inReach Mini 3 Plus Compact Satellite Communicator 1.9" Outdoor GPS with Worldwide Maps and Built-In Bluetooth - Black

I am a Park Ranger in Alaska that spends many weeks in the backcountry. I use my inReach primarily for communication - not for mapping or tracking. I have previously used an inReach Explorer+. While that device was great - this was a massive upgrade. Extremely lightweight, small, incredible battery life, and sends messages at almost the same speed as my iPhone. The voice notes and photos are a fun upgrade, as well. Was well worth the purchase for a device that is leaps and bounds beyond its earlier predecessors.

I probably should have gone with the messenger plus, the onscreen navigation is poor, and I’m using apps on my phone instead anyway…but I guess piece of mind if I drop/break my phone. From 5:30am Thursday to Noon Sunday, battery went from 100% to 83% in Yosemite. I did turn it off at night, kept it on my pack at 45 degrees F. Sent 1 check in message a day. Started activities but didn’t send tracking updates as I have the cheap monthly subscription

I bought this for back country skiing and mountain biking. I was mainly interested in the SOS features, but the activity tracking, MMS messaging over satellite, mapping features, weather reports, and the ability to do live GPS tracking were all added bonuses that have been great to use so far. Plus the battery life is very long, so you can stay out for many days and not worry about needing to charge it. Also the satellite connection is much better than smart phones that claim to do satellite messaging as well.

Greatly improved from the Mini 2, the interface is easier to use. Yet, I continue to wish Garmin would incorporate a more Apple type approach with the interface. The engineers at Garmin are amazing but they need some human input. Second, the maps should be much more detailed, that the feature is included is a benefit but not much use, not unlike having a poorly fitting shoe and changing it's shoelaces. That said, I love my Mini 3 and it's capabilities, the peace of mind for me and my wife when I am in the wilderness. My colleagues and I are aging, having SOS capabilities is beneficial to everyone. One feature that is missing yet included with the Mini 2 is the ability to send my exact coordinates to fellow hikers and backpackers via text. For times when we hike at different paces we could send coordinates of our exact camp location to others with inReach capabilities. Let's hope Garmin gets the message and adds that into a firmware update.

I bought the the mini 3 Plus as a replacement for the SpotX device with a built in keyboard. While I will say that typing out a message with the SpotX is easier, the combination of lightening fast message sending, built in weather app, and easing blue tooth connection makes the 3 Plus the better of the two by a miles shot.