Garmin inReach® Messenger Handheld Satellite Communicator, Global Two-Way Messaging

Fantastic battery life, I used it for 8 days in and out of cell coverage at only used 40% of the battery. Can be used without a phone, but using a phone via Bluetooth makes things easier. Garmin has several plans to suit your needs, although you must have some plan active to use the system. Easy to set up contacts. 3 predefined messages (starting, stopping and allos well) and many customizable messages. I did not use the SOS, nor did I attempt to test it, but instructions are provided. I purchased a silicone case and that made it not slide around on my dash. The device signals when too hot or too cold, and I was pleasantly surprised that even a full day in the sun on my dash didn't cause it to complain about the heat. The devices uses your phones BT to access the Internet via it's WiFi or cellular (no Garmin fees) and only uses satellite (Garmin fees) when there is no other option for coverage. Great customer support website. Nice way to share your progress via a amp with anyone. Overall great product.

I have had an Insight Messenger for almost two years. I used this in a remote part of Madagascar. It functioned perfectly for what it’s designed to do. It’s not for unlimited texting, but it allows essential communication. A smart phone is necessary to send texts through the Garmin InTouch, and makes it lots easier to read texts that are received. If you exceed allotted number of texts for your plan, the cost is reasonable. I did not require emergency assistance, but knowing it was available was reassuring. I use it regularly for an emergency locator when hiking in the US. The ability to directly communicate with emergency response personnel is an extremely attractive feature. Battery life is great, light weight and small. It doesn’t necessarily require a smart phone for emergencies, but the smart phone makes it much easier to use, more comforting, and generally better.

I bought this specifically for fishing trips I take to SE Alaska where we get dropped off at old forest service dry cabins dotted around the Tongass National Forest, 20-30 miles from the nearest town so there's no cell service. This thing worked like a champ in all weather conditions - we didn't have a clear view of the sky, maybe 50% clear coverage from the North and East, the rest being tree coverage, but it was enough where we never had issues sending or receiving messages, or getting weather updates. Longest I think it ever took for a message to get out was about 10 minutes, and that was when it was raining and cloudy. The paired phone app definitely makes it really easy to utilize the device as well, so don't skip that step if you buy one of these. I very much appreciate that Garmin has two different subscription methods - yearly subscription and monthly when you need it. I use the monthly as I only need it a couple times a year, so I just suspend it between usage. Since I use the monthly subscription, it does have a yearly fee involved that the yearly subscription isn't subjected too (something like $35), but compared to $400-500 for a SIM card pre-loaded with minutes on my sat phone that barely works, and where the minutes expire in 6 months, this is a steal! My main complaint is the battery life, in reality if you're sending and receiving a couple dozen texts a day, and it's not perfectly clear skies, expect 2-3 days - this is a very minor gripe as I always come prepared with many methods to recharge my gear. Fortunately, it doesn't eat up much from my battery banks, and it charged just fine with my folding solar panels. Secondly, I haven't figured out a way to charge the device while it's turned off - as soon as I plug it in to charge, it turns on, which often defeats the purpose of what I'm trying to do. Overall, extremely pleased with this purchase, only thing that could make it better is if Garmin teamed up with one of the big satellite companies for better bandwidth so my wife can send me pictures of my dogs over the messenger!

Quality messenger, used it on vacation in an area that I know has no cell signal and this never failed, was always able to get messages to people and check in

This is a very specialized device and does exactly what it is designed to do - provide for emergency communications when no mobile phone service (or other terrestrial radio service) is available. For me, activation and signup was easy - not Amazon easy - but easy enough, rate plans are clear as is their cost. Yes, the service plan costs are 'expensive' but this is not a casual use item. Performance exceeded my expectations so far. Power on to GPS and Sat link is crazy fast, message up/down link varies from instant to tens of seconds. Link to the phone app works without an issue through it is a separate app which is good and bad - more good I think given that this is focused on life safety vs. casual use. The "Mapshare" feature is actually really nice and allows you to share your tracking point and engage in message exchange with anyone you want without them needing an account or ID, or anything else other than the custom URL you create as part of the signup flow. You can password protect your map or leave it open to the world. I do strongly recommend using the stored balance feature of the account management side of things. If you are away from the world for some time and for what ever your CC is declined you might loose access to service which could cost you your life. If you load a stored balance before you head out that balance will be consumed before a CC is needed again ensuring continued service even if things go off the rails.

Great way to send messages when out of cell service. Clouds caused slight delay in transmission but being able to communicate when hundreds of miles away was worth any delay.

After much deliberation over which Garmin to get I went with this over the mini Inreach because it can reverse charge your phone. There is an annoying learning curve to all of these devices - nothing is intuitive - but once you master the menus and get everything to talk to everything else (phone app, phone, device) then you are safe in the woods! This is a tad harder to hang from your backpack so I bought a case.

I recently used this on a hunting trip above the Arctic Circle. It worked great for about a week before it went absolutely crazy. It completely stopped receiving messages and instead kept sending me older messages over and over again. In fact I received the same message over 75 times in a row. I tried resetting it, turning it off, re-pairing it with my phone, etc. Nothing worked. If I hadn’t had a buddy with me who had the inreach Explorer+, I would not have been able to communicate with my wife. Essentially, this thing failed me when I needed it the most. I’m incredibly dissatisfied with it to say the least.