Spot vs Delorme Inreach?

[Wmiii]

I just received an email from Spot that told me that my old basic service plan was being discontinued and a new basic service plan would be used. Also the Annual fee is going to $149.99.
Before I renew my spot coverage, I thought about possible getting a Delorme Inreach.
Does anyone have experiences with both and have any recommendations?

Thanks,

Wm Mayberry
OPTIMYSTIQUE
Mariner 40

Untieing the lines from Bradenton and heading South

 

[ktdtx]

I have a DeLorme and haven't used it much...essentially just took it for a long boat ride. I had it as an emergency satellite "communicator" and we didn't have any emergencies.

but...they have a few different plans which you can start and stop..annual not required.

also...think they were recently purchased by Garmin so would expect things to change.

Ken

 

[Sealife]

My wife loves the delorme. Some of her friends prefer to text back and forth on phones vs. emails. She uses it all the time to stay in touch with friends back in the States. It does two way cell or email and also delorme to delorme. I like the tracking, back up GPS and SOS features. We have the unlimited everything plan which is about $50/mo. One of us can also take it with us and communicate with the other back on the boat if we have internet or a local sim card at anchor.

 

[Old deckhand]

Delorme works so well that I sold my sat phone and spot.

 

[JDCAVE]

We like the Inreach. We have unlimited satellite text and satellite waypoints for $79 Cdn/month. We go that route because cell service is very limited in the central coast. If you have reliable cell coverage, you can go with a cheaper plan.

 

[CPseudonym]

Sorry to muddy the waters but how about the goTenna and would it be a viable option?

 

[Drake]

We have used both and for us the Delorme Inreach is the winner hands down. It communicates with the satellite much faster, sends better tracking info and has the added functionality of text messages, navigation, criuse info like time, distance, etc. it's a lot more expensive than the Spot, vut well worth it IMHO.

 

[HenryD]

Customer service with SPOT is terrible. The unit we have does not work as it is supposed to - turns it self off when we do a lock or stop for a bridge to open.

 

[dhays]

I have a SPOT that is primarily for emergency use. I rarely am out of text message service range and so far have never been out of range of either the US or Canadian CG or other boaters who could relay information. My impressions would be different if I was in more remote locations.

I think the SPOT device is expensive at $150/year for what you get. OTOH, the Delorme inReach is a lot more expensive.

The way I look at it, the primarily advantage of the inReach is that it allows two-way text communication. That is a great feature if you need it, but comes at a cost. An annual plan for inReach that offers 40 text messages/month (send OR receive) costs $300/year. Another way to look at it is that the inReach costs $12.50 per month more than the inReach just so you can send/receive 40 text messages. If you go over the 40 they are $0.50 each. That seems expensive to me and 40 messages per month would get burned up in a hurry.

If you want to use text communication to really stay in touch, then you can pay $600/year for unlimited text messages. This is $450/year more than the spot but does provide that communication piece that SPOT doesn't. Again, for me that is way more than I want to spend, but then I'm notoriously cheap.

inReach does have another option that might be very good for folks like me that still have dirtside jobs and can't cruise full time. You pay a $25/year fee then pay monthly for the type of service that you want. If you want to just have basic service with only 10 texts/month it costs $15/month or you can suspend it all together and pay nothing for each month it is suspended. If you are going to be out in the stick for a month you can pay $65/month for unlimited texts. This means that if you are only going to be in remote areas for 1 month a year, and don't need tracking etc for the rest of the time, you could just pay a total of $90 and have unlimited text for that one month.

Now... I have a SPOT primarily for emergency use (initially got it for my son who soloed the John Muir Trail). I only really need it if I am away from my normal Puget Sound waters. That is only going to happen about once per year. I could spend $90 on the inReach for that month vs $150 for a year of SPOT service... The nice thing about the inReach is that if you are on a monthly plan, you can change plan levels without a charge. The yearly plans are cheaper but they charge $25 each time you change plan levels.

Options....

 

[Al]

We have used both and for us the Delorme Inreach is the winner hands down. It communicates with the satellite much faster, sends better tracking info and has the added functionality of text messages, navigation, criuse info like time, distance, etc. it's a lot more expensive than the Spot, vut well worth it IMHO.

