Garmin 010-01735-10 inReach Explorer+, Handheld Satellite Communicator with Topo Maps and GPS Navigation

I use the Garmin Explorer+ primarily for the tracking and communication capabilities. It gives my wife much greater peace of mind when I am out backpacking deep in the backcountry of the Cascade or Olympic Mountains here in Washington state. I use other tools for my primary navigation but it is nice to have the redundancy of the onboard maps on the device.

This is a great device once you get the hang of it. We used it on a 63 mile canoe trek and it was very handy. Take some time to learn how to use it thoroughly before taking it on an adventure as there are some nuances to get used to.

We purchased this GPS to use in our helicopter so that my wife can track it from home. It doesnt connect with the app very well . The setting are complicated. If you are using the gps only its working fine but you need to use it open sky. Inside the helicopter it loosing the connection often.

Poor Maps, pathetic weather reports, absurd interface. If you need an inreach for safety by the the ones without maps. Garmin has always made imposible to use GPSs. Dont know why I thought this would be better. My favorite thing from this is when, while sitting on the Gulf of Mexico, trying to get a Marine weather forecast the inreach informed me I was not close enough to the ocean and please enter a coordinate further away from land. Hey MORONs at Garmin. When someone requests a Marine forcast please please please please give them the closest one. Also the other weather forecast was suppose to give wind which on a sea kayak trip is very important. Well there was no wind on the forecasts I saw. The Garmin Earthmate app does just about nothing. Garmin, at least you could show the weather on a linked phone. Beyond pathetic and way way way over priced.

Overall this is a great product for those going out in the backcountry. Its nice to have the added security of knowing that you can get help, regardless of location (Unless youre in a cave, then youre screwed). Satellite communication takes a few minutes usually, but Ive sent and received text messages so far, no issues. The weather forecast is also a nice feature that can be very helpful in certain situation when forecasts change hourly. Tracking, allowing family and others to see your progress, is great. The subscription costs are completely reasonable in my book, so no issues there.

This product is a life saver. I got trapped in a canyon after a mudslide, there was no cell service and I was trapped for four hours before someone found me. but I was able to communicate with my husband to let him know I was okay and would be late thanks to this device. My husband and I use this regularly, as I do volunteer first-responder work in areas that usually dont have cell service. My husband also goes off hiking by himself in the middle of nowhere, and now I feel safe knowing that he has a way to communicate with me and or call for help in an emergency. Garmin is a great company and weve used them for many years, I highly recommend this product and think that every family should have one in their home and bug out bag!

Works great! Havent used the sos feature but the tracking and text features are very nice so that my wife knows where I am and that I am okay!

Satellite communication can be achieved, but the inReach is not a true Garmin’s product.

Pretty good so far.

Only have used in North America so far but in some very remote areas Nice having GPS maps and communication from anywhere would like a little larger screen for times when I’m not using phone with it but otherwise has done everything it claimed to