Info on gear, conditioning, and preparation for hiking/climbing.
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Gubber13 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 11, 2023 10:01 am
It would be nice if Garmin etc. would allow two devices to be added to the same subscription. Only one would ever be used unless there was a situation that required the second unit to be activated. I would happily pay for a second unit, but a discount (by registration address?) would be good.
That's an interesting use case. It looks like these are now available. From what I read previously, it was going to be $5/mo. for 30 2-way messages (not exactly sure how "2-way" is counted) per month. Multiple phones could connect within the pathetic typical range of Bluetooth (10m) unless they've cranked up the power but that may require your phone to be similarly juiced. Still, progress?
Pretty sure this is the route I'm going to finally carry some form of satcomm. Anyone have experience with these?
Gubber13 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 11, 2023 10:01 am
It would be nice if Garmin etc. would allow two devices to be added to the same subscription. Only one would ever be used unless there was a situation that required the second unit to be activated. I would happily pay for a second unit, but a discount (by registration address?) would be good.
That's an interesting use case. It looks like these are now available. From what I read previously, it was going to be $5/mo. for 30 2-way messages (not exactly sure how "2-way" is counted) per month. Multiple phones could connect within the pathetic typical range of Bluetooth (10m) unless they've cranked up the power but that may require your phone to be similarly juiced. Still, progress?
Pretty sure this is the route I'm going to finally carry some form of satcomm. Anyone have experience with these?
This is interesting, haven't come across it before. Thanks for sharing, Boggy B.
Surprised nobody has mentioned Walkie (Rockie) Talkies yet. After using those in the realm of backcountry/peak skiing the past couple of years, IMO these are the most worthwhile tool out there when with partners. In summer, they can be especially useful on ridges where sometimes you go one way up a climb and your partner goes another way around a climb. Or partner A goes up a tower and sees that it goes but the wind is howling and partner B can't hear what is being said from the bottom of the tower and isn't sure whether he should go around it or up it. There are many more examples, but these are a game changer for safety and communication with partners in all seasons. As far as Inreach's go, everyone in the group should have one. If partner A has the inreach and he is the one that falls, how it partner B going to send the SOS? Utilize all the resources you can, especially on the higher risk routes.
Boggy B wrote: ↑Tue Jul 11, 2023 3:29 pm
That's an interesting use case. It looks like these are now available. From what I read previously, it was going to be $5/mo. for 30 2-way messages (not exactly sure how "2-way" is counted) per month. Multiple phones could connect within the pathetic typical range of Bluetooth (10m) unless they've cranked up the power but that may require your phone to be similarly juiced. Still, progress?
Pretty sure this is the route I'm going to finally carry some form of satcomm. Anyone have experience with these?
Those just launched in the US, within the last month I believe. I'm keeping an eye on it as a potential alternative to the inReach family (or the Zoleo); the initial device cost isn't what bugs me about the inReach, but it has imo a pretty hefty subscription cost, especially for the type of outings I mostly do (I also as a general rule HATE subscriptions, but understand there needs to be one for a service like this, similar to a cell phone plan). $5-$10/mo for reasonable volume satellite texting and an SOS is fine with me, and the Bullitt suggests it covers that. Note that from what I can tell, responding to a text sent to you from the Bullitt network requires the receiver (say your spouse at home) to use their app, versus responding directly to the text as with the inReach - that potentially limits the usefulness in an emergency.
Right now the $150 purchase price includes a year of the basic plan ($5/mo). 30 messages sent or received. They have other plans with more messages. You can also pay $60 once for 250 messages in a year--a worse deal than the basic plan but greater flexibility.
It does appear you need the app to receive messages, but messaging any valid number will shoot that person a text with a link to download the app and read the message. I'm not too concerned about this limitation since you can just set up people you expect to message beforehand. The app prefers wifi and cellular, which don't count towards messaging limits, over satellite.
In an emergency you would probably use the SOS feature included in all the plans, which doesn't use messaging and alerts the same dispatch provider as SPOT.
There's no cover on the SOS button so might need to tape something rigid over it to prevent accidental trigger.
Apparently it works great except if it loses line of sight to the constellation while powered on, it may have trouble re-establishing the connection until you power-cycle it. Sounds like a firmware bug, hopefully one that will be fixed in the near future, but I'd keep it powered off anyway while not in use.
You can only use your Bullitt account on one phone at a time, which makes me guess the brick is similarly constrained to one user/device.
Mainly if I'll be out later than expected I just want to be able to let my wife know my ETA, and this seems ideal for that.
