Garmin 010-01879-00 InReach Mini, Lightweight and Compact Satellite Communicator, Orange

I had been using a spot device and after getting a 225 dollar renewal charge from spot I had enough. I used this on a 5 day trip in the sierra Nevada mountains. It was small enough to wear on my pack strap which made it easy to check out miles for the day. Battery life wasnt bad in tracking mode I recharged it off a solar charger but I think it could have gone two days in tracking mode. miles traveled was dead on with the map trail mileage. Pairing the unit with a iphone and sending a message was pretty easy.

Worked great in Northern Ontario and deep sea fishing out of Bahamas. Like it better than the full sized version.

Worked great. Battery life could be better.

The Garmin InReach Mini works perfectly fine, and activated without a hitch, but I specifically ordered RED, and instead received BLACK.

If you plan to have your smart phone with you (and backup charging capabilities) the Garmin Inreach is ideal. You can download maps ahead of trip on your phone, and the Garmin will show you exactly where you are and track your activity. We were able to track in real time on our computer where our son was hiking in Arches National Park. Every 10 minutes, there was a spot on the map along the way. It saved them twice to get them back on the trail during a 10 mile hike.

Used this device ONE time to send a test message in the wilderness, it didnt even send until I return to Denver. Then tried it again a year later...The device will now not even power on, and Garmin support wants me to pay $130 to exchange my device when Ive already dropped $400 on this. Save your money please.

THIS PRODUCT REQUIRES SUBSCRIPTION...its completely on me that I didnt look into this more, but you have to pay monthly to use its features. Its about $15/month if you just want to pay monthly, and thats for the most basic subscription. A rip off in my opinion after spending $300 for the device itself. If you dont care about being able to text or track your route off grid then dont get this. Im now getting the ACR beacon instead. Same price, no subscription needed, and all it has is an SOS feature, which was the main reason I got the inreach to begin with.

What an awesome product! I had been hesitant for some time about making the purchase, but now that I own the Garmin In-Reach, I am very pleased. Literally every place I go hiking is remote and has zero cell reception.

Easily pairs with phone in order to keep in touch via text wherever you are.

There is no reason why a gps device can not provide the ability to search for trails or other destinations and then have the device navigate the user to the destination. This is the most basic gps function and it is not an option with InReach products.