Does anyone use either of these devices? If so what is the preference, ease of use, and other considerations. Is there a class since I am not especially sharp about these devices. I am often out of cell coverage and prefer to have just one unit to carry rather than pairing it with a cell and having to pack both while fishing. Thanks for any help.
InreachMini2 vs. Zoleo
- Thread starter WoodseyOwl
- Start date
You might take a look at the reviews on the REI website...they sell both.
I don't know about Zoleo, or the Garmin minis, but I've used the larger Garmin InReach devices for years and had outstanding service from Garmin.
Garmin has excellent instructional videos for all of their satellite communication devices.
I don't really care for any device that depends upon Bluetoothing to a smartphone as the user interface...smartphone batteries are simply too limited.
I don't know about Zoleo, or the Garmin minis, but I've used the larger Garmin InReach devices for years and had outstanding service from Garmin.
Garmin has excellent instructional videos for all of their satellite communication devices.
I don't really care for any device that depends upon Bluetoothing to a smartphone as the user interface...smartphone batteries are simply too limited.
Hands down Garmin. And yes they offer tutorials and webinars on their subscriber website on how to set up and use all of the features. flexible service plans with an annual fee. Works best paired with the cell phone, but doesn't have to be.
See previous thread that I posted in on here about my wife's experience on the PCT and how the Garmin saved her friend's life.
pnwflyfishing.com
See previous thread that I posted in on here about my wife's experience on the PCT and how the Garmin saved her friend's life.
Backpacking...
How many backpackers do we have on this forum? Bet we could combine knowledge and have a pretty damn good database for fishing in the Cascades and Olympics. Would have to be locked down and available to only trusted contributors somehow. Be cool to develop a database we could all add to...
pnwflyfishing.com
I have the Garmin Inreach mini 2. You don't have to use it paired to a cell phone, but I do because it's easier for me and more versatile. I haven't made an emergency use of it, but I send a text message (using both iphone and Inreach) to my wife each night to let her know that I've survived yet another day in the wilderness. It's a price I'm willing to pay so that she will let me continue to go hiking solo off in some wild places.
Mini is ok. The 66i is better. It's twice the device for twice the cost. Depending on your needs. If you want small go mini. If you want easy to use and multi function with actual buttons go 66i. I own both devices and I generally use the 66i. The mini is difficult to know what got sent and when. You are also more dependent on a device to pair it with. The 66i is a true stand alone device when the shit has hit the fan. You also get better read receipts on the 66i. If you want a mini I would sell you mine as it's redundant now that I have the 66i.
Thank you all. This has been a big help.
Ditto to the above. You can store 3 messages that are free to send. I send "checking in" every time I drop into a new spot, and "at the truck heading home" when I finish for the day. There's no cell coverage most of the places where I fish, but the Garmin service sends these messages to my wife's cell phone and her email address.
Divad
Whitefish
I have the Garmin Inreach and prefer it over the mini for map redundancy. Never know if your phone will take a spill or simply not work etc. nice to have a backup mapping system. To me the additional weight and bulk is worth it.
I do also want to buy one of the emergency beacons that require no payment plan and have no frills other than an SOS system if something goes wrong.
I do also want to buy one of the emergency beacons that require no payment plan and have no frills other than an SOS system if something goes wrong.
I use the newer InReach Messenger. You can use it without connection to a smartphone, but the phone app is a lot easier. I like that it holds a charge for up to 30 days, and you can actually charge the phone from the Garmin device enough to use it, but I haven't tried that.
Dekartes
Kill Pebble Permanently
I love the Mini, but to be fair I don't use it for navigation - only for messages. So maybe some of the newer devices would be great. It is a redundant navigating tool if something happens to my phone though. Phone + Gaia is so easy to use for navigation. As far as the larger devices - I hear what people are saying, but I am trying to cut weight like mad at this point in my life - so the Mini is a nice tool at a few ounces.
Dekartes
Kill Pebble Permanently
Lol! Yeah - not many have any compass skills anymore. Mine are severely rusty. Paper maps?? If I don't print them anymore - I know no one younger than me is either! I do still print them for very remote trips though - so there is that. Converting an azimuth, laying it out on paper and then going where it says to go... Wonder how many on this site can do that?!! Actually probably more than your average audience...
Even if map and compass skills are rusty (or nonexistent) one can head in the right direction with only a rough idea of location.
I can remember following deer trails and getting lost hunting whitetail when I was 14 (58 years ago!). Didn't panic because I knew the area (which was large and quite mountainous) was surrounded by logging roads that I'd eventually find....but got seriously worried as dusk approached and I came across my own tracks in the snow. I didn't relish firing off a bunch of three-shot volleys so the old man (and possibly others) would come looking for me.
A compass would have provided a bit of directional consistency.
Nowadays I mark my initial starting way point on my Garmin. It's always interesting (and humbling) to first 'guess' the direction of where my vehicle is parked and then check the actual GPS way point direction.
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I do something similar with the GPS enabled Ham VHF radio in my SUV via the APRS worldwide internet gateways network. I have 6 lines of pre-written text stored to create 2-line messages; my wife's cellular text email address, "at dest" "-> upstream" or "->dwnstream", "headed home ETA _ _ _ _" (in 24 hour time), and "Love You!". The message includes the GPS coordinates with a link to an APRS Open Street Map showing my callsign on a "jeep" where the last transmission occurred. The route I took to get to a spot is also shown on the map because the radio sends a "beacon" status message every 5 minutes while driving. The link includes my Ham callsign so the link can be saved as a browser bookmark-favorite to use anytime. The APRS network is pretty active and I will hear messages being transmitted and displayed on the radio faceplate so I always know if I'm in range of a gateway. When it goes through I get a delivery notification within 30 seconds. I admit that I cannot carry the radio away from the car, so it is not as effective while I'm on trail-in the water as the satellite messaging devices, but unlimited use is free, I'm licensed for it, and it's better than no comms at all. I may get a sat device at some point. A better mobile APRS equipped radio that can "relay" from an APRS equipped handheld carried with me would also work and allow fairly reliable direct station to station voice comms to other Hams for assistance up to 6 miles away, or with virtually unlimited range through repeaters located on many prominent points in the mountains. I was fishing a local stream one day and talked to a guy in Great Britain for a couple of minutes on my handheld!
I've "navigated" groups off-trail using a paper topo map, compass, and altimeter all hanging around my neck for a mile or more through old growth with no distant visual landmarks to find (i.e. the very end of) a trail, and even across the Emmons glacier for 2 miles in a whiteout to a key gulley-notch to get access to the NE ridge of Little Tahoma. Being far enough back in the rear to direct the head of the group to stay on the bearing, and steer around obstacles and back on the bearing helps a lot. The altimeter also helped a lot to confirm the current position on the topo map along the way without distant landmark references.
