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

I've been using this for 2 months now and it's been reliable all the time. I bought it to bring camping and hiking with my little dude when there's no cell service. It's just to keep my partner up-to-date and to use in case of emergency.I've also found it's also helpful to text folks who might be meeting up with us. I just used yesterday at a local lake that has no cell service to drop my location and they were able to find me thanks to the pin.The battery life has been great. It can easily last the 2-3 day trips I take with location updates enabled. I don't intent to ever try and make it last much longer.The plan is pricy. I ended up opting for the annual plan. I realized I'd otherwise either forget to activate it or think my activity wasn't "worth it" and then that'll of course be the time I need it.

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!

Buena duración de pila, y mensajería

Thanks - - the device arrived and it is just what I needed.

This item was great for my daughter's trip to Canadian rockies for those areas with no cell phone coverage. It gave me peace of mind while she was away and also she had a means of getting help if required - thankfully it wasn't! It was very useful for sending a pre written message saying Just checking in - all good! Or 'having a great time'. It was lightweight and small and easy to carry in a backpack or even a pocket. I would recommend this even if only for the peace of mind!