PEAX Equipment

Phone, GPS, inReach, Onx... Help!

Can you summarize what "InReach" is for us clueless folks? I've never even heard of it until today. I used Iridium, I think it was, in AK while moosing. Is InReach similar?

Brent just google it and you will get a lot of information on inreach.
Dan
 
Inreach is great if you want to setup the expectation that you communicate with home every day while in the backcountry. I'm really resistant to that. Let's say you kill a bull just before dark and get caught up tending to the meat and forget to contact your wife. She freaks out thinking you fell off a cliff or got eaten by a bear. I'm fine with sending an SOS signal, but I don't want to setup the expectation that I text every day.

This is so true, at least with my wife!!
 
To each his / her own...

My wife has actually text commucation back and forth this last elk season. My 530hcx Garmin crapped out. My wife was able to track my direction and location... Text me info periodically as to my location in relation to my camp. I was solo and got back to camp somewhere around 3am.

It is absolutely awesome to send a message that triggers a detailed map for whomever to follow your travels tagging your location at select intervals.

This bear season, I'll be pack camped in a few days earlier than others joining the main car camp base "party" location. I'm able to tag on a map they can view the exact camp location. If they want to join, they know where. It has the long/lat anyone can punch in their GPS and presto.

I've used InReach driving a 40 minute route to work that does not have cell reception. A car hammered a moose at 1230 am. Injured travelers. InReach in hand, turn on... Hit SOS. This tags my location and sends that to local emergency. I also sent a message to my wife who contacted EMS as well. They touched base with me and I was able to share the situation.

InReach to communicate home or home to communicate w you. My wife and I are very comfortable to chat. I have no interest to hide in the backcountry from her. Though like I said, to each his/her own.

Anyhow, InReach is pretty darn nice. I like to solo hunt. My wife's not a fan of it though to stay in touch and her ability to monitor my travels is valuable as heck especially considering my prior injury and meds taken... Etc.

Rambling concluded. This discussion holds multiple new threads each year and InReach is mostly the main pick.
 
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I use my Note8 exclusively for my GPS. I carry a battery pack for it, but have never needed it. I sold off my GPS after last years seasons.

I use a Spot GPS Messenger. Not 2way comms, but $50 for the unit, $50 for a years worth of service. If I were buying something new, I'd look hard at the inreach or just getting a Satphone. But both those units are spendy.

My SPOT Gen3 went up to $199/year for service. Complete ripoff, so I sold it for about $20. Went with the Garmin Inreach Explorer+ and it's great. But very spendy!
 
I use OnX on my iPhone and never touched my regular GPS on my last trip to CO.
Now I know why. This luddite recently subscribed to ONX on my smartphone and computer. It is so much more user-friendly than the Garmin Oregon. Anyone want to purchase a barely used Garmin Oregon?

Question: Can we use the ONX maps on two smartphone devices under one subscription?
 
In a similar boat. I always have my Garmin Oregon with me but I find myself using the ONX on my phone so much more. What a great tool.
 
I used to carry my Garmin HCX530... Now? I have no need to. Why carry it? Analog "walkie talkie"? My phone is much lighter, has video, photo, mapping with Avenza (FS involved App for Quads.) and now OnX... I have my InReach.

There is simply no need to carry... I'll happily sell it though I lack used car salesman-ship skillzzzz.
 
Other options that many hunters are not aware of are PLB's and EPIRB devices like these. It's very complex understanding the differences in which device has the best transmission, signal strength, and how long the distress signal lasts. Many consider these to be a step up from the devices like the spot and are used by military, pilots, mariners, avalanche rescues, etc... One big one is no subscription costs.

https://pilotshq.com/mcmurdo-fastfi...MIyamR4aDb2wIV2D2BCh0yBAArEAQYAyABEgJWMPD_BwE

This explains the differences.
http://www.epirb.com/difference_between_EPIRBs_PLBs.php
 
I use OnX on my phone for all of my navigation and keep an InReach in my pack for communicating with my wife or potential packers. Absolutely love OnX on a smart phone. My battery lasts 4 days on airplane mode & have a small charger that gets me a couple more. I use the InReach app on my phone to send my texts, so I don't actually have to touch the InReach. Plus, if something happens to my phone, I have the InReach to fall back on for navigation.

This exactly.
 
Now I know why. This luddite recently subscribed to ONX on my smartphone and computer. It is so much more user-friendly than the Garmin Oregon. Anyone want to purchase a barely used Garmin Oregon?

Question: Can we use the ONX maps on two smartphone devices under one subscription?

I have an iphone, an ipad and a laptop - all linked to the same appleID and I am able to log in to all 3 with the same subscription over the course of the year. What I have not tried is logging in to 2 or 3 at the exact same time or logging in on a mobile device not tied to that appleID. My guess is that it would work in both cases and that the subscription is tied to the log-in credentials, not the device(s).
 
I highly recommend the onX on your phone as well. This was the first year I took it into the mountains with me and I never turned on my GPS other than to initially mark camp. Way more detailed, easy to use, and clear to see.
 
Now I know why. This luddite recently subscribed to ONX on my smartphone and computer.

Question: Can we use the ONX maps on two smartphone devices under one subscription?

yes. no problem. you Onx login credentials identify your subscription. use one subscription on an ipad and two different iphones...
 
I don't think I could ever trust my smart phone to be durable enough or waterproof enough to be my main navigation aid. Of course I have a $50 dollar phone but I'm not sure that really even matters. I use the Garmin unit off my dog tracking collar and I put topo maps and.birds eye imagery on it. They had the basic Inreach on sale and I bought it instead of renting a sattelite phone in Alaska. So very glad I did. I'm always outside of cell reception even in Michigan and Ohio. Now I always have it.
 
FYI Cell reception has nothing to to with using a phone as a GPS.

I would like to try on my phone but I own the chips for the states I hunt and my I phone has no SD slot. I'm a cheapskate and as long as my cost is 0$ moving forward I will probably keep using the old GPS unless I can figure out a way to use the SD card in my phone as it would have cost me $100 a year for the last 6 years to have that on my phone.
 
FYI Cell reception has nothing to to with using a phone as a GPS.


If you are responding to me you should read closer. The Inreach is a sattelite messenger mainly which has everything to do with reception.

I was just out and hour ago when it was sprinkling trying to call an Uber. Since it was raining, the touch screen on my phone wasn't working and I had to step inside. I now have a new rule of thumb. If my smart phone can't call an Uber when it's sprinkling without ducking into the bar, then I'm probably not using it as my primary source of navigation in the wilderness.
 
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