Man o Man! Would I like to sit with you for a period!! I have Deloreme Inreach and use it to keep the wife and others advised. I have never sent a message other that pre-programmed 'Start'-Here Okay, and never yet used the 'Help having problems' message.
I will say that the Inreach folks are very patient and helpful to an older 'tin can-to- tin can on a string' user.
My goal and next reach out to the youngsters at Inreach is to be able to do the 'Blue Tooth' thing between my iPhone and the Inreach to utilize the larger keyboard. The cost of texting by satellite while spendy, is really not so for the comfort of reaching out when without cell, which I am more than not.
Your demonstrated use is so encouraging-
Al-27' Marben Pocket Cruiser

 

[HopCar]

A couple of years ago Trawler Forum member Richard on Dauntless crossed the Atlantic and we were able to track him all the way on the Delorme website. Many of us exchanged text messages with him while he was in the middle of the Atlantic. Amazing technology.

 

[Wxx3]

Man o Man! Would I like to sit with you for a period!! I have Deloreme Inreach and use it to keep the wife and others advised. I have never sent a message other that pre-programmed 'Start'-Here Okay, and never yet used the 'Help having problems' message.
I will say that the Inreach folks are very patient and helpful to an older 'tin can-to- tin can on a string' user.
My goal and next reach out to the youngsters at Inreach is to be able to do the 'Blue Tooth' thing between my iPhone and the Inreach to utilize the larger keyboard. The cost of texting by satellite while speedy, is really not so for the comfort of reaching out when without cell, which I am more than not.
Your demonstrated use is so encouraging-
Al-27' Marben Pocket Cruiser

Pretty much everyone has already said, what needs to be said.

I will only add, that it's strength is it's connectivity to satellite.
But to really send text messages, you must get it to connect with your smart phone using Bluetooth.
When it connects it is fantastic, in that you can use your contact list using the associated Earthmate app.

Only downside is that getting the InReach and phone to connect was only a sometimes proposition.

 

[Sealife]

I admit I had similar problems with iPad connectivity. Need to turn blue tooth on and off often, but tech support has been top notch for me as well. One phone call straight to a human located in the US. (No offense to foreign call centers, I just prefer US)

 

[CaptTom]

Another vote for InReach. The two-way text feature and the ability to change or suspend plans on a month-by-month basis are the big sellers for me.

I don't recall much trouble connecting via bluetooth, maybe an occasional reboot. And it IS possible to send text from the device itself, just a little clunky because it's not a full keyboard. Or you can use the pre-canned messages like "I've arrived" or "Leaving now" or make up your own.

I'm the first to admit I'm not a huge fan of 24x7 connectivity. But today it's expected. InReach gives you that, which keeps the folks back home (and at least one on board) a lot more comfortable.

 

[Jeffrey S]

I've had SPOT for 7 years and DeLorme inReach for 4 years. If I had to only have one, there is no question that I'd pick DeLorme inReach. If I were buying one now, there's no question that I'd get the DeLorme. From a safety standpoint, the DeLorme kills SPOT in capabilities.

 

[HopCar]

Looks like ACR is going to get into this game.
https://www.acrartex.com/products/catalog/personal-locator-beacons/sarlink/#sthash.xaF1RQpa.dpbs

Theirs uses the 406 system, just like an epirb, for sending distress signals and the Iridium satellites for communication.

You can't buy it yet but I bet it won't be long.

 

[tpbrady]

I've used an InReach since they first came out. My only complaint is that Delorme is simply not very good at writing software. I still have a Delorme GPS with topo maps and the software is so poorly written it's almost impossible to use. The software in the Iphone app is ok but works in a convoluted manner. The most confusing thing is time tagging of the text messages. The time tag is when you received it and not when it was sent. The other chronic problem I have is many times it will not show messages waiting to be downloaded (flashing LED) unless you send a message to the network and wake things up. This is probably a firmware issue but Delorme hasn't put out new firmware for my device in 3 years.

Garmin has purchased Delorme so maybe between the two of them, they can make things work a little better.

Tom

 

[Rebel112r]

The ability, to access weather, on DeLorme is another feature we have used. We are happy customers.

 

[Al]

I've used an InReach since they first came out. My only complaint is that Delorme is simply not very good at writing software. I still have a Delorme GPS with topo maps and the software is so poorly written it's almost impossible to use. The software in the Iphone app is ok but works in a convoluted manner. The most confusing thing is time tagging of the text messages. The time tag is when you received it and not when it was sent. The other chronic problem I have is many times it will not show messages waiting to be downloaded (flashing LED) unless you send a message to the network and wake things up. This is probably a firmware issue but Delorme hasn't put out new firmware for my device in 3 years.

