It doesn't currently look like a great idea as you have to find clear sky and point it the area that the satellites may be - it's also not the most reliable satellite network.
But I guess the next two years data of people getting into serious trouble because they just brought their phone thinking it was enough (the same people who would use their phones for flashlights if it got dark) will show what needs to get done. Or not - because Apple Maps sure didn't/doesn't work either.
Perhaps the dataset from 2 years free usage will allow Apple to determine how much they would want to charge a subscription for to get into a decent sat network and to build the chipset to do it.
Anyone carry an emergency rescue beacon?
Looking into this, I see Garmin now has an InReach Messenger that is less expensive than the Mini 2 and is supposed to have a better battery and antenna. It seems to be getting good reviews. Any thoughts?
Also those with an InReach, which subscription plan are you using? Month to month at $20 seems the most sensible, probably activate it only for 2 or 3 months a year. I suppose the $50 activation fee is one time only and not every time you reactivate your plan???
Last edited by: [email protected] on April 10, 2023, 1:07 p.m., edited 1 time in total.
I am going to upgrade from my Mini to the Messenger, mostly for the increased battery life. I do 24+ hr backcountry rides and not having to worry about charging the Mini midway through is one less thing to worry about. Its battery lasts about 23-24 hours for me, 10-minute tracking, colder temps.
I have the Recreation plan, and I take it with me on most solo rides (which is most of my rides). Even if I'm only 10 miles from civilization, there are places in the hills where there's no cell service, and I don't want to break an ankle and freeze to death or some other dumb way to die. I also pay for the SAR insurance, bought that after seeing a very nasty crash with a guy getting helivac'd to the hospital. I think I wouldn't use it nearly as much if I had to reactivate the plan every time. I mostly use the preset messages to tell my wife what's going on during very big rides.
Last edited by: TristanC on April 10, 2023, 11:06 p.m., edited 1 time in total.
Thanks Tristan. The Messenger seems like the better deal with the lower price and increased battery life.
For now the basic Safety plan on month-to-month seems sufficient for my use case, it will be purely in case of an emergency out of cell range. I'm hoping to explore a little deeper into the mountains in my new area this summer, by bike and on foot.
Here in BC we don't need SAR insurance as rescue is "free" but when travelling I usually have travel insurance that covers that.
I was chatting about rescue comms with an Apple genius yesterday while dropping off my MacBook Pro for some repairs. He had not heard of other Sat Comm options other the the latest iPhone new Sat Comm. he was less then impressed with the iPhone as an emergency beacon use so I showed the Spot Device and explained how it’s a simple dumb device built to be rugged and do three mains messaging offerings (bread crumbs, staying the night and need help rescue). He absolutely loved the simplicity of its offers and might have been ordering one before I left the store.
Being from the lower 48 that occasionally plays up your way, I liked knowing that I have Spot Rescue insurance if it is ever needed.
My InReach plan is out of date [pre-Garmin] so not shown on the site, but I have a minimal plan and I pay for every use other than SOS. That said I generally leave the device turned off to preserve battery life and only use it to send a message if needed. I never use the tracking feature. My plan has a low standby rate so I turn it off when I am not going to be doing stuff outside of cell range and then activate it when I am. Since it gets activated for a month at a time it'll just stay activated for a while until I don't need it and then I de-activate it. I don't pay a fee to activate/de-activate it.
I've got the old bulky InReach standalone unit. Given the battery is still good and it works I'm not going to replace it. Hopefully Apple improves their SOS tech by the time I need a new phone and I can combine these two functions.
^ Yes that's how I imagine I'll be using mine. An occasional text message to inform the home front and worst case the SOS button (hopefully never).
On closer look, the "freedom" plan has an annual fee. For the basic Safety level plan it's $50 annual fee, $20 per month while activated, no monthly charges while suspended. So let's say $50-110 per year assuming between 0 and 3 months of activation in a year.
I kind of hate subscriptions but since this one could save my life I guess it's worth it.
Last edited by: [email protected] on April 11, 2023, 1:57 p.m., edited 1 time in total.
