Spot or inreach

[goinghunting]

Spot vs inreach, whats your thoughts?

[scotty30-06]

I have a spot and I like it.....but also heard great things about inreach......my thoughts are if you have either of them and maintain batteries and such....your a lot better off....especially is you solo hunt alot

[albravo2]

There was a thread on this very topic last week. And last year.

But if you really don't want to search old threads, InReach.

[RiverRunner]

It's still alive on the first page of this sub-forum…. 3 post down.

or here…. http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?127207-Spot-In-Reach-Sat-Phone-what-to-get

[RiverRunner]

In reach….. I like getting dirty texts from my wife.

[nedarb2]

I have both, and i use both regularly but for different purposes.
There is one key to safety when using these, especially if your riding a quad, mountain/cliff hunting, motorbike, etc. Wear it on your body/chest where you can always access it. I flipped my quad ontop of me with the spot in a handlebar ram mount. I couldn't reach it if my life depended on it,,2ft away. A friend pulled me out of that.
the Spot:
I have had for 4 or 5 years? (i had a gen1 and a gen2 that i use now). ive always kept it in the floater case - its compact and offers drop protection and keeps it floating if in water. not very bulky really, and i feel it offers alot of protection.
I like that its simple to use, and that its only one-way so i cant be bugged by any electronics/phones once in a while.
ive only ever had 2 or 3 messages from hundreds not get delivered. never has it been more than 1 in a row, and its usually been under tree canopy.
its small, light, rugged, waterproof. batteries last forever (i carry a spare always anyways).
when i go out with friends on hikes/sheep hunt/high risk activities they wear the spot so we both have one on our body
dislike: cant change your message when your in the bush, not that big of a deal cause its usually delays due to a last minute animal and you can send checkin/oks past that-time if you are safe and don't want help.
and you cant "text" if your away on long trips, like 14 day sheep hunts you might want to check in with home or work, or if your fishing on the westcoast and have friends coming out you can talk to them in an area without cell service.
the spot is an annual subscription, and a Pain in the a$$ to cancel (need to send them written request). delorme is a quick easy log in change plans or put the unit on "suspend" for 5$ a month or something like that. theres a higher activation fee if you outright cancel during a few months of non-use than its worth to pay for.

delorme (i have the non-gps nav unit):
like:
you can see if message was received, can communicate/type short messages, its cool to have a color screen, there are quick prewritten and addressed messages you can send with one 1 or 2 clicks like "just checking in" so it can act sort of like a spot, but you need to use buttons that are harder to push and there are more of them than the spot has.
they offer a unit with built in gps - * big weight savings for mountain hunt (but a gps + a delorme are much better, the gps isnt great resolution, and will consume alot of power which mean power needs to be managed carefully so you dont run out, or lithium-ion packs need to be carried as a spare (or a portable charging source) on extended trips if you want to be prepared for "just in case" scenarios without a fear of loosing power
and i like that people can log in and see your location/information a lot easier online, than the spot website (in my opinion), and communicate from it.
dislike: rechargeable battery (cant carry spares/emergency supply. the spot takes aaa. delorme is rechargeable power not sure if you can even field swap a battery without a tool?), not as easy to use as the spot, need to pre-program alot of functions to be usable (contacts, etc. or typing them in takes forever), feels more fragile (i think its the screen i dont want to drop it on a rock), there a charging port in the back that just has a rubber flap to keep water out. it seems to me like if/when these units fail its because of a leak into this charging port (although im sure there rated for high performance). and its considerably bigger.


Bottom line: if i want to disconnect from the world, i take the spot and spare batteries.
If im away for a long time or want to communicate with people (in a pre-trip planned sort of sense) ill take the delorme, and sometimes the spot too