Inreach usage question

[jimmy b]

I recently purchased an Inreach SE and plan to use it only as a PLB would be used if an emergency arises with of course the added two way communication. No real need to text or be tracked by others in my case. I inquired with Delorme how long the battery would last if it was not turned on and only used in a possible emergency. The tech on the phone thought about 6 days but did’t sound too confident in his answer and admitted he had nothing to base it on. That didn’t seem very long for something that was not going to draw until turned on. Any real life feedback would be much appreciated.

jimmybd

[Arthur]

I have had my sitting on a shelf for over a month and I see very little battery discharge even for a month. Maybe a few % points. if not used, I would be confident in many months if not more.  There does not appear to be any draw on the battery when in the off position.

[David Thomas]

Manfred would know more, having hauled his all over the Brooks Range, JMT multiple times, and he was tramping around with it last weekend when he came to take an off-the-road-system 3-day trip with me.  He said a couple of times that it goes for 5-6 days, but he leaves it on so it can track and receive messages from someone else in the party/family.  So I would expect it to go MUCH longer used only as a PLB / emergency messaged.  Like months.  It would certainly would if you removed one battery or put an insulated spot of tape on the end of one battery until you needed it.

I would, however, strongly suggest you practice using the tracking features (potentially helpful even after you get lost), and send some messages “send beer” (there are a lot of menus and going back and forth from menu to sub-menu which wasn’t immediately obviously to me.  By definition, you aren’t going to be in the best state when you really need it, so best to get trained up in advance.  I’ve had several friends have some come in very handy, including, most dramatically, a friend who get pinned down on a remote snowfield a month ago:

http://kbbi.org/post/skiers-survive-four-days-kenai-peninsula-glacier-credit-gps-locator-beacon-rescue

““That thing 100 percent saved our lives. We would not be here. Nobody would have found us. Nobody would have even found the remains of us without being able to get our GPS coordinates out,” said Neyman.”

[Richie S]

anecdotally – powered down I left mine on a shelf for months and it only dropped from 100 to 93%.

[Matthew / BPL]

5-6 days of use while tracking and a few texts a day has been my experience. I’m sure you would get months of battery if you didn’t turn it on.

[Bean]

I inquired with Delorme how long the battery would last if it was not turned on and only used in a possible emergency.

You might have to charge it once a year, just to be safe.

[jimmy b]

Thanks guys, thats what I expected to hear as far as normal discharge powered off.

Dave, I will certainly practice texting and familiarize myself with the layers of menus but how would tracking be helpful if I don’t have anyone to track me. Also I’m hoping never to use it but I insure my home, truck and boat I figured why not the wife and I on BC trips. Seems the older I get the more protective of my years left I have become :) Maybe some can relate.

[Bean]

“how would tracking be helpful if I don’t have anyone to track me.”

NSA might appreciate it.

[David Sugeno]

I took mine out on a 2 week Winds trip last fall, used it daily in extended tracking mode, sent home preprogrammed “I’m okay” messages every day, and sent and received a few texts over the course of the trip.  After 2 weeks I still had about 75% of my battery charge remaining.  I can’t believe that tech you spoke with was so completely ignorant about a very important feature of a product he is being paid to provide support for.

[jimmy b]

NSA, yeah I hear ya.

If it comes to that we’ll be tossing the inreach to make room for more ammo :)

[Mike W]

@jimmyb

I’m just curious as to why you chose the inReach over a PLB?   It sounds to me like you could have your needs met with a PLB and avoided the subscription costs associated with an inReach?   I ask this as a huge fan of the inReach (Explorer in my case, which I prefer much more than a PLB), however it seems to me that the inReach is designed to be used by those of us that have somebody watching us on the other end.  I’m just wondering about the thought process, definitely not being critical.

[Greg Mihalik]

The first sentence in the opening post –

“I recently purchased an Inreach SE and plan to use it only as a PLB would be used if an emergency arises with of course the added two way communication. ”  [Emphasis added.]

[jimmy b]

Mike, good question.

As Greg says above, the added two way communication should be emphasized and  IMO is priceless. With a PLB you push the panic button and the rest is out of your control. What impressed me the most about the Inreach is that it can manage situations short of a full on crisis. Although you have a panic button, once you are contacted and someone has your location you can relay the situation and if in fact the problem can be solved in a more routine manner than sending out a million dollar manhunt, well, that may save putting others at risk along with me. If the situation deteriorates that also can be communicated. And if the poo hits the fan big time pressing the panic button may suffice.

