Spot X or In-Reach Mini ?

[Wish I lived in CO]

Hello All:

My subscription on my Gen 2 Spot (that I've had for many years) runs out tomorrow. I'm considering a Spot X or an In Reach Mini. Like most I carry my cell phone so having it or not as it relates to tethering to the In Reach is not an issue. I'd like to have something I can text with, both if for an emergency but also for personal use.

So pros and cons in reviews that I've seen online:
Spot X pros = stand alone phone number make for quicker texts. Cheaper subscription. Longer battery life. Cons = buttons are hard to push, no weather
In Reach mini pros = smaller and lighter.

I'm leaning toward the Spot X. But what do you all think? Anyone had an issue with the sticky buttons? Just how much of a pain is it to tether with the In Reach? Also if my cell battery is dead can I at least send out an SOS with the InReach Mini?

My technical savvyness is on the low side of medium - not helpless by any means, but I'm sure not as advanced as many of you.

Thanks ahead of time for your input.

[GregMiller]

You can still SOS with the inReach mini, as well as (slowly) type messages directly on it. Also, I’ve never had issues with messaging on the inReach, you just need to send a message out to their number or email first (or enable messaging from your tracking page). Once you do that once, that person can always send a text message from their phone number to that original number and have it reach you.
Also, the iridium satellite network used by inreach is SIGNIFICANTLY better better than the global star network used by Spot. First, the higher orbit inclinations significantly improve reception at higher latitudes and on north faces (even here in Colorado, there are many tales of spot SOS messages not getting out). Second, iridium can bounce a message between satellites before reaching a ground station (or vice versa). Globalstar requires the sending device and receiving ground station to simultaneously be in view, which limits when and where you can send or receive messages.

[martinleroux]

Spot X pros = stand alone phone number make for quicker texts. Cheaper subscription. Longer battery life...
Just how much of a pain is it to tether with the In Reach? Also if my cell battery is dead can I at least send out an SOS with the InReach Mini?

• Having a dedicated phone number isn't much of advantage in practice. With the InReach all you do is send a one-time outgoing message to your contacts. Once they have that they can send you a message at any time, even months later. They just have to respond from the same number that you sent the message to (or use Garmin's web interface).

• Spot and InReach subscription plans are now basically the same cost. But the Spot device is cheaper up-front.

• You don't need to worry about battery life unless you're doing a multi-week expedition. The InReach has 50 hours which in practice will last at least a week, even if you're sending trackpoints every 10 minutes for 8 hours/day. If you cut back on trackpoint frequency it'll last even longer.

• The Spot doesn't pair with a smartphone. I've never had trouble pairing my InReach to a smartphone.

• The InReach is fully functional even if it isn't paired with a smartphone. It's not easy to use that way (if you want to compose messages you have to select letters one-by-one by scrolling through the alphabet), but it works fine for SOS.

[zinj]

I second martinleroux's comments. I use an older (pre-Garmin) inReach and mostly stash it in my bag as an antenna, accessing its features on my smartphone. I *would* say that's just an extra piece of gear, but most of the time I carry my smartphone as my camera anyway, so it's already going with me. The exception is if I know the route is going to be badass or hands-free. I might GoPro it and ditch the phone.

The InReach in those cases would still be useable through the clunkier on-device interface.

I seldom find I'm thumbing out ad hoc texts anyway -- you pre-program messages and addressees and you're good to go for most situations -- just select which one you want.

As for battery life - the inReach's life is adequate for a couple of days. Longer than that and I just recharge it at night from a battery. Much longer than that and I bring a small solar cell to recharge the battery that recharges the inReach.

[pmreyn2010]

Sorry for bumping up an old thread; this one popped up when I was doing my search on the forum. I was wondering if anyone had used the Spot X since they incorporated the Bluetooth functionality with it last year. If you have used it, what do you think of it? I've had a Spot Gen3 for about 6 years now and in general, it has served me well. Was considering retiring it in favor of the Spot X to have the capability of 2 way messaging in case a situation arose, but I was also looking at the inReach Mini. Appreciate the insight, thanks all!

