inReach Two-Way Satellite Communicator is an award-winning two way satellite communicator which can be used by itself for 2-way personal and SOS communication with message delivery confirmation, and remote GPS position tracking. Or when paired you get enhanced send-and-receive text messaging, inReach can be paired with an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Android phones and tablets. The inReach uses the Iridium satellite network, it has 100{0e3fbd49920d66d312335c9ab31e3d7b441ff7521e58af8d4d0648ba5d548198} global service, with no gaps, no degraded or fringe covera
$ 249.95
It is relatively expensive, but it works,
I had been using a Spot unit (the original model) for 3 years before I bought my Delorme inReach. I’ve been happy with my Spot: it was cheaper to buy, slightly cheaper to operate, and it was pretty reliable, but, alas, it only communicated one-way. I have found the inReach for Android to be completely reliable and easy to use in my tests thus far. I do not have the inReach that works with both Android and iOS, so I cannot comment on iOS reliability.
For me, the question boiled down to whether two-way communication was worth the extra money. The subscriptions for the two products do not match up perfectly (apples and oranges), so a simple price comparison really doesn’t make sense.
The inReach “Safety” plan costs $120/yr and gives you 10 messages per month (sent and received) and does not include “tracking” (useless to me because I use my GPS for tracking). When on the trail I used to check in once a day on my Spot, so 10 days per month is adequate for me, and I like having the capability of receiving info in the event someone back home needs to communicate with me (gives me peace of mind). The Spot basic subscription is $100/yr. The extra $20 per year is worth it to me. And if I go over my 10 messages per month, it’s only $1.50 per additional message, which will not likely break the bank.
Moving up the subscription ladder, I suppose the next useful comparison would be the inReach “Recreation” plan ($300/yr, which gives you “tracking” and 40 messages per month) and the Spot’s basic service, plus tracking, plus “type and send” service–adds up to $180/yr for the Spot services. Here, you need to ask yourself whether two-way communication is worth the extra $120/yr. I think Delorme would do well to reduce the price of their Recreation plan, although I must admit that I doubt I would find it tempting, even at $180/yr.
Another nice feature of the inReach is that it communicates with my Android phone, and I am able to download topo maps to my phone. The maps are of high-quality and are quite detailed for the United States (24k). You can also get maps covering other regions of the world, but these maps are not nearly as detailed. Bottom line, if you want two-way communication at a reasonable price on a satellite network that covers the entire planet, then the inReach is really the only game in town.
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|Poor preformance!,
I purchased the Delorme inreach to provide a reliable form of communication from a remote cabin in the forests
of northern California.When testing from the cabin location the Inreach stand alone messages and tracking eventually worked fine.My text messages sent from Android phone to the paired Inreach worked fairly well but took 5 to 10 minutes to go through.The problem was in the receiving of return text messages from the people I contacted.I received only 1 return text message of several sent.The Iridium satellites had to be “in view” because the unit worked fairly well in stand alone mode!The Inreach was a fairly good transmitter but a very poor receiver of messages!
The next problem was with pairing between android and Inreach unit which I found the solution with a “power start” by holding
power and tracking buttons simultaneously.(not in owners manual).The inability of the Delorme Inreach to reliably receive text messages from my remote location was disappointing to say the least.I expected the inreach to work simply and reliably as does my spot messenger but I found it to be cumbersome and very finicky in actual use.I tired of solving a new issue each time I tested the unit.Delorme claims the unit sends and receives text messages but in reality my experience was negative on most all counts!Battery life was very poor using 4 sets of lithium batteries during my testing.
Delorme tech support was very nice until they put me on hold for 14 minutes and never returned.
I may now consider a Globalstar satellite phone for $39 per month for unlimited voice and data.I understand that Globalstars
service is now returning to normal since recent satellite launches.(my reliable spot messenger is back in the saddle).
I will return the Delorme Inreach!
Update:I have returned the Delorme Inreach to Amazon for credit.
I called Delorme customer service to discuss terminating service.I was told I would be required to pay the full year of
service contract agreement despite Inreach flaws and 2 months service.(UPDATE)Globalstar phone now connecting majority of calls as of December 2012.Service will further improve with final satellites launch in February 2013.Service plan is great!
Please note the dropping prices of the Inreach units.The price is dropping for a reason!
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|Works Great with iPhone 4s,
Some of the negative reviews may be from people with older androids, which as was pointed out, don’t work with this device.
The Iridium system is always available, but my understanding about Globalstar is that it is NOT always available because they don’t have all their satellites up yet. I think that $120 per year plus $.50 per waypoint and $1.50 per message is an inexpensive way to reliably let your loved ones know where you are when out of cell range. Since SPOT works on Globalstar and can not receive messages, I never gave it serious consideration.
One thing that Delorme does NOT tell you, is that if you DO push the panic button and call for search and rescue, there can be expensive charges for the SAR. GEOS, the company that monitors the emergency calls sells a pre-paid search and rescue plan for $15 per year which will cover up to $100,000 per year in SAR costs. Again, pretty cheap for peace of mind.
It is true that a message takes about 20-25 minutes to reach its destination, or about 45 minutes to receive a reply once you send a message. So its not Instant messaging, but it does allow you to connect using either a text to a cell phone or by e-mail.
Battery life for the Delorme is not bad. One set of disposable lithium batteries will last 24 hours if synced by bluetooth to your iPhone or 125 hours if not. But the iPhone battery would not last that long. i use an Energ4 protective battery case which works great and gives me about 16 hours of continuous iPhone use or about 4 days standby. In addition, i have started carrying an ANKER back up battery, which I have tested, but not actually used in the field. Theoretically, it should triple my iPhone battery time from the above. I also carry a 4-pak of spare AA lithium batteries for the Delorme.
It communicates via the Iridium Network.
On the iPhone, you first download topo maps of your area of interest before you head into the field using Wi-Fi. The GPS portion of the iPhone works quite well even when out of cell phone range and shows your current position as well as previously uploaded waypoints on the topo map. I also use the Trimble Outdoors navigator app on my iPhone which has better navigational capabilities. ( the Trimble compass feature can be set to point at any waypoint, like your car, so you can find your way back if you get lost)
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