Garmin inReach Mini 2, Lightweight and Compact Satellite Communicator, Hiking Handheld, Black (Renewed)

I've always wanted one of these because I'm in the backcountry by myself a lot and it worries the heck out of my loved ones. I love it though. The solitude is incredible. Anyway, I never bothered to buy one because I already have a Personal Locator Beacon. That's never been much solace to the ones worrying about my safety so I went ahead and bought this right before my latent trip. It was a godsend! I could send and receive messages and I even got a weather update. This put everyone at ease that while yes, I was in the middle of nowhere alone in the wilderness, I was in fact perfectly OK and having a great time.

Does everything I need it to for hike/camping off-grid. Great quality construction and works perfect.

I do solo hiking and ther is not always cell phone reception. This way I can send pre written ‘check-in’ messages to my family so they know I am ok. Also has the SOS button in case the unthinkable happens! Easy to set up, easy to use, great value.

I like my explorer better but I hike and hunt with this because of the weight savings. Still haven’t figured out how to optimize the connection with Garmin messenger on my phone so I’m not as streamlined as I’d like to be.. Seems like it should be easier and I’m still using the clunky text message feature

I used this on my first backpacking trip, and it worked great. I was able to see my progress, and the compass was great. I could even send a message to a friend that I was safe back home.

Good peace of mind when you are beyond cell service. Purchased this one because it is highly recommended by reviewers. And because it was available as a refurbished unit, saving a fair amount of money.

Shortly after buying this device, Garmin announced a change in their subscription plans to milk money out of people who only use the device very occasionally and suspend their service in between. They even plan to automatically begin charging people monthly whose devices are currently suspended. By my read of their FAQ on the subscription changes, they're just going to automatically start charging people with suspended service $35/mo. That looks like a great way to make a lot of angry customers never buy a Garmin product again -- like me. Do NOT buy this InReach type of device from Garmin unless you intend to pay them a hefty monthly subscription all year long. With this change, the device is now going into the drawer to become e-waste, I guess. That's a shame. Corporate own-goal.

this gps device is easy to use and the subscription is very cheap in comparison to others.In Alaska it worked everywhere I went.