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

I will never travel without !!! It charges fast, battery last a long time. Texting on it is like an early 2000 cell phone. U have to move the curser to the letter you want and select it. It does a very good job of predicting the next word which speed up things. Transmit amd receive speeds are good. Does not work indoors, it need a to be outside with a view of the sky. Great product. I depended on it during a hurricane. Subscription pricing is fair. Eveeyone should have one during an emergency.

Garmin is evil. I signed up for an annual plan at $11.99 per month. After 6 months my car was broken into and my inReach stolen. I called Garmin and they say I still have to continue paying for my annual contract or I can cancel now, but I will have to pay the remaining contract balance.

I mostly purchased this to communicate with my family members while out on the trails (Ocala National Forest and the Appalachian Trail) and for that it works great, all family members get my messages and I receive messages from them when I want or need to retrieve them (I set it this way so I dont get messages while I am enjoying myself!) Best thing so far is that while on a week long section hike of the AT my husbands knee locked up after a few days of discomfort and while we were only 7 miles from our end point we had a mountain in our path and there was no way to know if he was going to be able to make it over that climb. Thankfully we had the Inreach! I used the map feature to spot a cross trail that was .2 miles behind us that lead to a road about .5 miles down the trail. I was able to text a hiker shuttle guy who picked us up right at the end of that road! All from the Garmin Inreach! I have not had to use the SOS feature yet and hopefully I do not have to but so far I love it! Best $500 I have spent on gear!

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.

Started with a Spot and have and will upgrade every time Inreach/Garmin comes up with a new product. I’ve been where there was no service of any kind and chatted with friends. Having the security of knowing I can always call for help is, well.......the single most important thing to me. If your idea of adventure is watching football on Sunday, you probably don’t need this but if you get out and hunt or fish or hike or explore or go to Kansas you probably need this piece of equipment

This item is quite impressive. Preloaded with maps will make it easier to change locations around the country without having to download maps as needed. The accuracy and quick recognition of satellites is superb. I find that even when leaving the unit on and in the car while changing locations the Explorer+ does keep track. The menus are simple and easy to read even in sunlight. The safety feature I hope I never have to use to call first responders. As a Sr Citizen I like the comfort of having that option when navigating rough trails and areas where critters might cause problems. its all good.

Be aware that NO Garmin GPS maps are compatible with this device. I have about $800 worth of maps for my Garmin 62 STC (awesome GPS) that will not work on this unit. If you need a good GPS this is not for you.

Disappointed because when we went to register the product we found out it had been registered and used by someone else and was being sold as a new product. We were unable to register it unless the previous owner deactivated so we had to send it back.

We do a bit of off roading and knowing I can request help when the phones have no service. It eases the mind.

Too many text messages never got through.