New satellite communications device

[Michael Gillenwater]

Kickstarter has a potentially cool new satellite communications and sos device. It’s lighter than the alternatives. Ideal if you want to leverage a smartphone. I personally have been wishing something like this existed.

And yes it will make one more dependent on your phone. I’m ok with that.

[BlackHatGuy]

It looks interesting, certainly. I’d want to know what their tracking consists of (how often is a tracking point logged, do you have a choice like you do with an inReach, etc., and how long does the battery last if you’re using tracking.) They say in their FAQ that people “actively using the hotspot everyday saw an average battery life of 10 days.” It seems that ‘actively using’ means using 40 minutes per day. It also seems that the breadcrumb feature is stored on the device, and not ‘uploaded’ until the trip is over. Not a fan of that. I also like the ability of using an inReach without a phone as well as with a phone, which you don’t seem to be able to do with this device (except signaling an SOS). If your phone dies, no messages.

Like the size and weight though!

 

[Jerry Adams]

 

3 ounces

$15 / month for 20 messages

July 2018

MSRP $450

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/124657937/somewear-limitless-communication-built-for-adventuhttps://www.kickstarter.com/projects/124657937/somewear-limitless-communication-built-for-adventu

[Rex Sanders]

On paper, the Somewear looks like an ultralight version of the original DeLorme inReach SmartPhone – a smartphone-dependent Iridium text-messaging device with GPS and SOS built-in.

However – I get cranky seeing small inaccuracies in descriptions of the Somewear. Could be sloppy writing, but that still raises red flags for me.

It’s more expensive and less capable than a Garmin Inreach SE+. It’s the same price with far fewer features than the Garmin Inreach Explorer+. But it’s 4.5 ounces lighter. Seems like a risky business model.

Iridium is the only source of modems for their system, and the 9603 modem is inside the InReach, YellowBrick, and similar devices. [Correction: The 9603 is new, smaller, and lighter, but available to all.] That means Garmin or another competitor could essentially clone the Somewear without too much trouble. Wonder why they haven’t?

Somewear’s cap over their SOS button looks like it’s not attached. Could be too easy to lose, and then too easy to trigger a search and rescue accidentally.

YAEDWNRB – Yet Another Expensive Device With Non-Replaceable Battery. So in a few years, you might need to replace your $450 Somewear. Just like thousands of other devices, unfortunately. Somewear has a vague statement about battery swaps on Kickstarter.

As Doug mentioned, Somewear doesn’t track in real time – it stores breadcrumbs for delivery later, a deliberate design decision. Wrong decision, IMHO. I hope they add a real-time tracking option. Potential users are already requesting that feature.

Competition is good – I hope Somewear succeeds.

— Rex

For more than you really want to know about satellite communications for backpackers: https://backpackinglight.com/satellite_communications_sotmr_part1/

and

https://backpackinglight.com/satellite_communications_sotmr_part3/

(slightly outdated but still useful)

[Jenny A]

This is interesting, though seems pricey.  Garmin has something else in the works that I was told would hit the market last Thursday.  I don’t see any announcements yet, we’ll have to stay tuned.

 

[Rex Sanders]

Garmin inReach Mini

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/592606/pn/010-01879-00

3.5 ounces, $350, way more functions than the Somewear, probably will ship sooner, but battery life maybe not so good.

See also:

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/garmin-inreach-mini/

Might see some other satellite makers jumping on the “mini” bandwagon using the new Iridium 9603 modem.

— Rex

[Lori P]

No love for the satellite hotspots already in existence?

A cheap one: https://www.amazon.com/Skyroam-Hotspot-WiFi-Global-Travelers/dp/B00OU6GF3G/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1525411752&sr=8-4&keywords=satellite+hotspot

The satellite phone companies have expensive ones in various form factors as well.

[Rex Sanders]

Except the Skyroam uses the cell phone network, not satellites.

Satellite WiFi hotspots have different features from a tracking/messaging/SOS device like the Somewear or Garmin inReach – usually dropping the tracking and SOS functions, but providing a little more bandwidth for social media, email, etc.

And yes, they are very expensive. That might change when Iridium finishes launching and testing their NEXT network sometime this summer. But don’t expect big price drops until there’s more competition for mobile satellite broadband.

— Rex

[BlackHatGuy]

I’m loving the Mini. Anybody interested in a used Explorer+… :-)

[Link .]

. Preview: Garmin inReach Mini || 2-way satellite messaging for 3.5 oz! .

[Jonathan S]

TLDR: I do not recommend Somewear.

Return Policy: You are unable to return the device after it has been activated and are stuck with it. In this day and age a product without a money back guarantee should have been a red flag. Another red flag: it is only sold directly from the company, not through a major retailer, like REI, which stands behind the products they sell. REI does sell the Garmin InReach/2, the ACR Electronics Bivy Stick, the Zoleo and devices from Spot.

Experience: Over 1 year of use. Worked as advertised at first. At some point, weather reports stopped loading and map functionally through the phone’s GPS stopped working without updating the phone’s GPS location in another app first. Messages and–presumably–SOS continued to work.

Customer Service: Terrible. Only via email. Wait time for a response was typically between 5 and 23 (not a typo) days. They do not address your concerns, which is especially frustrating when you’ve waited 23 days for a response to a carefully written email. Even worse, they provided patronizing directions on how to use the basic functions of a cell phone, despite clear and technical descriptions of problems.

Technical Assistance: Only available relayed through customer service emails. Unable to solve technical problems. Eventually received an email from Alan Besquin, Co-founder & CTO that didn’t acknowledge my technical problems, didn’t offer solutions, didn’t offer a direct means of contact, didn’t offer a refund, didn’t offer to try a new device; only offered to reset the device for transfer to another party.

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