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I know that Spot is the normal go to tracker but has anyone here used the Garmin InReach one (used to be Delorme)? Was for work rather than bikepacking but this place seems to know all
I don't have one but I've had a brief play around on a friends. When it's working and paired with a phone it's fantastic. My concerns were around the whole pairing thing (Bluetooth etc) and having 2 devices with charge etc.
Without a paired phone it's incredibly clunky to send text etc but a nice thing is that you do get confirmation that the messages have got through. With my Spot that isn't a feature which could be frustrating / scary if you really needed help. Having been in a situation where rescue was called (Sat phone) knowing 100% that they were coming was a big comfort.
Can you use them to nav in a similar way to, say a 810??
Also is there a bar mount for them yet?
Garmin website not helpful on either matter!@
I think the InReach explorer rather than the SE model has maps but I don't know if they are the standard Garmin ones. It's also a device that is aiming for long battery life so I wouldn't expect it to do live navigation but I might be wrong. I haven't been through all the manual yet
Thanks for the info sweaman2, that's helpful. The plan was to set up a few preset messages in case the phone link failed but use a phone for texting normally
I was with someone who was using one in an event in the Arctic, I was using a Spot. The screen on the Inreach is quite small, so not sure I'd want to use it as my primary navigation device, but OK as a backup. I've cancelled my sub with Spot because they're a bunch of scamming shysters - at least with Garmin you can flex your subscription. I'll probably buy an Inreach in due course. The new inreach uses the same bracket as an Oregon.
Yep. It's bigger than a spot but not a lot bigger. I guess that is deliberate as it is really meant to be hooked on to something and left there. They have an app that links into your phone but then of course you could just use an offline map on your phone
The flex subs on the Garmin are interesting as otherwise it is quite a pricey option
May leave it till they do a v2 or v3.
The sweet spot for me is one unit for nav, track and 2 way emergency comms. I am sure it won't be long in coming seeing as that must be the goal of merging those companies!