[ker0uac]

Sorry for bumping up an old thread; this one popped up when I was doing my search on the forum. I was wondering if anyone had used the Spot X since they incorporated the Bluetooth functionality with it last year. If you have used it, what do you think of it? I've had a Spot Gen3 for about 6 years now and in general, it has served me well. Was considering retiring it in favor of the Spot X to have the capability of 2 way messaging in case a situation arose, but I was also looking at the inReach Mini. Appreciate the insight, thanks all!

I spent last week researching satellite messengers and ended up buying InReach Explorer+. Both the Mini and Explorer+ are on sale at REI, and the X is on sale at globalstar.com.

If you are buying for use during an emergency, then draining your battery with Bluetooth doesn't seem like a smart idea.

https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/c ... tor-beacon

[pmreyn2010]

If you are buying for use during an emergency, then draining your battery with Bluetooth doesn't seem like a smart idea.

Definitely agree on that. A few reviews I read this weekend that were published in 2018 criticized the X for not having that functionality unlike the Garmin products. My understanding was that others were having issues with the keyboard sticking in terms of easily being able to send out quick messages to local SAR teams or whoever. I couldn't tell with the newer Bluetooth model from 2019 if other adjustments on the keyboard had been made on the X or not.

Thanks for the info on the sales!

[ker0uac]

If you are buying for use during an emergency, then draining your battery with Bluetooth doesn't seem like a smart idea.

Definitely agree on that. A few reviews I read this weekend that were published in 2018 criticized the X for not having that functionality unlike the Garmin products. My understanding was that others were having issues with the keyboard sticking in terms of easily being able to send out quick messages to local SAR teams or whoever. I couldn't tell with the newer Bluetooth model from 2019 if other adjustments on the keyboard had been made on the X or not.

Thanks for the info on the sales!

I found Mini and X to have very similar features, though the Mini might have more bells and whistles but they don't really help you in emergency situations so they are worthless to me. I chose Garmin because of the network (Iridium) and customer service.

This guy also had good reviews: https://hikingguy.com/hike/hiking-gear/

[IntrepidXJ]

Sorry for bumping up an old thread; this one popped up when I was doing my search on the forum. I was wondering if anyone had used the Spot X since they incorporated the Bluetooth functionality with it last year. If you have used it, what do you think of it? I've had a Spot Gen3 for about 6 years now and in general, it has served me well. Was considering retiring it in favor of the Spot X to have the capability of 2 way messaging in case a situation arose, but I was also looking at the inReach Mini. Appreciate the insight, thanks all!

I've had the SPOT X with Bluetooth since it became available last year, and I had the regular SPOT X before that (and all the generations of SPOTs before that since they first became available). I was not very happy with the original SPOT X and was planning on getting rid of it for an inReach just before the Bluetooth model came out. I had a really hard time typing on the keypad and had some battery life issues. Once I made the switch to the model with Bluetooth I was much happier with the device since I could use my phone to send and read messages without even taking the SPOT out of my pack, which is really nice. It's been working well for me since then, although I still think the battery life could be a little better.

[IntrepidXJ]

I couldn't tell with the newer Bluetooth model from 2019 if other adjustments on the keyboard had been made on the X or not.

The buttons are the same on both devices, but the ones at the top (above the standard keyboard) and the directional pad seemed to be updated and easier to press on the Bluetooth model.

[IntrepidXJ]

I'm getting better battery life on the SPOT X with Bluetooth than I was with the SPOT X without it.

If you are buying for use during an emergency, then draining your battery with Bluetooth doesn't seem like a smart idea.

[bluegrassclimber]

I chose the mini because of the iridium network. Better coverage and I travel internationally for work so the overseas coverage was a big factor too.