Zoleo vs InReach vs new Satellite Cell Phones

[Evan B]

May be picking up an unopened Zoleo from a local guy for a very good price today. Been considering one for a while, but I'm a sucker for a deal so may have just got the nudge I needed. My plan is mostly to use this off shore while tuna and halibut fishing.

Before I commit, I just want to start a conversation about these units and how they compare to the new generations of cell phones with satellite connectivity. With a Zoleo, it seems I can text with my cell phone as I see fit (limited only by the plan I choose). The Garmin, it seems you use the unit itself mostly and it has a lot of pre-loaded messages for check-ins. For cell phones, it appears it's mostly emergency only.

Would love some more input and info from the crowd here. Just a good discussion to have either way.

 

[Dustin Chromers]

Garmin 66i you can Bluetooth to your phone and text. I don't use any preloaded messages and instead just text with it. Receiver gets a maplet location along with your text. It's a big upgrade from the Garmin mini which doesn't have message status. Overall I hate Garmin for their 80s interface but they do function for the intended purpose. Oh and you get a routable GPS in the unit.

 

[Evan B]

Garmin 66i you can Bluetooth to your phone and text. I don't use any preloaded messages and instead just text with it. Receiver gets a maplet location along with your text. It's a big upgrade from the Garmin mini which doesn't have message status. Overall I hate Garmin for their 80s interface but they do function for the intended purpose. Oh and you get a routable GPS in the unit.

Yeah I would absolutely LOVE to have one of those. Significantly more money than I can drop right now, though. In my case, it's something I hope to never use. Like a "I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it." In all my off shore trips, Once I cross the line of no longer having service, I'm always glad to be away from it. But the peace of mind of having more than just my VHF and Epirb to save me if anything goes awry is worth a few bucks.

If I spent more time in the backcountry as you do, that 66i would be the thing to have.

 

[J Watrous]

The garmin in-reach I have allows me to use the free Garmin Messenger app on my phone to send photos, text messages, and (I believe though I haven't tried or cared to look it up) my gps track/map file. It's also able to operate wholly independent of the phone, which is a major bonus to me, and as a GPS unit marking waypoints and trackbacks, and following files and tracks and routes sent to it from my phone (garmin explore app) or computer. You can also customize the pre-set messages to your heart's content.

I thought about the zoleo but the garmin seemed to do everything it did, and more, in a smaller and lighter package that also allowed me to not bring my phone with me (which I enjoy having freedom from).

 

[Matt B]

I don't know about the other ones you mention but the Garmin InReach Mini 2 works quite well, and much better than the old Mini 1 (tested side-by-side). The InReach Mini 2 will show you if your messages coming in are unread, if outgoing messages are being sent, or if the sending failed. It is easy to Bluetooth custom messages from your phone to the Garmin to the sky, and less easy but possible to send custom messages straight from the Garmin unit.
And yeah the GPS part works just fine.

 

[mcswny]

I have the Garmin inreach explorer+. Got it after having Bert to bring out in the backcountry for us and it works as intented. You can either very slowly type out messages on the unit or bluetooth/mirror it to your phone and message essentially like a text. the plan is $40~ a month for 40 ish texts a month that you can pause whenever you want without a fee. It's good peace of mind when out with the kid, especially when im out with her and Caitlins at home (meaning good for Caitlin's peace of mind).

My only gripe is as I'm going more ultralight with my backpacking gear, the unit is a bit heavy, in conjunction with needing your cellphone to be efficient with your texting (Caitlin likes to check in especially if I'm solo), the weight adds up.

 

[Dustin Chromers]

Yeah I would absolutely LOVE to have one of those. Significantly more money than I can drop right now, though. In my case, it's something I hope to never use. Like a "I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it." In all my off shore trips, Once I cross the line of no longer having service, I'm always glad to be away from it. But the peace of mind of having more than just my VHF and Epirb to save me if anything goes awry is worth a few bucks.

If I spent more time in the backcountry as you do, that 66i would be the thing to have.

I have a Garmin mini up for grabs cheap if you want it. I think it's the earlier version. It works fine but the 66i makes it redundant for me

 

[G_Smolt]

I have and still use the original DeLorme InReach, which I bluetooth to my phone with the Gaemin Eaarhmate app. I used its native text function for several years before getting a smartphone, and while alphanumeric texting sucks, some days its easier than trying to type on your touchscreen in the rain...
Several years ago, when outfitting herself for a ladies' backcountry hunt, my wife did her due diligence on the available satellite communicators and settled on the Zoleo.
Both are good.
If the price is right, get the Zoleo

 

[mcswny]

Along Evan's first question, has anyone replaced their Garmin, Zoleo etc with just using your phones satellite texting feature?

 

[Evan B]

I have a Garmin mini up for grabs cheap if you want it. I think it's the earlier version. It works fine but the 66i makes it redundant for me

I would if the Zoleo I'm grabbing wasn't already super cheap. I'm sure someone else here could make great use of it though.

 

[Dustin Chromers]

Along Evan's first question, has anyone replaced their Garmin, Zoleo etc with just using your phones satellite texting feature?

No. I don't trust a cell phone company to have this feature work in a pinch. We all know that there will be some bullshit "start an account" or other barrier making it completely useless in an emergency.

I also believe in redundancy. I never take one map or navigation system into the wilderness nor do I trust an untested way to communicate. I've never tested my phone's satellite capability. I have the Garmin. Garmin is option 1. I figure the phone satellite system is option 2 but I'm really not that trusting of it. A stand alone sat phone works well. I've used them but don't own one. As costs fall I may go that route while still carrying the Garmin.

