InReach Explorer+ First Impressions

What do you mean by “looking forward to more Basecamp offerings come available?”

Would it bee possible that they would allow upgrading to better to post or satelite photos? I agree that delorme maps are pretty bad for topo.

>What do you mean by “looking forward to more Basecamp offerings come available?”<<

I actually said “looking forward to more basemap offerings” (not Basecamp).

• What I’m refering to are the products Garmin sells for their regular mapping GPS’s. I own Garmin topo maps, Garmin routable street maps, Garmin Birdseye (aerial imagery) and can also add Open Street Maps as a basemap to my old Garmin Gps units.  None of these can be added to the inReach Explorer+ at this point but I hope the will move in that direction.

Just bought an Explorer+ as well. I was a bit concerned after reading that more than a few Mac users were having trouble syncing the Explorer+ on their Macs, but I had no trouble doing so – synced, updated the software, added my contacts and such. No issues, FWIW.

Now to sell my old inReach SE for $150!

@idester

I’d be interested in hearing your comments regarding the new unit once you get it out in the field.

I’ve had a chance to run mine under fairly heavy tree cover in an area that I know causes GPS signals to wander and inReach track points to go missing.

I also carried my Garmin Etrex 20 for a track comparison and I didn’t have any issues with either unit. The Explorer+ performed well.

One significant difference is that the Explorer+ track settings can only be set to a time interval.  I’ve always set my Garmin GPS track interval to “automatic” but the automatic track setting is not available on the Explorer+.

This means that the Explorer+ will put down a track point at regular timed intervals but the Garmin GPS   will only put down the points that are needed to define a good track. So if you walk a mile in a straight line, the Garmin GPS would only put down a couple of track points.  The inReach will put down a ton of points and use up valuable track storage space.  It also means that if you sit still, the Explorer+ will put down a shotgun blast of points around where you stop because it uses a time interval for track points.  Hopefully we see the automatic setting in a firmware upgrade.

I was also disappointed to see that the inReach Explorer+ won’t run as a standalone GPS without a service plan. Original info suggested it would, but now it sounds like that will be a future update as well (got that from Skurka’s site).

One thing that I really like are the configurable fields on the Explorer+ map screen. I like that I can disply GPS signal accuracy and have a pile of other field options.  Very nice!

Doug – would you say it is worth the upgrade?

@skopeo: I should be able to get it out on a dayhike soon, will let you know how it performs.

@landrover: That’s a hard one at the moment Richie. I wasn’t really thinking of upgrading, since the SE did what I wanted, but a larger than expected REI dividend coupled with the fact I knew I could easily sell the SE pushed me to go ahead and upgrade since out of pocket was minimal. I decided to upgrade to the Explorer+ instead of the SE+ for the maps. I do like the form factor better, as Mike mentions.

One of the interesting things about this new device is the bottom. It looks to me like it was made for some future attachment.

Hey guys, thanks for sharing your thoughts on the new InReach gear. I have the Delorme branded SE model and have been pretty happy with it.

I’m curious how you like the interface vs. a smartphone running something like Gaia or BackCountry Navigator? These have been my go-to GPS options, although I admit my smartphone is not a rugged device. I usually generate my maps on Caltopo, and bring paper copy as well. At the time I bought my SE, I think the SE+ was the model that included the GPS mapping capability, but the screen size, resolution, and keypad interface didn’t seem too appealing vs. using a phone… but if I can leave the phone in the car, it would be a bonus.

Regarding the ping interval, I guess it depends on your goal, but I find 20 mins between is sufficient for tracking purposes. Your model may also have separate tracking and logging intervals, which can be useful, you may already be aware of this but just mentioning it. Mike’s comment caught my attention, regarding a Garmin model only putting down a few points over ~ a mile in auto-interval mode… can you verify that (how many points, over what distance)? I don’t want to side track the discussion, but it sounds very low for auto interval. I’ve done some research into GPS error/accuracy as part of a statistics project, so this has me very curious :)

>> I’m curious how you like the interface vs. a smartphone running something like Gaia or BackCountry Navigator? <<

Interesting question that many will answer very differently than me.   I have all of the major mapping apps on my phone and I also have used the inReach mapping app on my phone.  The issue I have is not with the mapping it’s with the phone.  I hike in a very wet environment and I typically carry my phone in a waterproof sack and well protected from damage (face it, most phones are pretty fragile).  I tried a waterproof case but that was just to bulky.  I found that I was reluctant to pull my phone out to use the mapping because it was such a hassle.  Also, wet hands and touch screens don’t play well together.   The battery life of phones has always been an issue as well.  The inReach with built in mapping is a pretty tough device (no case required) and I can keep it handy as it’s waterproof.  That’s it for me, the convenience factor of all-in-one device made the upgrade worth the expense.