Reason: math....
Posted by: Vikb
Posted by: TristanC
I also pay for the SAR insurance, after I saw a guy (during a non-remote, non-technical gravel ride) fracture his skull and have to get airlifted to a hospital.
What does the SAR insurance cover in BC that's not [mostly] covered already. AFAIK the actual SAR process is free and ambulance/air ambulance is under $100 if you are covered by MSP.
Yup at least in the BC in BC if you need SAR they will come and get you free of charge including the chopper/ no questions asked and they want you to call sooner than later ... your tax dollar at work
awhile back ski bro took a ride & busted ribs in an aviy we had self rescued so instead SAR showed up at the chopper base to give us a PEP# ( Provincial Emergancy Program) which payed for the chopper evac
another time buddy (son of the guy ^ with the busted ribs coincidently) blew a Patelar tendon ( dorp to falt ) on a self guided ski hut trip and the chopper ride out was free
maybe 10 yrs back in a local aviy event with multiple fatalities, even many months later PEP came up with a number and paid for the bird
nobody had any kind of insurance to my knowledge
Last edited by: XXX_er on April 11, 2023, 2:02 p.m., edited 3 times in total.
Posted by: [email protected]
^ Yes that's how I imagine I'll be using mine. An occasional text message to inform the home front and worst case the SOS button (hopefully never).
On closer look, the "freedom" plan has an annual fee. For the basic Safety level plan it's $50 annual fee, $20 per month while activated, no monthly charges while suspended. So let's say $50-110 per year assuming between 0 and 3 months of activation in a year.
I kind of hate subscriptions but since this one could save my life I guess it's worth it.
Do have a look at Zoleo then if you haven't gone the Garmin route - cheaper and although the phone is a single point of failure (apart from the SOS button) it's been easy to setup, text from, use the app instead of texts and my monthly when I use it is pretty cheap. Customer support were excellent as well when I was setting up.
Posted by: DanL
Posted by: [email protected]
^ Yes that's how I imagine I'll be using mine. An occasional text message to inform the home front and worst case the SOS button (hopefully never).
On closer look, the "freedom" plan has an annual fee. For the basic Safety level plan it's $50 annual fee, $20 per month while activated, no monthly charges while suspended. So let's say $50-110 per year assuming between 0 and 3 months of activation in a year.
I kind of hate subscriptions but since this one could save my life I guess it's worth it.
Do have a look at Zoleo then if you haven't gone the Garmin route - cheaper and although the phone is a single point of failure (apart from the SOS button) it's been easy to setup, text from, use the app instead of texts and my monthly when I use it is pretty cheap. Customer support were excellent as well when I was setting up.
Thanks. The Zoleo and the Inreach Messenger seem pretty similar overall. The Zoleo is less expensive to buy but the recurring costs are a bit lower for the Garmin (comparing the cheapest plans).
I have the Zoleo too, which I bought on sale when it was 199$. I'm using the device 3-4 months per year max and use the 5$/month fee to keep the line active for the rest of the year. I wanted a Garmin too, but at that price, for my use, the Zoleo ended up cheaper yearly. I didn't check the new Garmin plans though, so that might work out differently.
It works well though. I find it easier to sen texts from my phone on the Zoleo app than to type with the '90s interface on some models. You need your phone for it to send texts, but the SOS feature can be used by the device alone.
Posted by: [email protected]
^ Yes that's how I imagine I'll be using mine. An occasional text message to inform the home front and worst case the SOS button (hopefully never).
On closer look, the "freedom" plan has an annual fee. For the basic Safety level plan it's $50 annual fee, $20 per month while activated, no monthly charges while suspended. So let's say $50-110 per year assuming between 0 and 3 months of activation in a year.
I kind of hate subscriptions but since this one could save my life I guess it's worth it.
If you're not using the tracking function, I agree the Safety plan is the way to go. I only went Recreation because I do actively use the tracking (some ultra endurance races require you have a tracker, so it's either rent a SPOT or bring your own).
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