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Osguthoj
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PostThu Mar 09, 2017 12:31 pm 
I've been with people that have an Inreach and figured it's time to get my own for emergencies and to make my wife happy she can know where I'm at on my trips. Apparently Inreach is now part of Garmin rather than Delormed. REI have the delorme units on sale, which is enticing considering they are even more expensive now. Anybody have any input as to whether it's worth the extra $$ for the Garmin branded one? Our experience with the Delorme was it worked great but then couldn't connect for a few days and we weren't sure if it was the device or the satellite. Not sure if they made any meaningful upgrades once Garmin bought them out, or if Garmin will obsolete the Delorme units or service.

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Damian
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PostThu Mar 09, 2017 2:29 pm 
Take a look at the many comments on this site. In general Delorme is a solid performer. Very easy to use, almost primitive. I expect them to only get more complicated with time. Mine has served me very well. Good luck either way. They do provide peace of mind.

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Malachai Constant
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PostThu Mar 09, 2017 8:48 pm 
I have the Delorme SE it works well for me, the text input is like an 80's video game but if you pair it with a smartphone it is easier. The Explorer model adds a rather primitive GPS. I do not need this as I use Gaia on my phone anyway. The new Garmin models are very similar but add a couple features I do not use or need. They altered,the price point to make the quasi explorer more attractive. There will be new models soon as these are rushed. I would go with the old one while it is still on sale unless you really need a mediocre GPS in the same package. I do not know what will happen to the subscriptions.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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Osguthoj
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PostThu Mar 09, 2017 9:09 pm 
Yeah that's the direction I'm leaning is getting the old one. Here's to hoping Garmin doesn't pull any shenanigans.

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Damian
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PostThu Mar 09, 2017 9:49 pm 
Actually the time consuming texting of the SE is a benefit. It means you will only use it when necessary and you won't say much. Mal's right, there are better options for a GPS and you can pair the device. But that means carrying more battery powered gizmos to occupy your time when you should be looking at the stars.

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canadug
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PostThu Mar 09, 2017 11:28 pm 
I would pick up the Delorme SE for sure....That is a great price. I have had my SE for about 1.5 years and it has performed flawlessly. Two way texting is totally bombproof....Used it is in the canyons of Utah and mountains of BC and WA with no glitches. I reckon the subscriptions will stay much the same as that is where they really make their money.

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Osguthoj
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PostFri Mar 10, 2017 8:31 am 
FYI if anybody else is interested, REI now have an additional 25% off to drop it to 180. Sold!

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JimK
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PostFri Mar 10, 2017 8:56 am 
Not so sure that additional 25% off will work. The discount has the usual disclaimers. Offer not valid bicycles, strollers, hard-shell boats, paddleboards, surfboards, any item with GPS technology, action cameras and accessories, activity trackers, personal locator beacons, avalanche transceivers, airbag products, skis, ski boots or ski bindings; snowboards, snowboard boots or snowboard bindings, snowsports helmets, snowsports goggles, ski packs, ski bags, snowboard packs and snowboard bags. I would think this qualifies as a personal locator beacon. I take it back. I threw it into my shopping cart and it did reduce the price to $179.94.

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Osguthoj
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PostFri Mar 10, 2017 8:59 am 
It does-I just pulled the trigger on it and bought it. Normally yes you are right that most of their coupons don't apply to that kind of stuff.

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DIYSteve
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PostFri Mar 10, 2017 9:25 am 
Damian wrote:
Actually the time consuming texting of the SE is a benefit. It means you will only use it when necessary and you won't say much. Mal's right, there are better options for a GPS and you can pair the device. But that means carrying more battery powered gizmos to occupy your time when you should be looking at the stars.
ditto.gif on all points

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Randito
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PostFri Mar 10, 2017 2:42 pm 
JimK wrote:
I take it back. I threw it into my shopping cart and it did reduce the price to $179.94.
Just keep in mind that the purchase price is only the beginning. To actually be useful as a signalling device you need a subscription, the cheapest is around $14 / month.

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HitTheTrail
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PostSat Mar 11, 2017 6:09 am 
Damian wrote:
Actually the time consuming texting of the SE is a benefit
This statement has some truth under normal situations. And would sort of be like the concept of not carrying a heavy fully stocked first aid kit. It's not really needed ...until you really need it. I got one of the first SE models when they came out years ago and it has worked very well, especially when paired with the Earthmate app and Gaia on my iphone. I have the basic subscription plan and sometimes go all season without using a single one of my 10 allowed messages per month because I always just communicate with my family with the free pre-set messages. HOWEVER, if you ever get in a real situation where you need rapid two-way communication capability with SAR the keyboard text function on the app could be a lifesaver.

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Just_Some_Hiker
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PostSat Mar 11, 2017 11:31 am 
I have an inReach -- the older black model without a screen. It's useful, but it can be a real pain to get a message out sometimes. It really depends on an unobstructed view of the sky. Custom texts seem to have more trouble going through than the "preset" messages. Even sitting inside a tent, it fails to get a signal out. It also burns through batteries like crazy, making the live-tracking feature useless unless you plan to carry 2 lbs. of AA's. If I'm ever seriously injured, I hope it's on an open slope or a summit and not in a valley or forest...

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Osguthoj
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PostWed Mar 15, 2017 5:19 pm 
This doesn't answer your question but apparently with the newer garmin branded explorer units, you can use as a gps without signing up for the satellite messenging service, but with older Delorme branded unit, the navigational functions of the explorer don't work without a subscription. No experience personally with it but i have read elsewhere that it is a pretty clunky interface like others mentioned above to use as a navigation device. those two things just dissuaded me from even considering the explorer and go with the se

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hbb
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PostFri Mar 17, 2017 10:35 am 
Jeff wrote:
I was considering the SE, but I like the idea of the GPS on the Explorer. However I cannot find out if the unit can track and save waypoints internally for viewing afterwards, like most GPS units. I am not interested in viewing waypoints via their web service (tracking points don't come with the cheapest plan). I hope that makes sense.
I'm not sure if I understand how you are using the term "waypoints," but the Explorer can store tracklines and waypoints created out on the trail, which can later be downloaded as GPX files or some similar format (I can't recall the exact file type off the top of my head). I routinely import my Explorer tracklines into Caltopo maps, it's about as simple as it gets. I think I have mine set to log at 30 second intervals, which provides plenty of detail. It will run for days in that mode, but I do bump it out to a 1 or 5 minute interval if I am on multi day trip on established trails (saves battery life, and I don't need a detailed trackline in those situations). Edited to add: To be clear, you can create and save waypoints on the fly, no need to pre-program them via the website interface. Also, the terminology regarding "tracking points" is confusing in their plans: you only pay for "tracking points" that are transmitted. If you are simply storing them internally, there is no extra charge, and you can do this on the basic plan.

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