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

I took this little device on a canyon hiking trip in Utah to really put it to the test. Even with canyon walls towering over 100 feet, I was still able to get a solid connection. The speed varied depending on how deep I was, but it never failed to send a message. The screen is small but manageable—though if you have poor eyesight, it might be a bit challenging. It tracked me for the entire two-day trip, providing an excellent trip overview and, more importantly, peace of mind for my family back home. The build quality is impressive too—it handled scrapes and drops with no issues (including a few unintentional encounters with rocks while climbing). Subscription Note: Just be aware that some features require an active subscription. It’s not a deal-breaker since the core functions work well, but it is something to consider when factoring in the total cost.

The Garmin inReach Mini 2 is a must-have for anyone who spends time off-grid. The compact size makes it easy to clip to a pack or stow in a pocket, and the satellite connection gives peace of mind when cell service drops out. Messaging and SOS features work as advertised, though typing out custom texts can feel a little slow on the device itself. Battery life is excellent, lasting multiple days on a single charge with moderate use. For outdoor trips, hiking, or emergencies, it’s an investment worth making.

I love camping. I wish I could have done more of it in the past, but trying to get friends or family together for one is a P.I.A. I never solo camped because the places I like are National Forests that will normally have no cell reception so being alone and running into an emergency isn't a great incentive to be adventurous. Pros: The unit is easy to set up. Fairly easy top register and get an account. The subscription can be suspended at any time without penalty and reinstated when needed. Great for us fair season campers that will have these tucked away in our camping bins for the winter. Insurance is affordable. BUY THE RESCUE INSURANCE IN CASE YOU EVER NEED TO BE RESCUED. Battery lasts the entire weekend for me. I can send receive messages and leave breadcrumbs for my family to track. The list goes on and on, but most of all, I have peace of mind to get out on adventures by myself and get to camp more. Cons: Monthly subscription can be a little pricy if you want to be able to send more messages and send location data of your trip in real-time. You will need separate usage plan and rescue insurance. You can forgo the insurance but I don't recommend it. All it takes is one incident and you'll wish you bought at least the basic insurance. You can't switch between cellular data and satellite in the app. It'll always use satellite even if you have cellular coverage. I highly recommend this IF you love exploring areas outside of cellular service areas. It's a great tool to let your family know you're safe and peace of mind if something catastrophic happens. I hope I never need the SOS function but I can feel better when I venture out solo.

Easy to use, waterproof, and durable.

Awesome product the short time I had it. Was super excited to use my Inreach on my dad and I’s fishing trip. Worked awesome and was loving the features and the peace of mind that the SOS button provided all the way up until I forgot to clip the Carabiner onto the back of the inreach from the cheap chest mount that I bought. At no fault of the garmin Inreach mini 2, it went tumbling out of the mount completely untethered into the river rapids below never to be seen again. I will definitely be ordering another and will be securing it to the carabiner first thing!

This is old-school performance on high-tech equipment. I bought this for outdoor adventures in areas that have no cell coverage. It is functional, but you have to imagine that you are living in the 20th century to meet performance expectiations. First, the setup and activation took nearly 2 days. Yes, 2 days. I set up my account, put the InReach outdoors with full view of the sky, and then waited... and waited... finally after numerous power cycles, and more waiting, it activated. The instructions said that the long activation time is not an indication of normal performance. Yeah, right. Then I went camping in a remote area for a week. I sent a preset message, had InReach in full view of the sky, sitting on a small table. I waited... finally the message showed as Sent after 20 minutes. Not impressed. Other messages took anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes to send; judging the replies was more difficult, but the quickest reply from a friend was about 30 minutes (this could have been due to the friend taking time to respond). Despite the slow performance, it never failed to send or receive a message. The subscription plans have Gotchas that are not advertised. The Freedom plan, aka "pay as you go" does not offer much Freedom. First, you have to pay $35 for each year you use the plan; so if you only use it one month every year, then it isn't $15, it's $50. And, contrary to what's advertised on the Garmin site, you DO get charged for the months that you do NOT use it (as of June 2022), I believe $5/mo. For those reasons, I just did the Annual plan. The short of it: For ONE month, you pay $105 over the course of a year - that's $105 for ONE MONTH of usage. For the Annual plan, you pay $178 over the year, which is $14.86 per month. For the type and amount of service you get, InReach can seem like a total rip-off. You need to decide for yourself if having 'service anywhere' justifies the cost. For me, it is, and it fits my budget. There are a few strong points of the Garmin InReach2 over other platforms. First, it is small. I mean tiny. It's easy to pack and carry, and you do not need anything else - no phone pairing required. Battery life is good, and it uses a built-in rechargeble battery. The phone app is decent, and you don't need service / internet to use it or pair it. Of course you need to have already downloaded the app, but that's obvious. The screen is small but easy to read, unless you have poor eye sight. Still, let's say you are older or farsighted and lose your reading glasses, the SOS button can be found and operated by feel, so there's always that. Some downsides: Preset messages require setup on a computer via the InReach portal. The rechargeable battery means that you can't use common batteries in a pinch, like AAAs or similar; and you need to have access to a USB-C charger. Complaints aside, if I knew all this before I bought it, I probably would have still bought it, mostly because I'm an electronics nerd.

This device has all the features one could need and features are customizable. I spend a lot of time in the deep wilderness of Alaska and am able to send and received important messages to friends and family. The most valuable feature for me is setting it up to send a location ping to the server every few min (customizable) to give my most approximate location if something terrible would happen to me or my partner. This information is protected by a login that can be shared by whomever you have at home waiting for you to return. The weather updates are also accurate and easy to use. Finally, you can use this as a standalone device or pair it with your smartphone to make texting quicker and view your topo maps, waypoints, and travel data if desired.

Bought this for my wife’s piece of mind. I cut wood and do other stuff at the cabin by myself in a remote area with no cell service. This is great to check in with her each evening to let her know I am still alive. It has good battery life if it has a decent view of the sky. Inside the cabin with a metal roof can cause the battery to drain.