump in the middle of a large lake you should be pushing the SOS button right away unless you are absolutely sure that you can reach shore.

recped said:

I can't speak to all of the available devices but can confirm that both SPOT and InReach are sufficiently waterproof to survive a long swim, their IPX ratings suggest 30 minutes immersion at 1 metre depth. If you are floating at the surface they should survive much longer.

If you dump in the middle of a large lake you should be pushing the SOS button right away unless you are absolutely sure that you can reach shore.

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My spot was mounted on the bow deck of my voyageur canoe in front of me for each of my five Yukon races including two 1000 milers. Exposed to sun and thunder storms with its patch antenna pointed skyward, except when we were behind high cliff shadow, it never failed to send out our location coordinate messages when required

My PLB is an ACR. I have no idea if it works. It’s 10 years old. I had the battery replaced once.

The Nahanni Park Service was considering whether to evacuate us by helicopter last summer, due to a 6 inch rainfall event. The inreach messaging allowed the park ranger to text us, we retreated to higher ground, and we bivouacked for three days until the water levels receded. Of course that requires that you contact the park ranger with your contact info before you set out.

Of course that requires that you contact the park ranger with your contact info before you set out.

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Good idea. Whether a park office or a local friend (I've used Mem for intel on the past 2 Ontario trips), having someone local on your contacts list can be invaluable.

For those that have used multiple devices, which device would you recommend? I have never owned a PLB or a satellite communicator but I figure there's no better time than now, especially as I see more and more of my trips becoming solos. I've been pricing out the different plans: I'm not too keen on paying a yearly subscription for a device I will be using maybe 8 weeks of the year.

I think the InReach fee when suspended is $6 month (I'm on a 9 year old plan so new subscriptions could be a bit different. You only pay the full fee when the device is active and even that is prorated so if you only use for one week you pay 25% of whatever plan you are on.

I don't really enjoy spending $60/year when I'm not using it but it's acceptable given the only alternative is to reactivate (and pay the activation fee) when you want to use it but that would only be a savings if you just used it once per year.

I have an old pre-garmin InReach that does not come with any mapping (I have a separate GPS), at some point I'll upgrade to a newer Garmin unit or perhaps my current one will last long enough that I can move directly to a satellite enabled smartphone.

One thing I can say for sure, all of these devices are cheaper and better than using a Sat Phone.

I would not go with any one way device like a PLB.

I'm not sure if it matters as much these days, in the past one important thing was which satellite system the device uses, Irridium was the most reliable a few years ago and may still be.

@Zac, I have no experience with anything other than the Garmin but the yearly fee (US$) is only $35 and I use the recreation plan so I activate / deactivate as I'll use it and that comes to another $35 a month. I'm considering adding the SOS insurance (they'll pay up to $100K for an emergency extraction for $40 a year) but I haven't decided I need that yet.

I really like the simplicity of the Garmin and the interface with the Earthmate app on my phone (recent trip notwithstanding but that was totally my fault... I'll explain in the TR...)

I looked at everything before I bought and, at that time, decided that the Garmin (although the initial purchase price was hard to swallow) was the best deal in the long run. That's been a few years now, so let us know what you land on & why.