Garmin has purchased Delorme so maybe between the two of them, they can make things work a little better.

Tom

Tom, You are antiquated with myself enough to respond. My use to date is the simple sending of a departure message, an arrival message and as stated, non use to date of the third pre programmed "Help required" message. That and the ability to have the recipients use 'Map Share' is the limit of my utilization. The concept of using the satellite feature for texting was the clincher over the SPOT at that time of decision. Now, of course, knowing the differences, I will remain with InReach with my limited use of available functions.
Being a lummox on this blue tooth applications between my iPhone an the InReach begs the question of how much importance I should place on pursuing the education required? Stated as the ability to use the simple messages and MapQuest has me comfortable in ignorance.


Al

 

[tpbrady]

Al,

The problem with my InReach paired to my IPhone is simply because Delorme seems to have stopped supporting the original InReach 1.5. It was always clunky, now just more so. If you have the newer model SE or Explorer it should work much better. With the older model, you will just have deal with it, if you want to send text messages. I'll give you a primer on it next spring on our first trip to Ketchikan (Walmart run).

Tom

 

[Al]

Al,

I'll give you a primer on it next spring on our first trip to Ketchikan (Walmart run).

Tom

Bless you my son! Spring it shall be.

Al

 

[Northern Spy]

Either my kid or I use the Spot as we wander into the back country out of cell phone range on a regular basis, as in weekly. Works fine as a tracker and to summon assistance. Fairly low cost.

If the primary purpose was communication then certainly the delorme would be justified.

 

[JDCAVE]

As we spent a fair bit of time on the BC Central Coast, we found there were quite a few places where we could not get the WXX on the VHF, and of course, cell service is nearly absent except near some coastal communities. We would get family to send the EC weather text info via the Inreach. This worked well. Inreach also provides marine weather forecasts but that service adds up, so we only used it occasionally.

 

[Insequent]

No experience with either Spot or Delorme, but I'm getting interested in the Iridium GO paired with Predict Wind.
Iridium GO! - PredictWind

I know Benn (Tidahapah) uses it, but has anyone else tried either the Go or the package in the link? About 12 months ago I took up a special offer for Predict Wind, and will definitely renew it.

 

[tpbrady]

Brian,

I have worked with an Iridium Go off and on, and the downside is it is rather clunky to make a data connection for web or email use. It's like a throwback to 1990 with the "dialing" "connecting" "negotiating" dialog that shows up on the screen. The real question is not that but if the app that "PredictWind" uses hides that garbage from you and automates the process of presenting the data. The Iridium Go if you are simply trying to go to a mobile web site is a pain in the ass to use.

Tom

 

[Insequent]

Thanks Tom, good to know.

All I want for next year's cruise is texting and connection to Predict Wind. I'm still hoping a new cell phone amplifier that is about to be approved will give me the range I need.

 

[CaptTom]

All I want for next year's cruise is texting and connection to Predict Wind.

InReach now has a text-based marine weather service. We tried the free version a couple of times, but never really needed it so I can't vouch for it. Seems like a good resource for offshore or remote cruising.

 

[Wmiii]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and ideas on the SPOT and DeLorme inReach.
I think that if I were just now getting one of these, the Delorme would be my choice at this point.
However I already have the SPOT and I have learned how to actually display a track on it. Now if I can learn how to share it...
I have used it all these years to just show our location when we get settled after a day of travel.
Thanks again to all.


Wm Mayberry
OPTIMYSTIQUE
Mariner 40
Ft Myers Beach Mooring field

 

[Ken E.]

We've used an Inreach paired to an Android phone for several years in BC and SE Alaska. Complete bulletproof performance. On a scale of 10, a 12. Always works, always connects. And it's cost - effective too, at $20 something a month for the "Rec" plan. We also have an Iridium sat phone for voice, which has also served us well. We tend to use the In reach more when voice isn't needed.

 

[SHASA III]

Another option, for those with a ham license, is APRS.

I'm installing an APRS-enabled 2M/70CM radio on the boat (Kenwood D710GA) and I'll be testing it this year on our annual trip up through the Canadian islands and Desolation Sound.

For years, I used a Spot for motorcycle touring, but upgraded to the Delorme Inreach last year. I'll compare the Inreach to the APRS this summer.

Anyone can check-out the site aprs.fi -- it uses Google Map and shows APRS was well as AIS targets. Just center it on your location.

The jury is still out, but if the APRS works as well as I suspect, I'll use it as primary, since the service is free, and includes texting via the packet feature.