can I ditch my garmin mini now?

[KFhunter]

I got an iPhone 14, can I ditch my mini now?

[KFhunter]

With the garmin, I can still text buddies which usually equates to

"someone beat us to plan A camp, moving to plan B camp"

"camp is here"


The iPhone for now I *think* only communicates with emergency call center

[huntnnw]

I ditched my garmin 8-10 years ago with all the maps on smart phones. Far better maps, bigger screen and clarity and WAY batter battery usage.  I link my inreach when needed to my iphone and text from it

[millerwheeler]

I ditched my garmin 8-10 years ago with all the maps on smart phones. Far better maps, bigger screen and clarity and WAY batter battery usage.  I link my inreach when needed to my iphone and text from it

He’s saying his inreach not about the maps since now an iPhone can send satellite messages like a Garmin , but pretty sure it’s only for emergency not 2 way

[Sakko300wsm]

I ditched my garmin 8-10 years ago with all the maps on smart phones. Far better maps, bigger screen and clarity and WAY batter battery usage.  I link my inreach when needed to my iphone and text from it

 
My Garmin Inreach linked to my IPhone works flawlessly and I can text anyone from anywhere when hunting in a non service area

[Rob]

Consider durability and battery life before you ditch the inReach for a Cell Phone. 

[Bob33]

Here is a good review by dcrainmaker.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2022/11/apple-iphone-satellite-sos-emergency-explainer.html

A few key points: Apple runs on Globalstar; Garmin runs on Iridium for emergency services.

Also, this: "Now – Apple says that the main limitation here is that the antenna to satellite connection simply isn’t as strong as dedicated satellite devices, for example a Garmin inReach or SPOT tracker. As such, things like trees will impact it more and slow it down. The heavier the foliage, the slower the service. Same goes for mountains, or even hills – all of which could block access to a specific portion of the sky, where you’ll have to wait for a satellite to swing past the visible portion of the sky."

His summary: "Of course, as noted, this isn’t a direct replacement for a satellite communicator device if you’re headed deep into no-cell zones and need or want constant tracking. When I go hiking in no-cell areas, I’m still absolutely going to take my Garmin inReach device. That provides constant non-emergency tracking at specified intervals (down to every 2 minutes), and it works everywhere on the planet. I can send messages back and forth, just like texting, to friends/family, and with a variety of updates. It’s not limited by my location, nor is it limited in what I send. But, it does cost money for the secondary device, and also costs money for a subscription plan."

[Okanagan]

With the garmin, I can still text buddies which usually equates to

"someone beat us to plan A camp, moving to plan B camp"

"camp is here"


The iPhone for now I *think* only communicates with emergency call center

Ditto:
I use my InReach as a stand alone, without connection to any phone.  Send and receive texts from virtually anywhere on earth to anywhere. Have used from Alaska to Mexico, Maryland to Pacific, Northern Saskatchewan to Vancouver Island.  Compose the text as needed rather than being limited to pre-canned messsages.  Clunky to type on, but best wilderness communication device developed in my life time, so far.

[hunter399]

Never bought one to begin with.
Garmen or inreach or whatever they are.

I actually prefer to not be distracted,I've missed opportunities at animals just cause of my phone.
I can't add more technology.

Sometimes I turn my phone off ,when I leave the truck.
The only thing I carry is one of those solar battery banks for my phone.

[KFhunter]

This is still a game changer, I don’t always have my Garmin, or my pack, or anything

Lots of times I’m just spur of the moment head up a road to see, I might even have a few sacks of groceries momma is waiting on to fix dinner and I dove up a road, one corner led to another, and another, then I’m 30 miles up and momma is pissed and I could get stuck, no one has a clue where I am

Much as I like that, I don’t like SAR being called cause I ADHD’d myself up a mountain lol

[hunter399]

This is still a game changer, I don’t always have my Garmin, or my pack, or anything

Lots of times I’m just spur of the moment head up a road to see, I might even have a few sacks of groceries momma is waiting on to fix dinner and I dove up a road, one corner led to another, and another, then I’m 30 miles up and momma is pissed and I could get stuck, no one has a clue where I am

Much as I like that, I don’t like SAR being called cause I ADHD’d myself up a mountain lol

That's funny .....LoL.
Just as soon as I find a turn around........ Another ten miles.
Just as soon as I reach the top......... And five miles down the backside.
My wife knows, when I say we are turning around,that's another five miles.

[Rob]

The nice thing about the InReach is, you can leave it powered off and only use it if you have an emergency (two button pushes, one to turn it on, and one to send an SOS).  So from an "add more technology to your life", this is pretty low impact.  I try to pick locations to recreate based on NOT having a cell signal so I get that desire.

If you want to, you can use the messaging features, or you can use the tracking service so your family can track where you are (if you like that!)

So they can be as full featured or simple as you want. 

I used the messaging features while in Zimbabwe without any problems.  My wife works for an non-profit Christian Prison Ministry and their International Missions team uses the Mini's all over Africa and South America.  They keep them with them on travels so they are not dependent on 3rd world communications infrastructure in emergency situations.

For me, moving to a Cell based system over inReach would be a hard no.  If forced to choose, I would carry the inReach over a cell when traveling remote.  I base this on battery longevity (cell phones are not great even when in airplane mode) and durability (I feel the phone is more likely to be damaged in a fall, etc than an InReach would) 

[baker5150]

Hopefully this adds some legit competition to the market in the coming years.

InReach service is expensive in comparison.

[KFhunter]

Prolly end up with a Bluetooth puck to communicate via starlink eventually

Won’t be no place on earth without instant coms


Unless you “forget” your phone

[buckfvr]

Add it to the collection in your faraday bag and forget about it for awhile.