I've been in several situations where communication really mattered. I've learned through those experiences not to trust only one device or system to your fate. Have a backup. A satellite capable phone is a nice backup but at this point for me not a primary dependable method.

 

[chief]

I have a Zoleo that I use for hiking in the back country and it works as advertised. Most of the functionality is through your smartphone, but you can send check-ins and SOS messages directly from the unit if your phone were to die. I just use the Basic plan which gives you 75 satellite messages a month for $20/month. I suspend it during the off season, so I keep my same number but only pay $4/month.

I am sure it has all kinds of functions that I will never use, but for sending a message that I need help, or reassuring my wife that I'll be home in time for dinner, when I don't have cell service, it works for me.

 

[J Watrous]

Along Evan's first question, has anyone replaced their Garmin, Zoleo etc with just using your phones satellite texting feature?

If I could trust it, I would. Cannot get it (iphone 16 pro max) to work reliably or easily. If I were injured or compromised I can only see it being even worse. That's just me, though. For me the garmin works the first time, every time, within seconds, with just a few button presses--and that's if its off. Not to mention that if the iPhone is wet, the screen is useless.

Edit: Apparently, I can’t spell.

 

[Dustin Chromers]

If I could trust it, I would. Cannot get it (iphone 16 pro max) to work reliably or easily. If I were injured or compromised I can only see it being even worse. That's just me, though. For me the garmin works the first time, every time, within seconds, with just a few button presses--and that's if its off. Not to mention that if the iPhone is wet, the screen is useless.

Edit: Apparently, I can’t spell.

Your experience is as I would expect.

Why advertise this functionality as an emergency feature then have it not work? That seems like a giant liability to me.

 

[J Watrous]

Your experience is as I would expect.

Why advertise this functionality as an emergency feature then have it not work? That seems like a giant liability to me.

I’m sure the marketing is full of wiggle words and disclaimers. Even something as easy as “could be used in an emergency” leaves a lot of room for it not to work.

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

Garmin 66i you can Bluetooth to your phone and text. I don't use any preloaded messages and instead just text with it. Receiver gets a maplet location along with your text. It's a big upgrade from the Garmin mini which doesn't have message status. Overall I hate Garmin for their 80s interface but they do function for the intended purpose. Oh and you get a routable GPS in the unit.

@Dustin Chromers - the 66i does require a subscription, correct - trying to decide myself on this, right now leaning to the inReach Mini 2, which from comments above doesn't require a subscription (though a footnote on the Garmin site says it does) - bluetooth to cell phone is not something I want or need, the whole point for this for me is to not require a second family cell phone.

thanks

 

[Dustin Chromers]

@Dustin Chromers - the 66i does require a subscription, correct - trying to decide myself on this, right now leaning to the inReach Mini 2, which from comments above doesn't require a subscription (though a footnote on the Garmin site says it does) - bluetooth to cell phone is not something I want or need, the whole point for this for me is to not require a second family cell phone.

thanks

I know of no Garmin satellite device or other satellite device that does not require a subscription. It can be used stand alone but functionality is better via the phone.

 

[J Watrous]

I reached out to Garmin’s customer service because I saw Dustin’s comment but I’ve been using it for a while without a subscription and I’ve seen marketing where it says no subscription required. Apparently Garmin’s InReach minimum $14/month plan is supposed to be required for messaging and SOS—otherwise it’s just a basic GPS unit that requires no subscription.

I say “supposed” because they hadn’t been charging my card. When I reached out to Garmin’s customer service to ask for clarity about whether emergency sos messaging (not regular texting) was free, they were able to “fix” it so I’m now being charged $14/month on a month-month plan that I can pause at any time. They even apologized for not charging me.

 

[Josh]

Along Evan's first question, has anyone replaced their Garmin, Zoleo etc with just using your phones satellite texting feature?

Yes, I did just this year. I had an inreach for a long time and it was fine. But the newer iPhone's sat feature works for my needs.

If I were going into the way outback more often, I think I would have kept the inreach. It was a good piece of insurance. But as most of my "out of cell range" adventures these days is just day trips on not very remote creeks or passing through no-service zones on the way to the ski area, I'm satisfied with my testing of the apple sat service.

That said, I did sell the inreach with the caveat that I could borrow it if I were going on on a trip somewhere that I wanted the extra backup.

I know of no Garmin satellite device or other satellite device that does not require a subscription.

I second this. That has always been the case for me as well. They offer various levels of moth or annual plans, but you always needed to pay for it to work.

 

[Triggw]

... The Garmin, it seems you use the unit itself mostly and it has a lot of pre-loaded messages for check-ins. ...

I have the Garmin Inreach Messenger. As other have pointed out, you can message directly on the device, but much easier to use the connected phone app. The deal with the predefined messages -- there actually are only 3 with the Messenger -- is that the subscription gives you an unlimited number of them, whereas there's a limited number of custom messages depending on your plan. Then it starts charging you per message. If you just want to tell your spouse that you've made it back to camp, the predefined messages are an OK solution.

One thing I like about the Messenger is that it has a very good battery life. They say up to 30 days. I haven't been out that long, so can't verify, but I've had it out 5 - 6 days, and it still has plenty of charge. They say you can even use the Messenger to recharge your phone enough to use it.