I do believe a PLB has its place though such as in sea going excursions where weight is not quite a priority and several redundant or overlapping strategies would be best such as the above (PLB), a VHF radio and a sat communicator/phone of some sort. UL hiking, well I had to choose one. Lets hope I made the right choice.

The SE suits me fine for my needs and I suspect both inreaches could be out of fashion real quick if Garmin hits us with an inreach and full featured GPS combo.

[Ken Thompson]

A PLB is cheaper over the long run. Needing no subscription. Good enough peace of mind for some. Both are good.

[jimmy b]

Oh, and I believe I read here that weather reports can now be accessed with the Inreach units but that may be only for the explore, (I haven’t had a chance to get aquainted yet with mine. Just picked it up last week) Cant do that with a PLB :)

[John Klinepeter]

The SE receives weather reports via the weather icon on the home page. Optional slightly more detailed reports are available at wx2inreach.weebly.com.

[David Thomas]

Yes, weather reports can come to an InReach.  I saw that happen to Manfred’s InReach last weekend.  I have a PLB for the reasons stated: no subscription fees, robust, water-proof construction, long battery life while transmitting.

But, as an example of how a messaging beacon can be helpful: Manfred & sons were hiking for a month in the Brooks Range two years ago.  Really fricking remote.  And a tent failed.  In an unrepairable way.  Manfred messaged me, I posted on BPL, and paypal’ed a BPLer.  They sent their tent to Manfred’s air taxi service.  He was up and going after their next resupply.  A PLB couldn’t have addressed any of that.

Or, the case of friends up here who got stranded on a  glacier for 4 days.  Sure, the panic button would have started the SAR gears into motion.  But it wasn’t flying weather.  SAR and the skiers were able to communicate with each other about what was happening (a ground crew had started to ski in, while air crews were awaiting flyable weather).  When you’re stuck in a snow cave for 4 days, out of fuel, food, getting cold, and forgot to bring a deck of cards; knowing the status of SAR efforts goes a LONG way to providing some peace of mind.

I’ve been 40 miles past the North American road system, 7 miles past the last native village, stuck on a remote salt water beach because the boat sunk, but hesitant to press the panic button on my EPIRB (which is ALWAYS in my lifejacket!) because the flying weather was bad, we weren’t in a life-threatening situation, and I didn’t want to put rescuers in harm’s way.  Thankfully, my 2-way VFR radio is also ALWAYS in my lifejacket and we were able to hail a passing ship and they picked us up.  But a messaging device could have sent a “we’re cold, a bit worried, but not in any immediate danger, and would appreciate being picked up when it’s safe to do so” message.

[Mike W]

@ jimmyb

Thanks for the explanation, that makes perfect sense.  I think the inReach’s ability to communicate with the SAR team is probably it’s most under-rated feature.

I started with a Spot but when the original inReach (the screenless brick) was released, the 2 way communication just seemed to valuable to pass up on, so I switched.  I’ve upgraded from the original, to the SE and now the Explorer.  I look forward to seeing what improvements Garmin adds (and will probably buy one… especially if they add a mapping screen :).

I’d also be curious to know if you usually use a GPS and will you be using the inReach smart phone app (Earthmate) to view mapping?

[jimmy b]

Mike,

I do have an Etrex 20 and oddly enough I bought it for use with my small sailboat for tracking speeds and mileage. As our hiking activity and a return to BPing increased I started carrying it to track mileage sometimes but I mainly use it now for plotting my position on a map, which the GPS was never intended to replace. It’s now kind of redundant and I have thoughts of leaving it home but I always travel with my wife so if she chooses to carry it, thats OK too. There are times I have run a track when the trail going forward was getting sketchy so it is still useful IMO.

As far as a phone Mike, I don’t even own one. I completely understand why folks choose to carry one and will never disagree with their value. Its just a cultural thing with me, at 52 now, I am antiquated and loving it. My life now is very simple and I really don’t want to get caught up in all that comes with mobile devices. Especially when I’m adventuring. The Inreach will hopefully fill the emergency contact issue for me and the Etrex the navigation part.

Thanks for the great discussion, motivates me even more to contemplate how I will be using my new gear options,

jimmyb

 

[John S.]

On my Paria trip this year, one person had an InReach SE and his wife sent weather reports every morning.

[Mark]

Can the inReach be used for data, for example can i connect my phone to it and upload pics or check say facebook?

[Jonathan Patt]

No, you can only send and receive messages, location points, and weather data.

[Mark]

Thank you

[Author]

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