Inreach Messenger $325 (reg $390)

lhsonic wrote: ↑ Sale price everywhere. Reasonable price but make sure you know what you're getting into.

There is a significant subscription investment starting at $20/mo. plus an annual $50 charge. Annual plans start at $180 with a one-time $45 activation fee. You used to be able to customize three presets and send unlimited of those along with your location eg. "made it to camp" or "running late". New subscribers cannot customize the presets.

Incredibly useful and I believe that everyone in the backcountry should have something like this but the cost just makes it so, so inaccessible. This is not the same as iPhone satellite SOS which is not two-way communication with friends and family. It's strictly for emergencies. The tech will continue to improve and I'd be willing to bet that Apple will roll out two-way messaging in the next few years but it won't be free. If you only value emergency SOS, the InReach may not be right for you. InReach is meant for two-way communication to send messages to friends/family, receive word on family emergencies, or just get up-to-date weather info when you have no cell reception for days at a time. Great for co-ordinating rides on your way down from a hike. Great for messaging friends with you on the trail who may be separated. Your friends/family can also request a real-time ping of your location or follow along on your route if you pay for the higher tier subscription.

robertbarker wrote: ↑ The annual fee is only for the freedom plans which can be stopped and started at will. The annual plan only has a one-off activation fee of $45.
the three preset messages are still there and they are unlimited.
all of this info is on the garmin support pages
https://www.garmin.com/en-CA/p/837461
https://support.garmin.com/en-CA/?faq=Z ... P4QLy78UcA
https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=y ... vPvztACfj8

lhsonic wrote: ↑ lol... isn't that exactly what I just wrote?