>regarding a Garmin model only putting down a few points over ~ a mile in auto-interval mode… can you verify that (how many points, over what distance)?<<

You may have misunderstood my point here… the auto-mode on the regular Garmin GPS units is superior to the continuous track mode on the inReach because it’s accurate but saves storage space.  Imagine you are walking a straight line for a mile, no deflections. It might take you 15 minutes to walk that mile and the inReach would put down 900 track points (if set in 1 point per second mode).  The Garmin in auto mode will recognize that you are not changing your bearing and will only put down a few points.  Both tracks will be accurate because there weren’t any deflection points.  The inReach will have stored almost 900 points needlessly.   I ran my Etrex in auto-mode while running my inReach at a 1 second interval and what it showed when I looked at the tracks on top of each other was a very dense track (the inReach track) running along the bearing lines of the much less dense Etrex track line.  The dense track didn’t define a more accurate track.

“the auto-mode on the regular Garmin GPS units is superior to the continuous track mode on the inReach because it’s accurate but saves storage space.”

If I understand the manual correctly, this (and a few other things) are ‘present’ on the Explorer+, but only for enterprise customers. That’s a bit frustrating.

Took the Explorer+ on a 9-mile hike today. I’m old and slow, so it took me about 5 hours including stops. Had the tracking set to 10 minutes (the shortest they allow), and logging set to 5 seconds (like I said, I’m slow). Also had bluetooth on and hooked to my iPhone. Spent probably a bit over half the time in tree cover, though none dense. Got a message from my brother on it as well during this time.

After the hike, I still had 92 percent battery left, I’d used only 3 percent of the onboard storage. The tracking and logging looked great. It did say that my top speed was 13.1 mph, but I think that’s from when I inadvertently dropped it and it slid a bit (fortunately not too far, a little to the right and it would have slid about 100 feet downhill on a snow-covered avy chute!).

Pretty impressed so far. But I am not a fan of the clip. It’s basically useless, only good for holding the carabiner. I’d rather have a clip like the old SE, much more useful.

@idester

Doug – thanks for the follow-up.

I’m curious about how you carry your Explorer.  I always put mine in a pack pocket with the antenae pointing skyward.  You mentioned that you used the clip. Did you clip it to your pack?  Your belt?  When using the clip do you just let your Explorer hang?  I’m curious because I may work too hard trying to keep it pointing straight up. If you find that it works well in any position, that would be good to know as I could just toss it in the front pouch instead of zipping it into a pocket.

Hi Mike,

I’ve used it twice now. On the first trip, I had it clipped to my chest strap and let it dangle there. Not ideal, and not all that comfortable (it’s also how I almost let it slide down an avy chute when I took off my pack, forgetting that’s where I had it clipped). After that, I moved it to one of my water bottle pockets clipped to a compression strap. Second time I used it I put it inside a pack pocket/pouch attached to my pack harness (so completely enclosed in the pocket, pocket zipped up, with antenna pointed up). Worked well both times.

I’m doing a hike on Wednesday, I’ll try something different, with the antenna pointed sideways or even upside down, and let you know how that works out.

Getting ready to buy the in reach se plus. I’ve seen them sold as Delorme and also as a Garmin. Is there any significant difference in the service provided or maps supported?…or any difference at all other than the label?

John,

Garmin bought out Delorme, so regardless of which you buy, you’re actually buying a Garmin, FAIAP. Service provided and maps supported are the same.

The SE might be labeled as Delorme. The SE+ should be labeled as Garmin. The newer + units have a different form factor than the previous SE and Explorer, with a slightly bigger screen and a few other minor differences.

Andy Skurka has a nice writeup about them that you might find useful.

Thanks Doug for the answer I wanted to hear.

I’d a-druther seen DeLorme continue as a separate company from Garmin.

But now that it is a Garmin produce, like Mike, I’d really like to see the missing features Mike mentioned be included. It ain’t “rocket surgery”, it’s writing code. Is Garmin that cheap they can’t put their best people on this and make the world’s best combination hiking GPS/rescue beacon??

If anyone is interested, I’ve been testing it for about 4 months and have a pretty in-depth review of the Garmin InReach Explorer on my blog. Might help if you’re considering it. It’s a great communications device, and a “meh” navigation device.

Chris, I’d love to see your InReach results on your blog, can you supply a direct link?

Thanks!

Here’s that direct link to the review

https://hikingguy.com/hiking-gear/in-depth-garmin-inreach-explorer-review/

Ken, I just read your in-depth review of the In Reach Explorer + and wanted to thank you for the great, informative blog post.  About ready to quite literally travel the world both in a camper van and on foot, I’m looking for a reliable communication device with SOS features should cell signal be non existent.  Right now, based on your review, it seems the In Reach Explorer + is the best option out there.  I don’t think I’ll be needing something like this for another six months or so.  With this in mind I think I’ll wait to see if Garmin comes out with a modernized version that fills in the shortfalls that exist now in the unit.  If not, I’ll likely pick up an In Reach Explorer + before heading out on my journey of a lifetime.  Thanks again for sharing your experiences with the product.

Eli

I could be wrong, but I don’t expect a new version of inReachs this year.  With little direct competition there is no motivation to innovate quickly when you can cash in on your existing product.  The + versions really aren’t that much different than the previous versions.

too bad smartphones can’t communicate by satellite, I wonder if that will ever happen

Jerry, I think inReach did create a device that was just intended to link your smartphone and satellite, but I don’t know that it did well. That does seem like it would be the best overall solution, but would probably take some refining to get it right.