Garmin inReach® Mini 2, Satellite Communicator, Orange

Lightweight, easy to use. Garmin is amazing in an emergency situation. Already used and literally, saved my son’s life. We will forever be grateful to this device and support provided by SAR and emergency response team at Garmin.

I like hiking and camping in remote areas that often don't have cell reception. I have Starlink, but that stays with the car. When I'm out in the back country, possibly days from any cell towers, I like to at least have a way to call for help if needed. The bonus, and why I love this over dedicated PLBs, is that I can get weather forecasts and message family and friends through this via Bluetooth on my phone. The service plans are very reasonably priced, so it doesn't feel prohibitive to use the extra features. I highly recommend this if you spend time in remote areas with no way to get help. Just telling someone where you're going and when you're expected to check back in is the bare minimum safety advice, but that could mean that it will take days before anyone even starts looking, and they won't know exactly where you are. With this, you'll have help on the way almost immediately, and they'll know exactly where to go AND what your situation is because you'll be communicating with Garmin. Even if you never need to use it in an emergency, the messaging and ability to get weather forecasts, along with the peace of mind this gives you, is worth the price.

UPDATE: just returned from a RawHyde off-road motorcycle training, course where Instructors repeatedly emphasize the need to wear This on your body as you ride. (and to never ride alone) All people in the course fell at least once in the very challenging training exercises. with one fall, My foot was pinned below my bike, but luckily not injured due to my good boot. If I were out alone, I don’t know what I would’ve done as I needed others to shift the bike weight to get my foot out From under the motorcycle Prior review : As a 70 year-old going on hikes in the local mountains with friends and adventure motorcycle rides. I am at risk for injury far from assistance. This is an essential item as my cell phone service is often spotty to absent. Hope I never need to use it, but I have tried all it features But the SOS good for letting others know where you are and texting from remote locations. Not as easy to use as cell phone texting but functional. As the screen is tiny, I don’t think it would work well as a GPS mapping device, but it does display your location and coordinates.

The Garmin inReach Mini 2 is a must-have for anyone who spends time off-grid. The compact size makes it easy to clip to a pack or stow in a pocket, and the satellite connection gives peace of mind when cell service drops out. Messaging and SOS features work as advertised, though typing out custom texts can feel a little slow on the device itself. Battery life is excellent, lasting multiple days on a single charge with moderate use. For outdoor trips, hiking, or emergencies, it’s an investment worth making.

This is old-school performance on high-tech equipment. I bought this for outdoor adventures in areas that have no cell coverage. It is functional, but you have to imagine that you are living in the 20th century to meet performance expectiations. First, the setup and activation took nearly 2 days. Yes, 2 days. I set up my account, put the InReach outdoors with full view of the sky, and then waited... and waited... finally after numerous power cycles, and more waiting, it activated. The instructions said that the long activation time is not an indication of normal performance. Yeah, right. Then I went camping in a remote area for a week. I sent a preset message, had InReach in full view of the sky, sitting on a small table. I waited... finally the message showed as Sent after 20 minutes. Not impressed. Other messages took anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes to send; judging the replies was more difficult, but the quickest reply from a friend was about 30 minutes (this could have been due to the friend taking time to respond). Despite the slow performance, it never failed to send or receive a message. The subscription plans have Gotchas that are not advertised. The Freedom plan, aka "pay as you go" does not offer much Freedom. First, you have to pay $35 for each year you use the plan; so if you only use it one month every year, then it isn't $15, it's $50. And, contrary to what's advertised on the Garmin site, you DO get charged for the months that you do NOT use it (as of June 2022), I believe $5/mo. For those reasons, I just did the Annual plan. The short of it: For ONE month, you pay $105 over the course of a year - that's $105 for ONE MONTH of usage. For the Annual plan, you pay $178 over the year, which is $14.86 per month. For the type and amount of service you get, InReach can seem like a total rip-off. You need to decide for yourself if having 'service anywhere' justifies the cost. For me, it is, and it fits my budget. There are a few strong points of the Garmin InReach2 over other platforms. First, it is small. I mean tiny. It's easy to pack and carry, and you do not need anything else - no phone pairing required. Battery life is good, and it uses a built-in rechargeble battery. The phone app is decent, and you don't need service / internet to use it or pair it. Of course you need to have already downloaded the app, but that's obvious. The screen is small but easy to read, unless you have poor eye sight. Still, let's say you are older or farsighted and lose your reading glasses, the SOS button can be found and operated by feel, so there's always that. Some downsides: Preset messages require setup on a computer via the InReach portal. The rechargeable battery means that you can't use common batteries in a pinch, like AAAs or similar; and you need to have access to a USB-C charger. Complaints aside, if I knew all this before I bought it, I probably would have still bought it, mostly because I'm an electronics nerd.

I love camping. I wish I could have done more of it in the past, but trying to get friends or family together for one is a P.I.A. I never solo camped because the places I like are National Forests that will normally have no cell reception so being alone and running into an emergency isn't a great incentive to be adventurous. Pros: The unit is easy to set up. Fairly easy top register and get an account. The subscription can be suspended at any time without penalty and reinstated when needed. Great for us fair season campers that will have these tucked away in our camping bins for the winter. Insurance is affordable. BUY THE RESCUE INSURANCE IN CASE YOU EVER NEED TO BE RESCUED. Battery lasts the entire weekend for me. I can send receive messages and leave breadcrumbs for my family to track. The list goes on and on, but most of all, I have peace of mind to get out on adventures by myself and get to camp more. Cons: Monthly subscription can be a little pricy if you want to be able to send more messages and send location data of your trip in real-time. You will need separate usage plan and rescue insurance. You can forgo the insurance but I don't recommend it. All it takes is one incident and you'll wish you bought at least the basic insurance. You can't switch between cellular data and satellite in the app. It'll always use satellite even if you have cellular coverage. I highly recommend this IF you love exploring areas outside of cellular service areas. It's a great tool to let your family know you're safe and peace of mind if something catastrophic happens. I hope I never need the SOS function but I can feel better when I venture out solo.

Great little phone! Bought for my husband who is in the woods hunting and riding atv/snowmobiles. Had no issues receiving texts from him!

These are perfect for my grandson while he’s out hunting. They’re reliable, easy to use, and give great peace of mind for parents. Durable and practical—highly recommend!

Muy bien pero los planes de precios son caros

Excelente, yo lo uso para que mi familia me ubique cuando salgo en la moto, hay que comprar un paquete de emergencia, bajar una app de Garmin, nada difícil.

Pues un elemento de seguridad muy útil para quien haga actividades en zonas sin cobertura. Resistente, pequeño y de calidad Garmin. Puedes enviar mensajes a contactos, compartir ubicación y enviar una señal SOS al centro de Garmin para que den la alarma a los servicios de auxilio de la zona en la que te encuentres. Este modelo a mí modo de ver es mejor que el mini 3 para actividades acuáticas por carecer de pantalla táctil y tener botones físicos. No me pareció difícil de configurar. Requiere suscripción.

Excelente equipamento!

Excellent condition and well packaged