Delorme, Spot, Garmin. Which one?

[netcoyote]

I have the "old" SPOT (i.e., not the new messanger one).  Honestly, I don't recommend it.  It's fine as an emergency unit, but considering you get messaging + maps + cheaper subscription fees with the Garmin/deLorme, you're getting a much better value with the inReach. 

I'll probably dump the spot once my current subscription runs out.

Just be careful to read the fine print on how to stop your SPOT subscription. I had a helluva time trying to get mine stopped and kept going round and round with their customer service. That was years ago but I swore I would never buy a SPOT product again.

[pianoman9701]

I got the Garmin Inreach this year and my wife loved that I was able to communicate in and out of the woods each day. Bluetooth with the phone works great. My recreational plan is 24.95/mo and I can suspend each month. It cost me originally about $100 to get signed up and the unit cost 289.00 on sale at COSTCO. I have zero experience with the Spot or Delorme. I had a Delorme GPS once and it sucked at picking up signals.

[ghosthunter]

I have the old spot. And for me it’s all I need. I also have a rhino 650.

It all depends on what your needs are. For me my 20 day hunting trip is coming up. I am on call 24 / 7 the rest of the year. I do t wa t to talk to anyone besides a hunting partner. My wife knows this and dose t expect me to call.

When I am alone I will use the spot to report where I am and when I am in camp.

Other than that I want to be shut down off the grid.

[Tbob]

I use a Delores inreach. Scored mine, new in the box for just under 200.00
Works great for checking in, I tell my wife I’ll check in every few days and just leave the unit off when not using it to send messages. The battery lasts forever that way too!  It did have a little trouble this year in Northen Idaho sending messages. The unit said, unable to send message and to relocate the unit with more clear view to the sky. Had one message take about an hour to go out and others only take a few minutes.. regardless, it’s a great unit to have if you’re hunting solo!

[spoonman]

Spot has the worst customer service I've ever dealt with. My Delorme has been great!

[Stein]

InReach is great, you can turn the service on or off on the website and zero problems so far.

[JeffRaines]

From what I’ve heard - not sure it’s been covered here yet - is that the spot is very hit and miss in Alaska. If you never plan on going to Alaska, then it’s not gonna matter to you. But, if that might someday be in the cards, I’d rather just go ahead and get what I need since theyre fairly close in price considering the spot x and delorme offerings.

[yakimanoob]

FWIW, I picked up a Garmin inReach SE+ before the high buck and it's WAY better than the Spot.  I really love being able to text my lady while I'm out, and ERMAGERD WEATHER FORECASTS.   I'm never going back . 

Spot subscription is up 11/22.  Here's to hoping they don't cause a fight...   

[Russ McDonald]

I just got the Spot X.  Have not received it yet.  Will use it some time next month maybe turkey hunting.  Spot also has a flex plan where you don't have to pay all year.  The problem with spotty satellite coverage is the orientati on of the satellites.  Low orbit mid or high.  Low orbit will have problems seeing in steep canyons.  These are satellite to so dense canopies they won't work well in either.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[Bushcraft]

Spot sucks. My hunting partners and I have (tried) to use it in the past.  You'd think that it would work on top of a mountain with clear skies. Not always. Get in the bottom of a valley with some timber....forget about it.  You might as well be packing a few ounces of poop in your pocket. It uses the Globalstar infrastructure...which has a long and storied history of sucking.

The (now Garmin) Inreach is supported by the Iridium satellite array. I've used one for the past few years and have nothing but positive experiences thus far. A friend loaned his to a lady friend and she successfully used it to call in the attempted rescue of the guy that died last year in the Enchantments. Very effictive means of communication when paired with an iPhone.  Almost as fast as texting with normal land based cell coverage.  Fair warning...you won't ever truly be on vacation again while hunting the backcountry. 

I've got a client in Mongolia on a hunt right now that I've been communicating with seamlessly. Buy the right plan with confidence.

[kselkhunter]

I'm sure there's maybe a way to do it with the Spot as well, but one feature with the InReach that isn't talked about as much is with my hunting partners also having InReach devices as well, we text device-to-device when we split up to hunt different drainages certain days.   This has come in very handy multiple times, to keep track of where each other are.   Similar to the concept of the Garmin Rhino, but without any of the range/terrain limitations.

Before the days of InReach, I've had to go looking for a hunting partner after dark a few times.   I don't miss those days. 

[Buckhunter24]

I am in the market for one of these and hoping to clear up a few questions. Is the text service work from the device to a cell phone or just to other inreach devices?

[Buckhunter24]

I also see 500 waypoint capacity on the one i see. Would like 1k preferrably 5k, anyone seen one with that kind of capacity?

[KFhunter]

SPOT uses an inferior satellite network,  InReach uses the iridium network which is better in the USA + Canada.

If you were in Mongolia I'd use a SPOT as they have more overall global coverage, but in areas with coverage the InReach is better.


I've had SPOT, got it when it first came out and it did what I needed it to do but it was spotty.  I used it snowmobiling back country in US and mostly in Canada at high elevations, even though I'm on top of a mountain on a blue bird day the texts were slow and inconsistent. 

The InReach isn't perfect either.  On my end I get errors that a text didn't go though, but so far all of my texts did in fact go through.  I would like better confirmation system that they did go though and leave me guessing.

[KFhunter]

I do like the small inreach mini,  I clip it to my backpack grab handle and forget it. 


I would say if you use your phone for your main GPS system get the InReach mini and just Bluetooth it.


If you don't use a cell phone then I wouldn't get the mini.