Hi Folks,

Just been doing a little research into the Inreach system for a couple of uses (both personal for events next year and for staff on occasional fieldwork in the UK and further afield in more remote/risky places e.g. the wilds of Mexico).

Following on from a couple of threads on here and some other reviews there are a few things about the Inreach system I like (opt in/out subscriptions, two way messaging and better coverage). Reviews http://www.tramplite.com/2014/06/inreac ... .html#more and https://andrewskurka.com/2015/delorme-i ... endations/seem to suggest better tracking and more reliable coverage....

I am just after some experience from anyone who has made the switch following all the negative comments about the SPOT subs etc. http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB ... ch#p117570. Is it easy to set up a tracking page (like SPOTWalla or similar)? Easy to turn subs on or off? Any other comments on the difference?

I've got a SPOT v2 at present and simple subscription so will be comparing against that.

Cheers, Mark

One of other racers at this year's Rovaniemi 300 had a Delorme Inreach which was the model prior to the Garmin acquisition. It's a bit bigger than a Spot, so it's real merit is as a combined tracker and GPS - but the screen is quite small and lower resolution in comparison to something like an Oregon 600 - the Garmin Inreach screen is bigger. Finally managed to get a refund on my cancelled Spot subscription - they took £193 for the year! Looking at the Inreach to replace it.

I have a Garmin inReach Explorer+
What do you want to know?

Asposium wrote:I have a Garmin inReach Explorer+
What do you want to know?

Easy to use and set up? Can you connect a variety of phones relatively easily (thinking of sharing between users who are doing fieldwork in at off places). How easy is it to send text messages? Any restriction on text length?

I've had drop outs on SPOT where I seem not to be moving and the last location looks like I fell in a ditch or similar, prompting worried calls when back in signal - In Reach less like this?

Thanks for replying.

99percentchimp wrote:

Asposium wrote:I have a Garmin inReach Explorer+
What do you want to know?

Easy to use and set up? Can you connect a variety of phones relatively easily (thinking of sharing between users who are doing fieldwork in at off places). How easy is it to send text messages? Any restriction on text length?

I've had drop outs on SPOT where I seem not to be moving and the last location looks like I fell in a ditch or similar, prompting worried calls when back in signal - In Reach less like this?

Thanks for replying.

Very easy to set up and use.
Sharing with a phone is a matter of connecting via Bluetooth, only one phone at a time though.
From the device typing a text is a pain, from the app just as typing a text.
160 characters per single message.
Messages are charge incoming and outgoing.

Never used spot, so can't comment on differences.
However, the iridium network is more comprehensive, and the inReach will queue tracking points and messages when there is no coverage.